Outside the Pocket

UFC curiously attempting to sever ties with AKA

2008-11-20T03:56:00.004-06:00

While doing some late-night web browsing, I came across some interesting articles regarding the UFC and one of the top MMA gyms in the country, American Kickboxing Academy.

Evidently, some AKA fighters have refused to re-sign with the UFC due to a provision in their contracts which would force them to surrender the rights to their likeness for life to the UFC. The fighters have wanted to negotiate these very valuable merchandising rights, and the UFC has taken a strict take it or leave it policy.

This could have huge implications for the UFC and MMA in the U.S. as a whole. Top UFC fighters such as Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Cain Velasquez and Mike Swick train with AKA and if they all were to leave the UFC, they could provide the kind of starpower that could propel a rival MMA promotion to the level on which the UFC currently sits.

It also will take quite a few stars out of the UFC. Fitch's last fight was a loss to George St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title. Koscheck is a TUF season-one alum and one of the most well known fighters TUF has produced. Swick was also a member of the first season of TUF and has amassed a 7-1 record inside the Octagon while splitting his time between welterweight and middleweight. And Velasquez is one of the few, young prospects in the very thin, very weak heavyweight division. In fact, Koscheck and Fitch are considered two of the top-10 welterweights in the world, while most consider Swick in the top 15.

Add the loss of these AKA fighters to the fighters that have recently been released by the UFC and Zuffa Inc. (the company that owns the UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting) and the UFC seems to be letting go of some of its top fighters.

The UFC/Zuffa has recently cut Marcus Aurelio, Fabricio Werdum, Paulo Filho and Jason Lambert and could add Fitch, Koscheck, Swick and Velasquez. All of these fighters, except Lambert, have been cut within the last week. That means that in the span of a single week, Zuffa has parted ways with three top-15 welterweights (Fitch, Koscheck and Swick), a top-20 lightweight who holds a victory over Takanori Gomi, one of the top-three lightweights in the world (Aurelio), a top-10 heavyweight (Werdum), a top-10 middleweight (Filho) and one of the few prospects it has at heavyweight (Velasquez).

The potential winner in this situation could be Strikeforce, the San Jose, Calif.-based MMA organization. Strikeforce is one of the few MMA promoters that actually makes money because it specializes in building local stars while having a few elite fighters on the roster. Considering AKA is also located in San Jose, if Strikeforce were to sign the quartet of AKA refugees, Strikeforce could make a move to increase its operation and rival the UFC. Throw in the fact that Strikeforce has been signing some of the top Japanese fighters (namely Kazuo Misaki and Yoshihiro Akiyama, both of whom the UFC needs to challenge Anderson Silva) and it has a roster that has plenty of fighters that can sell pay-per-views.

The exodus of the AKA from the UFC is not entirely surprising, though. For years, the UFC has been able to use the fact that it is the only viable MMA organization in North America as leverage to bully fighters. It knows it's the top dog and so do the fighters, so in the past, fighters have caved to the UFC's demands. However, the UFC may have bitten off more than it could chew with this one. Severing connections with one of the nation's top gyms is a bad move on the UFC's part. AKA has a track record of producing top-level fighters and it will likely produce more great fighters and the fact the UFC won't have access to them means their competitors are going to get future stars without having to worry about competing with the UFC.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next couple of months, but I think Dana White and the UFC will end up regretting making this decision.

A look at the title pictures in the UFC

2008-11-18T21:32:00.003-06:00

On Saturday, The UFC completed it's UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar pay-per-view. The main event featured the ever popular Randy "The Natural" Couture losing the UFC heavyweight championship belt to former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar in what the UFC billed as "the biggest fight in UFC history." Lesnar winning the belt could mean a new era is dawning in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Naturally, this got me to thinking about what this means to the heavyweight division and, as an extension, the rest of the weight classes. So here's a mix of speculation and what I'd like to see happen in each of the weight classes as far as future championship fights.

Heavyweight
Current champ: Brock Lesnar
Contenders: Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir, Gabriel Gonzaga

Lesnar's victory over Couture was a monumental victory. The fact that Lesnar has only four pro fights, yet is the new champ creates an interesting situation where the top fighter in the heavyweight division is vastly inexperienced. On Dec. 27, the UFC will stage the next part of its heavyweight tournament when Mir fights Nogueira for the right to take on Lesnar in 2009.

I doubt Lesnar will be able to defend his belt considering his submission defense has looked suspect in his young career, and seeing how Mir and Nogueira are world-class grapplers, I would look for Lesnar to get submitted regardless of who he faces. From there, there really aren't any contenders in what is arguably the UFC's weakest division. Couture is 45 and no one knows how many fights he has left. The Nogueira vs. Mir loser will probably have to win a couple of fights before he gets another crack at the belt, and Gonzaga really has padded his 10-3 record against opponents of little consequence. Consider that Gonzaga is 6-2 inside the octagon, yet outside of his upset victory over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, he has defeated Carmelo Marrero (1-2 UFC, now fights at light heavyweight), Kevin Jordan (0-2 UFC, 2-3 in his last five fights), Fabiano Scherner (7-7 overall, 0-2 UFC, 2-6 with one No Contest in his last nine fights), Justin McCully (1-1 UFC) and Josh Hendricks (0-1 UFC). Overall, Gonzaga's wins inside the octagon have come against opponents that have a combined record of 73-30-4, but a 3-10 record in the UFC.

The only other option, aside from making a big signing outside the organization, could be either Cain Velasquez or Shane Carwin--two young prospects the UFC has high hopes for. Both are young, but Lesnar won't defend his belt until spring '09 at the very earliest, and it may not be until summer or fall. That would give Carwin and Velasquez some time to get some more fights under their belt. Currently, neither Carwin nor Velasquez are ready to challenge for the belt, but then again, neither was Lesnar.

Next: light heavyweight

First polls released

2008-10-31T14:59:00.003-05:00

This week, both the AP and Coaches preseason men's college basketball polls were released.

North Carolina was unanimously named the No. 1 team by both polls and with good reason. The Tar Heels are returning a roster that is almost as talented as an NBA team. Almost every player from last year is returning, and the Tar Heels put together a top-notch recruiting class to boot. With reigning National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough (22.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg), Wayne Ellington (16.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Danny Green (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Ty Lawson (12.7 ppg, 5.2 apg) UNC is clearly the favorites heading into this basketball season.

As far as surprises in the polls, I found it surprising to see Tennessee ranked so low (No. 14 AP, No. 13 Coaches). The Vols did lose Chris Lofton and Jajuan Smith, but I think they could be better this season. Last season, Lofton didn't look like his old self, probably because he was battling cancer. However, losing Lofton isn't going to hurt UT as much as people think. Taking his place will be Scotty Hopson, Rivals.com's No. 5 prospect in 2008. Throw him in there with three other top 70-prospects (Emmanuel Negedu, Renaldo Wooolridge and Philip Jurick) and an already talented roster featuring Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince, and surely the Vols are a top-10 team. They are at least better than the AP's No. 13 team, Memphis.

Primm done

2008-10-17T13:24:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday, Oct. 15, former MTSU student and Murfreesboro native Shane Primm was defeated by rear naked choke in a quarterfinal bout against Team Mir's Eliot Marshall on season eight of "The Ultimate Fighter." The loss most likely ends Primm's chances of winning the show since his only possibilities of returning would come if another fighter leaves the show due to injury, misconduct, etc., and since Primm was beaten in dominating fashion, it is unlikely he would be the first choice to return.

Troy embarrasses FAU on national TV

2008-10-08T02:19:00.005-05:00

The defending Sun Belt Conference champion, Florida Atlantic, saw its chance of repeating as SBC champs greatly diminish on Tuesday.

Troy put a 30-17 schooling on the Owls in front of a national audience on ESPN.

Here are a few thoughts on the game:

Penalties, penalties, penalties

These teams did not do their conference proud on national TV. There were so many penalties in the first quarter that it made one wonder if these two squads were really Division I-A (I'm protesting renaming it FBS) teams. There were 11 total penalties in the game with nine coming in the first quarter alone. To make matters worse, most of the penalties were the kind that result from mental errors. Of the first quarter penalties, six were false starts or offsides infractions.

What happened to FAU?

FAU won the conference last season and returned nearly its entire team from a year ago. The Owls had eight players appear on the preseason All-SBC First Team, including five on defense. Cornerback Tavious Polo picked off seven passes last season. Quarterback Rusty Smith is the reigning SBC Player of the Year and linebacker Frantz Joseph is the preseason SBC Defensive Player of the Year, yet this team is 1-5 with a disappointing 0-2 conference record. Despite all the talent on defense, the Owls are giving up 30.7 points a game. On paper, this is easily the most talented team in the conference, but it sure hasn't played like it.

What happened to Rusty Smith?

Statistically, Smith was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 2007. He completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 3,688 yards (283.7 per game) and 32 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. He had the look of a guy that could make it into the NFL after his senior season. He had the NFL size (6-5, 212) and some amazing numbers as just a sophomore. However, he's taken a huge step back this season. Smith has a measly 48.8 completion percentage for 1,367 yards (227.8 per game) with five touchdowns and nine interceptions. Of the seven SBC quarterbacks that have thrown at least 100 passes this season, Smith ranks seventh in pass efficiency. Also, he's thrown a whopping eight interceptions over his last three games.

Turnovers

Last season, FAU had an incredible +18 turnover margin. This season, the Owls have committed 16 turnovers and forced five. In 2007, cornerbacks Tavious Polo and Corey Small combined to intercept 12 passes, the highest total among cornerback duos. Thus far, they have managed only one pick apiece. Polo is suffering the same fate as Smith--after looking like a potential pro in 2007, he's looked average in 2008. On the flip side, FAU needs to coach its players on how to hold onto the ball. In six games, the Owls have fumbled the ball 12 times. How many other teams out there fumble twice every game?

Troy is just one of those teams

Although it is on a much smaller scale, Troy is one of those teams that every season just make you say, "How are they that good this year?" The Trojans are 3-2 (2-0 SBC) despite the fact they lost all their stars from a year ago. In fact, they lost their top starter at every skill position on offense from the 2007 team. Gone is SBC Offensive Player of the Year Omar Haugabook. No more Kenny Cattouse, former starting running back. Starting receiver Gary Banks has departed. And don't forget corner Leodis McKelvin, taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Despite all the personnel losses, it looks as though Troy and Arkansas State are going to be duking it out for the SBC title.

FAU plays dirty

Following MTSU's win over FAU on Sept. 30, one MTSU player told me that the Owls are a dirty team, and after watching them tonight it's clear to see the truth in that statement. FAU receiver purposefully tore the helmet off MTSU cornerback Ted Riley last Tuesday; a foul that was completely unnecessary. Against Troy, the Owls were no more tact. Of FAU's seven penalties against the Trojans, one was a personal foul, one was an illegal block in the back and another was a face mask. FAU appears as they have no respect for their opponents, which is unfortunate considering how terrible they've played.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen

2008-10-06T02:21:00.004-05:00

For the first time in my young, 22 year-old life, the University of Tennessee is not the best team in the state.

That distinction, oddly enough, goes to Vanderbilt, a 5-0 team that boasts wins over Auburn, South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Unfortunately for the Vols, they're not even the second-best squad in the state. That title belongs to the forgotten child of Tennessee football, MTSU. Yes that may be a controversial statement, but the 2-3 Blue Raiders hold wins over Maryland and Florida Atlantic, while UT has managed to defeat UAB and Northern Illinois. It's going to be difficult to convince someone that the Vols possess better wins than MTSU.

In fact, Tennessee may not be the third-team in the state, but they sure are giving Memphis a run for its money. The Tigers are 3-3 with wins over UAB, Nicholls State and Arkansas State. Both have beaten UAB, however, Memphis did it at UAB while UT was playing on its home turf. Normally I would say UT would have won even if the game was played in Antartica, but I'm not so sure considering the Vols only managed one touchdown against Northern Illinois. Also, Northern Illinois doesn't look like a contender for the MAC title while Arkansas State is one of the early favorites to take the Sun Belt crown, and given that the MAC and SBC are fairly comparable conferences, I'd give a slight edge to the Tigers.

So, that leaves UT as the fourth-best football team in the state of Tennessee, behind a perennial SEC doormat, a school that has been playing D-I football for about 10 years and a basketball school from Conference USA.

At least they're still better than Chattanooga

Tennessee football--how pathetic can one team be?

2008-10-06T02:17:00.003-05:00

Tennessee-13, Northern Illinois-9. 'Nuff said.

Petruzelli takes a Slice out of Kimbo

2008-10-06T01:06:00.003-05:00

Many people who have been waiting for Youtube sensation turned mixed martial artist, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson falter finally got their wish on Saturday.

The former street brawler who rose to fame through a series of viral videos finally experienced the first hiccup in his short and controversial MMA career.

Slice was TKO'd by "The Ultimate Fighter" season-two contestant Seth Petruzelli in only 14 seconds. The loss was a devastating one for the inexperienced Slice, who has been headlining EliteXC cards despite the fact that he has only four professional fights to his credit.

I've had mixed feelings about Slice's MMA career and must confess that I am not disappointed to see him lose. He had turned into an enormous hype machine that was built more on style than substance, and EliteXC has exploited his internet fame from day one.

My biggest beef with Slice has been his reputation. I've talked with many people who think that Kimbo could knockout any living person based solely on some backyard fights they've seen on the internet.

These people tend to ignore the fact he is 34 years-old, has only been training MMA for about a year-and-a-half and has never truly been tested. His supporters like to point to the devastating knockouts of Bo Cantrell and Tank Abbott, as well as his submission victory over former heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer. Nobody mentions that Mercer was 46 years-old, with little to no training when it comes to ground fighting when they fought or that Abbott, who even in his prime was little more than a street fighter like Kimbo, had lost seven of his previous eight fights heading into his fight with Slice and had won one fight since 1998. Cantrell has a 10-11 pro record and his loss to Slice was his fifth defeat in a row.

Then there is the James Thompson fight--the fight I thought would hush all those lauding Kimbo as the greatest heavyweight of all-time. Slice defeated Thompson in the third round of their scrap in controversial fashion. Nevermind that Thompson was winning the fight on all judges' scorecards or that he at one point landed something like 30 unanswered strikes to a prone Slice. The biggest revelation to come out of that fight was the fact that Slice was unable to KO Thompson. Now, officially he did receive the TKO victory, but many believed the fight was stopped early. The fact that Slice was unable to put "The Colossus" to sleep was unforgivable. After all, Thompson has been knocked out an astonishing eight times in 23 fights. The man is notorious for having a glass jaw and the great brawler could not knock him out.

The Thompson fight also exposed Kimbo's non-existent ground game. Thompson was taking Slice down with lumbering takedowns for which Kimbo had no defense. If he couldn't defend the takedown against Thomspon, what's going to happen to him if he ever fights someone with even an average ground game?

After bashing Kimbo for the previous three paragraphs, I will give him some props. He does possess that "you've gotta see it" factor. I, like many others, have watched his fights on the internet and the dude can beat the poo out of people. I have seen all of his fights because, I must admit, I'm interested in seeing him fight. It's probably naive to expect people to grade Kimbo on his merit and not his hype, but he is a spectacle that makes you want to see him knock someone's teeth out. And, win or lose, I'll still tune in.

It's interesting to see where Petruzelli goes from here. He wore out his status as a prospect after compiling a 0-2 record in the UFC, and a win over Slice does not make "The Silverback" a contender. But his management has to love this win.

Petruzelli, regardless of whether he wins another fight, is a promotable figure that can always be billed as the guy that beat Kimbo Slice. Even if he flares out on the national stage, his name will be big enough to headline smaller shows for the rest of his career.

The big question though, is where do Kimbo and Petruzelli go from here? Slice looks like he's been knocked down a peg, and it will be interesting to see how EliteXC markets him from now on. I think his next fight will be against Ken Shamrock, his original opponent for this card, but after that I don't know what the organization will do with him. He's obviously still a crowd-drawing name, but to retain that luster he's going to have to win. It's going to be difficult for EliteXC to find beatable opponents for him that they can sell. Sure, they could go out and get some no-name and throw him to the wolves; people will watch Slice regardless of who he's facing, but to really get the people watching, it's going to have to be a name people recognize.

Petruzelli's situation is even more complicated. I don't think the Kimbo win gives him enough fame to headline a card, but he's definitely main-card material. Does this victory turn him into a contender? I don't know, but I would have to say probably not. Another issue is Petruzelli's weight class. He has competed at heavyweight in the past, but he's a natural 205er. His original fight was to be held at light heavyweight, but the Slice fight was worth it for him to move up. I've read rumors that he could fight EliteXC light-heavyweight champ Rafael Feijao next, and that fight would certainly be marketable.

If I were EliteXC I would pit Slice against Shamrock next and beyond that maybe they can convince Justin Eilers to move back to heavyweight or perhaps they'll give him a crack at Jon Murphy, it's difficult to tell. As for Petruzelli, I think he will probably get a fight against someone he can easily beat, again, maybe Eilers, and then let him have a go at Feijao.

Primm still in running to become Ultimate Fighter

2008-09-18T02:43:00.005-05:00

Former MTSU student and Murfreesboro, Tenn. native Shane Primm has survived the first episode of "The Ultimate Fighter," sort of.

The first episode featured eight fights and saw nine fighters eliminated (eight fighters who lost their preliminary bouts plus Jason Guida, who didn't make weight). So far, so good for Primm. Primm didn't fight in the season debut, so there's still no telling whether or not he made it into the fighter house.

The good thing for Primm is that it appears that many of the favorites in the light-heavyweight class fought on the first show. Antwain Britt, Ryan Jimmo, Krzysztof Soszynski and Vinicius Magalhaes all fought on the first show. Magalhaes and Soszynski have to be considered among the favorites to win the competition while Britt and Jimmo were highly touted prospects.

Also eliminated was Jason Guida, who was the most experienced fighter on the show with 34 professional fights. UFC fighter Clay Guida's brother was unable to make weight, and while he wasn't considered a prospect or a favorite to win the whole thing, there were definite expectations for him to win at least a fight or two.

Another fighter of note that did not advance in the 205 lbs. division was Lance Evans. Evans is not considered a prospect nor was he expected to be a mover and shaker during "TUF" but he is well known for being UFC light-heavyweight contender Rashad Evans older brother.

While Primm's opponent for the next episode is unknown and this week's episode eliminated a lot of tough bouts for the 23-year old.

Ryan "Darth" Bader is 7-0 and trains out of Arizona Combat Sports. ACS is a very respected gym that serves as the training home for last season's "TUF" finalist C.B. Dollaway and WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner. Of the twelve fighters that are not eliminated, Bader has to be considered one of the top five favorites.

Kyle Kingsbury (7-1) trains out of American Kickboxing Academy which boasts numerous current and former UFC fighters, including Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez, Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson, Rich Crunkilton and Paul Buentello. AKA can certainly boast a roster full of top-level fighters. Kingsbury also will be one of the bigger competitors considering he used to compete at heavyweight and has a 6' 4" frame.

Eliot Marshall (5-1) trains in Colorado in the well traveled Duane "Bang" Ludwig's camp. He also is a former Ring of Fire light-heavyweight champion. ROF is a smaller promotion which has served as a platform which fighters can cut their teeth before hitting the big time. Marshall has trained with former ROF vets Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, now a contender for Varner's WEC title, Luke Caudillo, a UFC vet, and Shane Carwin, one of the UFC's top heavyweight prospects.

Tom Lawlor (4-1) should be no stranger to Primm, considering Primm's only pro fight was against Lawlor. While Primm did win that contest, it was a disqualification 24 seconds into the first round. Lawlor trains with one of the top camps in the nation in American Top Team. ATT is the home of numerous elite fighters, including Thiago Alves, Marcus Aurelio, Mike Brown, Roan Carneiro, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante, Yves Edwards, Luigi Fioravanti, Wilson Gouveia, Denis Kang, Jeff Monson, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, Thiago Silva and many, many more. In fact, there are at least 22 fighters from ATT that have fought in either the UFC or the defunct PRIDE organization. Who knows how good Lawlor is, but he certainly comes from a top camp.

As promised, I am posting the link to my story about Primm. Take a look at it if you want to know more about him.

http://media.www.mtsusidelines.com/media/storage/paper202/news/2008/09/15/Sports/Former.Mt.Student.To.Compete.For.Ufc.Contract-3430307.shtml

I hate to sound biased, but I have talked to him twice (once over the phone and once in person) and he seems like a good guy, so I'll definitely be rooting for him on the show

Friday night game makes it worth staying in

2008-09-12T22:37:00.001-05:00

In what will probably turn out to be the best game that nobody saw this weekend, USF was able to pull out a win against Kansas thanks to some last-minute heroics from kicker Maikon Bonani.

Considering that ESPN has been saturating the viewing public with its coverage of the "Collision at the Coliseum" between Ohio State and USC, it wouldn't be surprising to know that many viewers were unaware of the clash between the No. 13 Jayhawks and No. 19 Bulls, but in case you missed it, here's a brief recap of the game.

Kansas gained an early lead when quarterback Todd Reesing hooked up with Jonathan Wilson for a 36 yard touchdown pass 6:09 into the game. The Jayhawks added a field goal to build a 10-0 first quarter lead.

USF got on the board in the second quarter when Bonani connected on a 34 yard field goal. Kansas responded by scoring a touchdown and field goal to bring the Bulls' deficit to 20-3 with 3:24 left in the first half. However, the Bulls were able to score on a 28 yard rush from quarterback Matt Grothe to head into the locker room with a manageable 20-10 deficit.

USF started the second half with a vengeance, outscoring the Jayhawks 17-0 in the third quarter. If you add in Grothe's pre-halftime touchdown and a touchdown pass in the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Bulls scored 31 unanswered points.

Kansas was not ready to quit though. The Jayhawks scored two touchdowns to even the score at 34, and with just under two minutes to go, were looking to march down the field to get the game-clinching score. From his own 40 yard line, Reesing chucked a pass downfield into the Bulls' territory and was picked off by Nate Allen who returned the interception 40 yards to the KU 27.

The Bulls ran the ball, called a timeout and left their fate in the hands of the freshman Bonani. Bonani kicked the 43 yarder into the air and after the ball appeared to be headed wide right, it curved in to narrowly squeeze through the goal posts.

The USF players then swarmed the field and put the Brazilian kicker on their shoulders as they carried him to the sideline in an inspiring moment.

It was an exciting finish to a game that had more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan film.

It's going to be unfortunate that the one memorable moment from the game will be Reesing's costly interception. One could say he cost them the game, but without its junior quarterback, Kansas wouldn't have been in the game.

Reesing finished the game 34 of 51 for 373 yards with three passing touchdowns to go along with a rushing touchdown, and, aside from his last-minute interception, committed no turnovers.

In fact, both QB's played well.

Grothe, in an equally gutsy performance, completed 32 of 45 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 30 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

These two quarterbacks are probably the best signal-callers in college football that won't play in the NFL. Both of them are good passers with above-average wheels for a quarterback. Unfortunately, another trait they share is that they're both short. Reesing is listed at 5-11, while Grothe checks in at 6-0, and those heights are probably generous by an inch apiece.

The quarterbacks weren't the only impressive performers tonight--George Selvie, USF's star defensive end, is an absolute beast. Selvie already has a lot of NFL buzz around him and it's easy to see why. He was blowing by the Kansas tackles and was often in the backfield before Reesing had finished dropping back. While he is a little small for a pro defensive end, Selvie has some serious athletic ability, and the NFL draft has seen plenty of sub-260 lbs. ends taken in the first round in recent drafts. Who knows, maybe we'll see Selvie do something akin to what Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman did when he entered the draft.

Merriman was listed at 245 lbs. in college, but showed up at the combine tipping the scales at a much heavier 275 lbs. which improved his stock.

Now onto the coverage of the game.

Perhaps I've been a poor college football fan this week, but I was unaware these two were going to be going at it tonight until I saw the game mentioned on the ESPN bottom line while watching SportsCenter. It's a shame that this game received such little attention from the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

ESPN has been so busy giving the OSU-USC game the Super Bowl treatment, that no other football story, other than the Vince Young fiasco, has received any attention. Every sports radio and TV program has had such a fetish with "Beanie" Wells' injured foot, that they forgot to mention there would be a contest between two top-20 teams...in primetime...on Friday...with a baseball game between the Rays and the Yankees the only other sports programming on television.

Part of the problem could be that both these teams are relatively new to the national spotlight. USF has been competing in the Big East for less than a decade and Kansas has toiled in mediocrity for what seems like forever. Kansas Head Coach Mark Mangino provided a hilarious quote last season when he said about the Jayhawks' ineptitude in football, "Anybody can have a bad century."

These two squads weren't even relevant until last season when both put together great seasons and were nationally ranked for much of the season, but the tradition for both of these programs lies mostly in the 2007 season. They don't have the NFL pedigree of a USC or a tradition like Ohio State, but USF and Kansas look like programs on the rise and tonight can't hurt either teams' reputation.

I really hope the Buckeyes-Trojans game (I won't be watching it since MTSU will be playing Kentucky at the same time) turns out to be a real barn-burner, because if not, then everyone may have just missed the best game of the weekend.

War Machine released by the UFC

2008-09-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

The former Jon Koppenhaver, who, in Chad Johnson-like fashion, has legally changed his name to "War Machine" has been released from his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championships according to mmajunkie.com.

The reasons for Mr. Machine's release apparently center around a blog post he made regarding the recently deceased Evan Tanner and for turning down a fight because he felt his opponent was not as well known as he would have liked.

Unfortunately for War Machine, his name doesn't resonate with enough fans for him to bring about such a grievance.

All of his popularity was derived from his stint on the Spike TV reality show, "The Ultimate Fighter," where he lost his only fight on the show and looked bad doing it. While on TUF, he was accused of possessing a lack of confidence, refusing to listen to coaches and just having a bad attitude.

Koppenhaver, War Machine, whatever you want to call him, was able to save some face on the TUF season six finale when he defeated cast mate Jared Rollins via TKO at 2:01 in the night's Fight of the Night. Rollins had War Machine mounted and was raining down punches when an exhausted Koppenhaver was able to reverse positions on Rollins and land some punches of his own before the referee stopped the fight.

The UFC is going to miss War Machine like it would a toothache. It is laughable that a guy with a 5-2 pro record, according to sherdog.com, and a 1-1 record in the UFC would have the audacity to pick his own opponents. Considering he would likely have been relegated to the untelevised, undercard portion of any UFC card he would appear on, what should he care who his opponent is? He should be more concern with getting some wins inside the octagon, because unless you're Brock Lesnar or a late replacement, you are not going to get on the main card with a 5-2 record when your five wins came against fighters that are a combined 18-28. In fact, had he accepted the proposed fight with Brandon Wolff and won, he could build on that victory and inch his way towards the televised portion of the fight card.

Instead, it looks as though Koppenhaver is going to have to hit the regional circuit again and start over with his career.

In other TUF-related news, I recently conducted an interview with season eight participant Shane Primm, a former MTSU student and Murfreesboro, Tenn. native. Primm now lives in Tampa, Fla. and trains at Gracie Tampa with renowned trainer Rob Kahn.

Primm is the fourth fighter from Gracie Tampa to appear on TUF. Allen "Monsta Lobstah" Berube, Matt Arroyo and Brandon Sene each appeared on the fifth, sixth and seventh seasons, respectively.

When I write my article for Sidelines, I will post a link for anyone interested.

Also, here's the link to the story on mmajunkie.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/5275/war-machine-ufc-cut-me-over-declined-fight-evan-tanner-comments.mma

On the interweb

2008-09-12T19:22:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone and welcome to Outside the Pocket. I will be blogging about sports with heavy emphasis on mixed martial arts, football and (as the season nears) basketball. Look for my first real post to come very soon.