Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Barraza

Antonio Nogueira vs. Randy Couture 2009: Let's Make It Happen

Mike Barraza — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:15:19 -0500

A fight between MMA legends Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is rumored to take place in the UFC sometime in 2009. Let's hope these rumors are true because there's no better time than now (well, maybe November would've been the best time) to see these two great Heavyweights clash.

Randy Couture is a true veteran and warrior in the MMA world, and one of the best tacticians in the sport.

Having already fought and beaten world class fighters such as Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Gabriel Gonzaga, Tim Sylvia, Tito Ortiz, and Pedro Rizzo to name a few, Nogueira would be just another name to add to the already impressive list.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's list of wins is not only more impressive than Couture's, but it could probably contend with anyone in MMA as being the most impressive resume.

Nogueira is already considered one of the best Heavyweights of all time, with wins over a who's who in MMA including Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Kharitonov, Tim Sylvia, Mirko Cro Cop, Heath Herring (three times), Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt, and Dan Henderson.

The amount of heart and courage that Nogueira has shown throughout his career might not ever be matched by anyone, but the effects of the damage might hinder his chances of beating Couture.

Both men are coming off losses and a win in their next fight will be crucial to both fighter's careers. Randy is coming off his loss to current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar back in November, and Nogueira is fresh off his loss to Frank Mir at UFC 92 in December.

Needless to say, both Nog and Randy would like to erase those losses, and if everything unfolds the right way they could.

With Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar scheduled for a title match sometime in 2009, the winner of Nog/Couture could fight the winner of Mir/Lesnar.

If Randy were to emerge victorious he could avenge his loss to Lesnar(if he wins).

If Mir can pull out another victory over Lesnar, that would set up Nog/Mir 2 (if Nog wins).

Either way you look at it an intriguing Heavyweight match is there. You could end up with Nogueira/Lesnar, or Couture/Mir.

Let's just hope the guys at UFC can make it happen.

Top 20 Upsets in MMA History: Part Two

Mike Barraza — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:00:11 -0400

Ok here it is, part two of the top 20 upsets in MMA:10-1. Once again, these are in no order and from memory. Let's take a look.

10. Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic vs Kevin Randleman

Mirko Cro Cop was a force to be reckoned with when he and Kevin Randleman met in the PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2004.

With nine wins in MMA including two draws with Nobuhiko Takada and Wanderlei Silva, and only one loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko was one of the favorites to win the tournament and a fight with Heavyweight Champ Fedor Emelianenko was on the horizon.

Then the fight with Randleman happened. The two men engaged standing for a bit, then Randleman rushed Mirko into a corner and held on for about a minute until the ref broke them up. With Cro Cop now cautious of Randleman's brute strength and takedown ability, he was less worried of taking a punch than getting slammed on his head.

Randleman faked a shoot attempt that made Cro Cop drop his hands slightly, then after a few seconds it happened.

Kevin throws a hard left hook to Mirko's head that lands square on the jaw, dropping the Croatian to the mat. Randleman jumps on top and finishes the job off by landing a series of punishing hammer fists to Cro Cop's jaw and the ref ends the fight.

Cro Cop was out of the tournament and Randleman went on to face Fedor Emelianenko.

9. Randy Couture vs Tito Ortiz

After coming out of retirement and beating Chuck Liddell for the UFC Interim Light Heavyweight Championship belt, the next step for Randy Couture was to fight the Champion at the time, Tito Ortiz.

Tito, who was twelve years younger than Randy, was the UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion since winning the belt in his fight against Wanderlei Silva in 2000, and successfully defended it five times after that against Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Ken Shamrock.

For their entire five round fight, Randy Couture dominated Tito Ortiz primarily in the one spot where Ortiz is strongest, on the ground.

Which is no surprise considering that it is Randy Couture, a four time alternate for the Olympic Greco Roman Wrestling team, but to see the young dominant champ being out done and literally spanked by a forty-year-old man that was retired before his last fight was truly something to behold.

By the way, he won and became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champ.

8. Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin

It's hard to consider Anderson Silva an underdog or to not pick him as a favorite in a fight these days, but many people did just that when he fought Rich Franklin for the Middleweight title in 2006.

Rich Franklin was on an eight-fight win streak with five of those being in the UFC, and with a total record of 20-1-1, he was definitely the top Middleweight in the world. Enter Anderson Silva.

Anderson was coming into the UFC with a less than stellar list of wins as far as high caliber fighters go. But his destruction of Chris Leben, a guy that many thought was impossible to knock out, in his UFC debut got the attention of everybody quick.

After the fight with Leben, Silva was set to fight Franklin for the Middleweight Title on October 14, 2006. That night in Las Vegas, Anderson Silva announced to the world that he had arrived when he destroyed Rich Franklin in the first round with a beautiful Muay Thai clinch, well-placed knees, kicks, and punches to take the Middleweight belt.

7. Forrest Griffin vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was thought by many to be the number one Light Heavyweight fighter in the world before his fight with Forrest Griffin in 2007 at UFC 76: Knockout.

Forrest, on the other hand didn't have a huge list of wins over top competition like his opponent. However, the Ultimate Fighter 1 winner was given the opportunity to fight Rua and actually wanted to do it.

The majority of MMA fans thought that Rua would get right past Griffin en route to the title that was held by Quinton Rampage Jackson, whom Rua beat in PRIDE.

That majority didn't include Randy Couture who, once again, was right about a huge upset. The fight was mostly controlled by Griffin with a very high pace that made both men tired. Rua, who is known as a cardio machine, looked exhausted by the second round and was on his back often.

By the end of the third round it seemed that Rua wouldn't even be able to continue and Griffin would grind it out to a decision. Then, with fifteen seconds left in the round, Griffin takes Rua's back and sinks in a Rear Naked choke, forcing Shogun to tap.

Griffin scored his biggest win in his career and one of the biggest upsets of all time.

6. Takanori Gomi vs Nick Diaz

This was a very controversial fight due to Diaz's failed drug test, with the final ruling being a No Contest. But it still doesn't take away what happened.

After Gomi's loss to Marcus Aurelio in 2006 he went back to his winning ways beating David Baron, Marcus Aurelio, and Mitsuhiro Ishida before his fight with Diaz at PRIDE 33.

Diaz was on a three fight win streak after suffering three straight losses to Diego Sanchez, Joe Riggs, and Sean Sherk in the UFC.

Diaz and Gomi's fight, which was pretty much a boxing match, was one of the best of the entire year. Both fighters showed tons of heart, but after Diaz was rocked by Gomi and fell to the ground, the Fireball Kid pounced on him only to be caught in a Gogoplata, losing the fight.

That night Diaz beat arguably the best Lightweight on the planet at the time, but thanks to his love for the devil's lettuce it won't count as a win on his record.

5. Randy Couture vs Tim Sylvia

The Natural does it once again. The scenario for this fight was much like Couture-Liddell 1 with Randy coming out of retirement, coming off two straight losses to Chuck Liddell, and fighting one of the best fighters in the UFC who also happened to be the Heavyweight Champion.

Two major differences in this fight: Randy was three months away from turning forty-four years old, and he was fighting at Heavyweight, a weight that he had problems dealing with in fights with Ricco Rodriguez and Josh Barnett.

With that in mind, the fact that Randy was going to take on the much bigger Tim Sylvia for the Heavyweight Title was a little crazy.

But this was Randy Couture we're talking about, the king of upsets.

On March 3, 2007 Randy Couture totally dismantled Tim Sylvia for five rounds from start to finish, almost knocking the big man out in the first few seconds of the fight and won the Heavyweight belt.

We saw a new and improved Randy at Heavyweight, a man with the body and conditioning of someone half his age coupled with the ingenious game plan execution that he's famous for. Randy was back.

4. Kazuyuki Fujita vs Mark Kerr

In reality, Igor Vovchanchyn was the first man in MMA to beat Mark Kerr but it was during the early days of PRIDE when they would sometimes let illegal moves go by and then sometimes enforce them.

In Igor's case he was able to get Kerr in North-South position on the ground and knee Mark into unconsciousness, winning the fight at the time. However, they later changed the ruling to a No Contest because knees to an opponents head on the ground were not legal yet but the ref allowed them.

Anyway, Mark Kerr's official first loss on his record would come by way of Kazuyuki "Ironhead" Fujita in the Pride Grand Prix Finals in 2000.

Kerr, who of course was undefeated, was one of the top heavyweights in MMA at the time, winning two UFC Heavyweight tournaments and dominating everyone that he faced. It was hard to get anyone to fight the massively built and powerful Kerr who was one of the top wrestlers in the game along with Mark Coleman, Kevin Randelman, and Randy Couture.

But it was Fujita who outwrestled Kerr in their match, getting the decision win in the process.

3. Matt Hughes vs BJ Penn

Matt Hughes was, and still is, one of the most dominant fighters in MMA during his first fight with BJ Penn. His list of fights and wins is a who's who of MMA.

After winning the UFC Welterweight Title in 2001 against Carlos Newton, Matt Hughes would successfully defend his title five times against Hayato Sakurai, Carlos Newton, Gil Castillo, Sean Sherk, and Frank Trigg.

Needless to say, BJ penn, who was moving up from Lightweight, was a big underdog in this fight.

But within the first round BJ was able to take Matt Hughes's back and sink in a Rear Naked choke with less than a minute left in the round. BJ won the Welterweight Title, and then vacated it and left the UFC shortly after.

2. Forrest Griffin vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Many people might not view this as an upset after Forrest Griffin's win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and the fact that the decision for this fight was controversial. But I think this is a huge upset.

Quinton Jackson is one of the most dangerous Light Heavyweights on the planet with wins over Chuck Liddell (x2), Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland, Ricardo Arona, Igor Vovchanchyn, and Kevin Randleman to name a few.

Stylistically, Forrest Griffin wasn't a longshot to win this fight, but other than his win with Rua, his record didn't have any top name wins like Rampage.

Forrest was still able to hang in there though for five rounds in the competitive Light Heavyweight title fight, clearly dominating one round on the ground. Forrest put leg kicks to good use and made Rampage limp during the fight from repeated kicks to his left leg.

After the fight, it wasn't very clear who won, at least to me and my friends, but when Forrest's name was said as the new champion one thing was sure; a huge upset had happened.

1. Georges St. Pierre vs Matt Serra

Many will agree that this may be the greatest upset in the history of MMA. After George St. Pierre won the title from Matt Hughes with ease in 2007 it seemed that nobody would be able to take the title away from the young Canadian champion any time soon.

I'm sure nobody on the planet thought that the guy to do it would be Matt Serra.

Matt Serra was a fighter in the UFC that failed to find success after losing to top competition like BJ Penn, Din Thomas, and Karo Parysian. Then he was given the chance of a lifetime on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback.

After getting past Pete Spratt and Shonie Carter, Serra beat Chris Lytle by split decision in the finals, winning the show and getting a guaranteed shot at Georges St. Pierre for the Welterweight Title.

So on April 7, 2007, Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra fought for the Welterweight title and to everyone's amazement, Serra destroyed St. Pierre at 3:25 of the first round with a series of hooks that dazed Georges and dropped him, leaving Serra to finish him off with ground and pound.

In a fight where he played possibly the biggest underdog of all time, Matt Serra also created possibly the greatest upset of all time.

Honorable mentions:

Mark Hunt vs Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson vs Wanderlei Silva, Igor Vovchanchyn vs Kazushi Skuraba, Igor Vovchanchyn vs Mark Coleman

Top-20 Upsets in MMA History: Part One

Mike Barraza — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:18:23 -0400

In the sport of mixed martial arts, upsets can, and do, happen all the time. The unstoppable fighter at the top of the game can be brought down in a split second from a punch, kick, knee, submission, cut, etc.

This is what makes watching MMA so exciting and fresh. So let's take a look at some of the biggest upsets that have taken place in a ring or cage.

20. Kazushi Sakuraba vs Antonio Schembri

The legendary Kazushi Sakuraba was still a very game opponent during the time of his fight with Schembri, with his only losses to Wanderlei Silva (x2), Igor Vovchanchyn (after the Royce fight), and Mirko Cro Cop.

Saku was the huge favorite in this fight and totally dominated it until he got a little careless, and Schembri landed a devastating set of knees to Kazushi's face that ended the fight.

19. Kazushi Sakuraba vs Royce Gracie

In their epic 90-minute battle during PRIDE's 2000 Open Weight GP, Sakuraba punished Royce and became the first man to truly beat the MMA legend after Royce's brother threw in the towel.

18. Wanderlei Silva vs Ricardo Arona

This fight wasn't for Wanderlei's middleweight title, but it was his first loss at middleweight during his PRIDE career at the time. Silva and Arona locked horns during the PRIDE Middleweight GP 2005 in the semifinals of the tournament.

If Wanderlei had won, he would've met his stablemate, Shogun Rua, in the finals, but Arona prevented that by pounding out a victory over "the Axe Murderer."

17. Randy Couture vs Vitor Belfort

This would be one of many upsets for Randy Couture. Vitor, at the time, was called "the Phenom" for good reason; he was fast, powerful, well conditioned, and had great boxing skills. He was considered the future of the sport; that is, until Randy Couture came along and stopped him by TKO at 8:16 into the match, becoming Vitor's first loss.

16. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic

Mirko Cro Cop was coming into the UFC after winning the PRIDE 2006 Open Weight GP and shortly after, he defeated Eddie Sanchez in his UFC debut. He was then set to fight Gabriel Gonzaga for a shot at Randy Couture for the heavyweight title.

Everyone thought Cro Cop would massacre Gonzaga and then do the same to Couture and every other heavyweight in the UFC. Everyone except Couture that is, but even he didn't expect Gonzaga to win the fight with one of the most brutal head-kick knockouts of all time.

15. Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Mar. 16, 2003. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was considered the BEST mixed martial artist in the world and was PRIDE's heavyweight champion for the past two years. He had beaten giants like Bob Sapp and Semmy Schilt, and top fighters like Jeremy Horn, Dan Henderson, Heath Herring, and Mark Coleman.

He looked unstoppable until a little-known Russian fighter named Fedor Emelianenko came to PRIDE from the RINGS organization and worked his way to their title fight that night in Japan.

For 20 minutes, Fedor fought on the ground with one of the most technical ground fighters in MMA and pounded him, escaped all submission attempts, and left Nogueira beaten so badly that his corner had to lift him up after the fight. Fedor became the Champ and the rest is history.

14. Chris Horodecki vs Ryan Schultz

Chris Horodecki was one of the IFL's biggest and youngest talents with an undefeated 11-0 record including a win over Schultz in 2006. Then, in 2007, during the IFL World Grand Prix finals, Horodecki and Schultz met again, with Schultz winning the fight in devastating fashion by pounding Horodecki on the ground while he had him in something similar to a chicken wing. With the win, Schultz became the first IFL Champion.

13. Takanori Gomi vs Marcus Aurelio

Takanori Gomi was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet and was on a huge win streak with victories over Ralph Gracie, Jens Pulver, Luiz Azerado (x2), Charles Bennett, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Hayato Sakurai until his fight with Aurelio.

It took Aurelio 4:34 into the first round to take Gomi down and secure a side choke or arm triangle choke and become the first guy to beat Gomi in PRIDE and the third to beat him in MMA.

12. Shinya Aoki vs Joachim Hansen

Shinya Aoki is one of the best and most talented fighters on the planet right now, and he was heavily favored to win the DREAM 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix. After Joachim Hansen lost to Eddie Alvarez, everyone was set for Aoki-Alvarez in the finals. But Alvarez had to pull out due to an injury and Hansen, who Aoki already beat in PRIDE, was set to take his place. To everyone's surprise, Hansen defeated Aoki at 4:19 of the first round by TKO and became the first DREAM Lightweight Champion.

11. Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell

At the time of Randy-Chuck I, Chuck, one of the most feared fighters of the time, was on a big win streak in the UFC and was clearly the No. 1 contender for the title. Randy, on the other hand, was 40-years old, coming off two losses at heavyweight to Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, and coming out of retirement to fight Liddell for the UFC Interim Light-Heavyweight Championship.

Randy was known for causing upsets, but a lot of people counted him out after losing twice and retiring, and of course, the fact that he was 40 and fighting Chuck Liddell. But that night, Randy proved once again that you should never bet against him when he executed an ingenious gameplan of attacking Chuck, engaging in the stand-up, closing the distance, taking him down, and eventually pounding the Iceman to a TKO victory.

These picks are in no order and off the top of my head. Stay tuned for part two: 10-1.

MMA: Fedor Does It Again At Affliction: Banned

Mike Barraza — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:45:17 -0400

Fedor Emelianenko proved once again why he is the No. 1 Heavyweight Mixed Martial Artist in the world last night when he defeated Tim Sylvia in just 36 seconds of the first round at Affliction: Banned.

It was just one of seven fights that didn't go the distance at Affliction's debut MMA show last night that featured guys like Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, Ben Rothwell, Pedro Rizzo, Matt Lindland, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to name a few.

Fight Results:

Paul Buentello def. Gary Goodridge by Unanimous Decision

Vitor Belfort def. Terry Martin by KO in Round Two

Mike Pyle def. JJ Ambrose by Rear naked choke in Round One

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Edwin Dewees by TKO in Round One

Matt Lindland def. Fabio Nagao by Unanimous Decision

Renato Babalu Sobral def. Mike Whitehead by Unaniomous Decision

Mark Hominick def. Savant Young by Armbar in Round Two

Josh Barnett def. Pedro Rizzo by KO in Round Two

Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell by KO in Round Three

Fedor Emelianenko def. Tim Sylvia by Rear Naked Choke in Round One

It was a night of exciting Heavyweight bouts starting with Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo's stand up battle that ended in surprise when Barnett knocked out the Brazilian with a devastating left hook and finished him off with a couple of hammer strikes.

Andrei Arlovski put on a stand up clinic with Ben Rothwell and showed the Heavyweight division that he is still a threat. His training with Freddie Roach has obviously paid off and now he is in a position to challenge Fedor for the WAMMA title, but he might have to get through Barnett first.

The main event of the night was Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia. It didn't disappoint, unless you don't like it when fights don't last longer than a minute. Sylvia, walking to the ring with an American flag around his neck, was welcomed with boos from the audience while Fedor, who was stoic as always, was given a very loud ovation from the sold out arena.

The fight started with both men touching gloves in the center of the ring, Tim threw a left jab that Fedor avoided. The two moved to one side of the ring and that's when the beginning of the end started.

Fedor faked a right hook followed by a lightning fast left hook that landed, then a right hook that missed. They locked up for about half a second and then Fedor threw a left uppercut followed by a left hook. From there it was a right hook, left hook, right hook, left hook, right hook, and finally a left hook that sent Sylvia to the canvas.

Once Tim hit the ground, Fedor used his body and head as a punching bag eventually making Sylvia turtle up. That's when Emelianenko secured his hooks, rolled the big man over and sunk in the choke. At just 36 seconds in the first round, Fedor Emelianenko defeated Tim Sylvia and became the first WAMMA Heavyweight Champion.

After the fight, Fedor was asked who he would like to fight next which is usually when he says something like "whoever they put me against," but this time he called out Randy Couture, who happened to be in attendance.

The two faced each other in the middle of the ring and both agreed they would like to fight. Couture cited his contractual disputes with the UFC as being the obstacle in the way of that fight happening.

Even Dana White seemed impressed by the Russian's performance as he was quoted after learning that Fedor dispatched of Sylvia in less than a minute:

"It does (change my opinion)..." "Tim Sylvia was a real opponent."

And who wouldn't be impressed by a guy that finished Sylvia faster than both Couture or Nogueira or anyone for that matter?

All in all Affliction put on a great first show, I hope they have the same success in their future events. I know I'll be watching.

The Spider vs. The Last Russian Emperor: Who's the #1 P4P Fighter Alive?

Mike Barraza — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:11:28 -0400

In the sport of MMA there are four men that are most commonly referred to as being the best pound for pound fighters in the world: Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Fedor Emelianenko, and BJ Penn.

Out of those four, two are the topic of most debates: Fedor "The Last Russian Emperor" Emelianenko and Anderson "The Spider" Silva.

So which fighter is the best? Fedor, or Anderson? I'll answer that question, or try to, by looking at both men's careers, their opponents they've beaten, how dominant each man has been, and try to compare and come up with a winner.

Anderson Silva(21-4-0)

Chris Leben- First round TKO

Rich Franklin(twice)- First round TKO, Second round TKO

Travis Lutter- Second round submission

Nate Marquardt- First round TKO

Dan Henderson- Second round submission

Anderson Silva has been a very dominant fighter since he entered the UFC, and outside of the UFC he holds notable wins over Carlos Newton, Hayato Sakurai, Jeremy Horn, and Jorge Rivera. He also has losses to Luiz Azerado, Daiju Takase, Ryo Chonan, and Yushin Okami(disqualification from illegal head kick) that he has yet to avenge. Out of 21 wins, 12 have not gone past the first round.

Fedor Emelianenko

Semmy Schilt- Unanimous Decision

Heath Herring- First round TKO(doctor stoppage)

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira(twice)- Unanimous decision(twice)

Kazuyuki Fujita- First round submission

Mark Coleman(twice)- First round submission, Second round submission

Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic- Unanimous Decision

Fedor Emelianenko hasn't lost a round since 2001, and his only loss, due to a cut from an illegal elbow strike in a 2000 match with Tsuyoshi Khosaka, was avenged in a rematch in 2005 that ended in the first round. He holds notable wins over Ricardo Arona, Renato Babalu Sobral, Naoya Ogawa, Mark Hunt, and Matt Lindland. Out of 28 wins, 19 have not gone past the first round.

The Comparison:

Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko are both very talented and dominant fighters with similar opponents they've beaten in terms of rankings and significance.

Anderson has beaten Rich Franklin twice, which could be equaled to Fedor beating current UFC Interim Heavyweight champ and top ten pound for pound fighter Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on two occasions.

Fedor holds wins over Mirko Cro Cop and Heath Herring, which is equal to Anderson's wins over Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt. Anderson's wins over Chris Leben, Travis Lutter, Hayato Sakurai, Jeremy Horn, and Tony Fryklund are arguably the same as Fedor beating Kevin Randleman, Kazuyuki Fujita, Ricardo Arona, Naoya Ogawa, and Mark Coleman.

Both men have also faced opponents that have never had any big name wins or rankings. So it would appear that they are equal right? Wrong. One difference is that Anderson has four losses to unranked fighters(except Okami) that he hasnt avenged, while Fedor has only one loss that he has avenged.

Fedor has also fought more, won more, finished more fights in the first round, been completely dominant in every fight that has gone the distance since 2002, and has yet to be finished in a fight.

Fedor may not be fighting top competition now, like Anderson is, but he was fighting top guys when Anderson wasn't. Until someone can surpass his dominance, or beat him, Emelianenko is still king in my book.

Winner: Fedor Emelianenko

I know a lot of you will think I'm biased or dumb, but let me just say that I am a huge fan of both fighters and I just went with who I think is best. But enough chat, let the hate filled comments begin!