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return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_3351" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/melendez1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-3351" title="melendez" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/melendez1.jpg" alt="Gilbert Melendez" width="298" height="400"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">With headliner Gilbert Melendez suffering an injury in training, Showtime elected not to air Saturday’s Strikeforce card. (Mike Roach/Getty Images)</p></div> <p>The first 11 years of Zuffa’s involvement in the mixed martial arts business: zero fight card cancellations. The last four weeks: two events nixed.</p> <p>Strikeforce has called off this Saturday’s event scheduled for Sacramento, Calif., after headliner Gilbert Melendez, who was to defend his lightweight championship against Pat Healy, was injured in training last week. The announcement came with the UFC still feeling the aftershocks of its first cancellation in over a decade under Zuffa, which purchased Strikeforce a year and a half ago.</p> <p>Whereas UFC 151 fell apart last month after light heavyweight challenger Dan Henderson pulled out with an injury and champion Jon Jones declined to face a replacement opponent on nine days’ notice, Strikeforce had no such fallback possibility for salvaging its title fight, with the champ being the one injured.</p> <p>The event was to be televised on Showtime, but according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, when the cable outlet learned that the star of the show was off the marquee, it opted not to air the evening of fights. “Without a television partner,” Coker said in a statement issued late Sunday night, “we simply could not move forward with this event.”</p> <p>Showtime Sports issued a statement Monday evening: “On Friday night Strikeforce informed us that lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez had sustained an injury and would not be able to compete in their Saturday, Sept. 29, card. Without our headline fighter and main event or a marquee undercard, we reluctantly informed Strikeforce that we could not continue with plans for the telecast.”</p> <p>On its face, Showtime’s decision signals nothing other than dissatisfaction with one event’s diminished ratings potential. But the cable executives’ disenchantment could very well run deeper. Since buying Strikeforce, Zuffa has stripped the fight promotion of most of its best fighters, moving Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem to the UFC. Other than Melendez, who is among the top 155-pounders in the world, and a women’s division featuring the star power of Ronda Rousey, the only premium cable-worthy attraction left might be Daniel Cormier, winner of the recent Heavyweight Grand Prix. But he, too, will move to the UFC after one more Strikeforce appearance.</p> <p>Curiously, the two-time Olympic wrestler’s scheduled Nov. 3 fight is nowhere to be seen on the Showtime Sports website, which touts boxing matches slated as far forward as December. Of course, it’s a bit awkward to promote a fight between Daniel Cormier and Mr. TBA. Frank Mir was to come over from the UFC for the fight, but the two-time heavyweight champ was injured last week, and a replacement has yet to be named. The fight is less than six weeks away, and Strikeforce and Showtime need a plan. The same could be said for the two organizations’ big-picture partnership.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"> <strong>–Jeff Wagenheim</strong></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Sep 24, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/09/24/deja-vu-for-zuffa-with-melendez-hurt-strikeforce-cancels-saturdays-fights/#comments" title="Comment on Déjà vu for Zuffa: With Melendez hurt, Strikeforce cancels Saturday’s fights"><span data-lf-article-id="3344" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 2 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2902"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Chris Weidman makes a statement with elbows, words at UFC on Fuel TV 4">Chris Weidman makes a statement with elbows, words at UFC on Fuel TV 4</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_2904" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/chris-weidman.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2904 " title="chris-weidman" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/chris-weidman.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="461"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Chris Weidman (above) derailed Mark Munoz’s hopes for a title shot against Anderson Silva on Wednesday night in San Jose, Calif. (Ezra Shaw/Zuffa LLC)</p></div> <p><del></del>Nice 1-2 punch by Chris Weidman.</p> <p>The “1” was not actually a punch but an elbow, which connected to the head of Mark Muñoz and crumbled him in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 4 on Wednesday night in San Jose, Calif. What a knockout blow. It knocked Muñoz out of the fight (at 1:37 of the second round, after Weidman had followed his fallen opponent to the mat and unleashed a finishing flurry that really wasn’t needed), out of the No. 1 contender position in the middleweight division and out of a presumed matchup with champion Anderson Silva.</p> <p>That brings us to the “2,” which also was not a punch. It was a verbal challenge. “I want Anderson Silva,” Weidman (9-0) said afterward in the cage. “Every single time I’ve had a full training camp, I’ve gotten a finish. Give me a full training camp, and I’d love a shot at the man.”</p> <p>Talk about seizing the moment. Weidman seized Muñoz’s — Mark was expected to be next in line for Silva, since he had been slated for a No. 1 contender’s showdown with Chael Sonnen back in January before injuring an elbow — and then the unbeaten New Yorker seized his own with the respectful but no-nonsense challenge.</p> <p>It wasn’t merely the victory that allowed Weidman to step to the front of the line. It was the way he won. He came into this fight as an underdog — although no one with any sense was counting him out because, well, we’d never seen him lose. But the thinking was that the title shot was Muñoz’s for the taking, and if he didn’t snatch it up, then guys like Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher would lay claim to it. But Bisping is coming off a loss and Belcher is no more high-profile a fighter than Weidman, and he doesn’t have the kind of signature win that Weidman authored on Wednesday night.</p> <p>How’d it happen? Once again, we were taught the enduring lesson of the octagon: Wrestling is different from MMA wrestling. Weidman was an All-American at Hofstra but his singlet credentials don’t measure up to those of Muñoz, who was the 2001 NCAA Division I champion at 197 pounds. On those wrestling mats, however, you can go for a takedown without worrying about a punch, knee or kick to the face. And it was within that context that Weidman seized control, getting a takedown in the bout’s first minute, then threatening Muñoz with submissions and punishing him with fists while the fighters were on the ground. Weidman also began the second round with a quick takedown. And when Muñoz got the fight back to standing and tried to change the momentum with a looping overhand right, Weidman was quicker to the punch. I mean, the elbow.</p> <p>It was Weidman’s moment to shine. And to think about the shiny brass-and-leather belt that’s long been in the possession of Anderson Silva. “My takedowns are pretty good,” he said. “I’ll get him down, and I think, I really do believe, that I can submit him.”</p> <p>That’s the kind of confidence you can pull off convincingly when you’ve never lost.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><strong>–Jeff Wagenheim</strong></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Jul 12, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/#respond" title="Comment on Chris Weidman makes a statement with elbows, words at UFC on Fuel TV 4"><span data-lf-article-id="2902" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2763"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/25/will-silvas-bite-live-up-to-his-bark/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Will Silva’s bite live up to his bark?">Will Silva’s bite live up to his bark?</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/25/will-silvas-bite-live-up-to-his-bark/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/06/25/will-silvas-bite-live-up-to-his-bark/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_2769" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/silva.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2769 " title="silva" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/silva.jpg" alt="Anderson Silva" width="298" height="225"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Anderson Silva earned a fifth-round submission of Chael Sonnen during their first meeting back in August 2010. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)</p></div> <p>Chael Sonnen had to have been smiling on his end of the phone line.</p> <p>Isn’t the whole point of trash talking to get your opponent off his game? Yet for the nearly two years since he came closer than anyone in the UFC to beating Anderson Silva, as he threw every insult from “absolute fraud” to “dirtbag” at the middleweight champion, he saw not the slightest crack in the armor. Even after a rematch was announced and Chael ramped up his antagonism, “The Spider” remained hazily soft-spoken, his affect teetering between blasé and bored. That had to be killing Sonnen.</p> <p>Until Monday afternoon, that is, when a whole different Silva showed up on a conference call with members of the media who’ll be covering UFC 148 a week from Saturday in Las Vegas.</p> <p>“First of all, Chael is a criminal,” Silva said in response to the first mention of his opponent, speaking in Portuguese that then was translated by his manager, Ed Soares. “He’s been convicted of crimes. He doesn’t deserve to be inside of the octagon. When the time comes and the time is right, I’m going to break his face and break every one of the teeth in his mouth.”</p> <p>Well, well.</p> <p>And there was more. Each time Sonnen’s name was mentioned, Silva became more graphic in his pitiless forecast. He promised “to beat his ass like he’s never been beaten before” … beat him “the way his parents should have beat him to teach him some manners” … “beat him out of the UFC.” It was as if Silva was aping Sonnen’s mean-spirited standup routine, the longest-running comedy act in MMA. So Anderson, how bad is the beating going to be? “He’s going to have to go see a plastic surgeon after the fight.” Ba-da-boom.</p> <p>As Silva went on, the words sounding so uncharacteristic, I found myself wondering whether he was really just talking about how the weather is lovely these days in Rio, and Soares was translating it as a Sonnen-is-a-dead-man threat in order to boost pay-per-view sales. But several Brazilian journalists took to Twitter to assure us monolinguals that the manager actually had softened what Silva was saying.</p> <p>Reaction to Silva’s pitbull act puzzled me. The pervasive theme on Twitter and even in some media accounts was this: <em>Boy, are you in for it now, Chael</em>. I don’t get it. Anderson Silva became the deadly fighter he is by being patient, elusive and impassive until it’s time to strike. That is, by being himself. Maybe he’s capable of morphing into a José Aldo-style aggressor and being even more of a killer. If so, Sonnen <em>is </em>in trouble. But it’s reasonable to think that Anderson fighting angry is not Anderson at his best.</p> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/25/will-silvas-bite-live-up-to-his-bark/#more-2763" class="more-link">Read More…</a></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Jun 25, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/25/will-silvas-bite-live-up-to-his-bark/#respond" title="Comment on Will Silva’s bite live up to his bark?"><span data-lf-article-id="2763" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2726"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/22/the-real-franklin-silva-i-does-an-ace-cover-an-axe-or-does-the-axe-cut-it/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to The real Franklin-Silva I: Does an ace cover an axe, or does the axe cut it?">The real Franklin-Silva I: Does an ace cover an axe, or does the axe cut it?</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/22/the-real-franklin-silva-i-does-an-ace-cover-an-axe-or-does-the-axe-cut-it/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/06/22/the-real-franklin-silva-i-does-an-ace-cover-an-axe-or-does-the-axe-cut-it/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <p>Saturday night’s UFC 147 main event is being billed as Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin II.</p> <p>But the fight in Belo Horizonte is actually the completion of a trilogy.</p> <p>Four summers ago — a full year before “The Axe Murderer” and “Ace” first stepped into the octagon together at UFC 99 — the fighters squared off in a different kind of mettle testing: at the 2008 USA Rock Paper Scissors Championships.</p> <p>No, Silva and Franklin aren’t two-sport stars. Their battle of fists, palms and fingers was a special exhibition, arranged because the rock-paper-scissors event happened to be going on in Las Vegas on the same weekend as that season’s finale of <em>The Ultimate Fighter</em>.</p> <p>Check out this first battle between fighters temporarily nicknamed “The Axe-Sharpening Rock Murderer” and “The Glossy Layered Paper That Makes Playing Cards”:</p> <span class="embed-youtube" style="text-align:center; display: block;"><iframe class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/UqcOBNhs5qc?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" frameborder="0"></iframe></span> <p align="right"><strong>–Jeff Wagenheim</strong></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Jun 22, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/22/the-real-franklin-silva-i-does-an-ace-cover-an-axe-or-does-the-axe-cut-it/#respond" title="Comment on The real Franklin-Silva I: Does an ace cover an axe, or does the axe cut it?"><span data-lf-article-id="2726" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2734"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/22/fedor-its-time-for-me-to-leave-mma/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Fedor: “It’s time for me to leave” MMA">Fedor: “It’s time for me to leave” MMA</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/22/fedor-its-time-for-me-to-leave-mma/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/06/22/fedor-its-time-for-me-to-leave-mma/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_2739" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/fedor.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2739 " title="fedor" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/fedor.jpg" alt="Fedor Emelianenko" width="298" height="400"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">For some, Fedor Emelianenko’s career will be tarnished by the fact that he never competed in the UFC. (Josh Hedges/Getty Images)</p></div> <p>On the same night that King James began his reign in professional basketball, The Last Emperor abdicated his mixed martial arts throne.</p> <p>Finally.</p> <p>Just as LeBron James’ first NBA title was much anticipated and a long time coming, so was the retirement of Fedor Emelianenko. In terms of performance inside the cage or ring, Emelianenko has been MMA royalty in nothing but nickname the last few years. However, in the big picture — even one tarnished by an undistinguished end game — his name will forever remain majestic in the annals of his sport.</p> <p>Fedor. Like Arnold and Jack and Tiger, Kareem and Michael and, yes, LeBron, there’s no last name needed. Even though it’s a pretty regal last name at that.</p> <p>Emelianenko will not be remembered for the 1:24 knockout of Pedro Rizzo on Thursday night in St. Petersburg, Russia, or for the two other empty victories he added to his resume after leaving Strikeforce a year ago following a three-fight losing streak. He’ll instead be called to mind as a luminary who, even at age 35 and coming off a string of performances that were more “Fader” than Fedor, still had the star power to sell out the Ice Palace, with Russian President Vladimir Putin among the 12,000 in attendance.</p> <p>While his management, M-1 Global, seemed content to squeeze a few more paychecks out of its aging cash cow by removing him from the MMA mainstream and pitting him against barely breathing opposition, Fedor finally said enough is enough. “I think it’s time I quit,” he said after Thursday’s bout, according to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://en.rian.ru/sports/20120622/174175893.html" target="_blank"> a report by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.</a> “My family influenced my decision. My daughters are growing without me. That’s why it’s time for me to leave.”</p> <p>A more fitting time for him to leave might have been last July, after he was stopped in the first round by Dan Henderson, a guy who usually competes down at light heavyweight, even middleweight. That loss came on the heels of two even more disheartening defeats: a nasty beatdown five months earlier by Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, and a 1:09 submission loss to Fabricio Werdum back in June 2010. As inglorious as it might have seemed for him to have gone out on three straight losses, there was no genuine consolation prize for Emelianenko in his post-Strikeforce wins over 40-year-old Jeff Monson, Olympic judo gold medalist but MMA neophyte Satoshi Ishii and an out-of-mothballs Pedro Rizzo, a once-stout fighter who at age 38 hadn’t competed in a relevant bout in years.</p> <p>Seen in the most generous light, those three career-closing victories represented a victory lap of sorts, as Fedor twice got to perform in front of his countrymen (the Monson bout was in Moscow) and also gave the fans in Japan, where long ago he created his greatest glory, one last peek.</p> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/22/fedor-its-time-for-me-to-leave-mma/#more-2734" class="more-link">Read More…</a></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Jun 22, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/22/fedor-its-time-for-me-to-leave-mma/#respond" title="Comment on Fedor: “It’s time for me to leave” MMA"><span data-lf-article-id="2734" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2521"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/01/whos-tuf-enough-to-survive-reality-tv-and-win-the-finale/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Who’s TUF enough to survive reality TV and win the finale?">Who’s TUF enough to survive reality TV and win the finale?</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/01/whos-tuf-enough-to-survive-reality-tv-and-win-the-finale/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/06/01/whos-tuf-enough-to-survive-reality-tv-and-win-the-finale/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_2525" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/al-iquanta.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2525" title="al-iquanta" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/al-iquanta.jpg" alt="" width="298" height="379"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Al Iaquinta (above) and Michael Chiesa face off on Fridays season finale of The Ultimate Fighter. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)</p></div> <p>Things were different this time on the UFC’s reality TV show. For one thing, a word was added to the title for the show’s 15<sup>th</sup> season, making it <em>The Ultimate Fighter: Live.</em> Indeed, for the first season after a move from Spike to FX, the fights all were live, which stretched the 16 fighters’ time sequestered together to three months. That’s 12 weeks in a house with no phone, no TV, no Internet, no outside world. Nothing but young men’s longing glimpses of the Las Vegas skyline during van rides back and forth from the gym.</p> <p>This season also had heart-wrenching real-life drama. In the first week, Michael Chiesa received news from back home in Spokane, Wash., that his father had died after a bout with leukemia. The 24-year-old opted to remain on the show, and for the months that followed we witnessed his frailty and toughness as he mourned and drew inspiration from his dad. And here he is in Friday night’s finale (9 p.m. ET, FX), facing someone with whom he’s become familiar. Chiesa and Al Iaquinta, a 25-year-old from Wantagh, N,.Y., who is a protege of former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, trained side by side as part of Urijah Faber’s team.</p> <p>Last Saturday, the day after Iaquinta and Chiesa had eliminated Dominick Cruz-trained fighters in the semifinals, the Team Faber fighters sat down with SI.com and talked about the benefits of team spirit, the honor of competition, and how this experience might make both of them not just better fighters but better people.</p> <p><strong>On training with a guy, then punching him in the face:</strong></p> <p><strong>Iaquinta:</strong> “We knew what we were getting into when we got here. All through our training, I knew there was a possibility of fighting any one of these guys. So it’s just par for the course, I guess. It’s different from other fights in that you have a little idea of what the guy does, but in the cage everyone fights a little differently than they do in training. I know I try things in practice that I wouldn’t do in a fight. But it’s still a fight. And at the end of the day, we’re all here for one goal.”</p> <p><strong>Chiesa:</strong> “I had Sam [Sicilia] in the house with me, and he’s a friend and training partner from back home and a guy I would never fight. But the idea of fighting one of my teammates from the show, that’s different. We met under these circumstances. So if we’ve got to fight, we’ve got to fight. And honestly it’s an honor, because as teammates we’ve built each other up to get to this finale. Al and I have trained together, we’ve pushed each other, we’ve sweated, bled, hurt. So to be in the finale with him is a great honor.”</p> <p><strong>On training with a potential future opponent, and how that affects training sessions:</strong></p> <p><strong>Iaquinta: </strong>“Maybe we think about it a little bit, but your goal in every training session is to improve yourself. You put your focus on that, not the teammate thing. You need a team in MMA. It’s an individual sport, but you need a team. Mike and I helped each other out in training, and now we’re just going to do our thing.”</p> <p><strong>Chiesa:</strong> “I don’t put that in my mind when I’m training, because it will alter your approach. You’ll start putting pressure on yourself to perform against the guy in training, pressure to look good, to figure him out. That takes away from the training. You’re not training to fight your teammates, you’re training to make yourself a better fighter all around. You have to focus on yourself, what you need to improve on.”</p> <p><strong>On becoming friends during the three months together:</strong></p> <p><strong>Iaquinta: </strong>“We trained a lot together, and we were close in the house, too. We’d sit there and eat together and tell stories. There’s no TV, no radio, so over three months we all got to know each other pretty well. Sitting around with these guys, I really got to know where they come from, what makes them tick, why they got into this sport, everything. It was almost like the show forced us to become friends, then forced us to fight.”</p> <p><strong>Chiesa:</strong> “All of us on Team Faber, we were very civil. We all connected. I could say so many great things about every guy on my team. Al’s a great guy, and it’s going to be a great honor to fight him on Friday. He and I actually had a talk one night about the possibility that we could be meeting in the finale. And we were, like, ‘Yeah, man, let’s make it happen. Let’s buzz through this tournament.’ And what do you know? It actually happened.”</p> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/01/whos-tuf-enough-to-survive-reality-tv-and-win-the-finale/#more-2521" class="more-link">Read More…</a></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Jun 01, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/06/01/whos-tuf-enough-to-survive-reality-tv-and-win-the-finale/#respond" title="Comment on Who’s TUF enough to survive reality TV and win the finale?"><span data-lf-article-id="2521" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2506"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/05/28/post-fighting-words-ufc-146-edition/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Post-fighting words: UFC 146 edition">Post-fighting words: UFC 146 edition</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/05/28/post-fighting-words-ufc-146-edition/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/05/28/post-fighting-words-ufc-146-edition/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_2513" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/junior-dos-santos-story-ap.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2513" title="junior-dos-santos-story-ap" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/junior-dos-santos-story-ap.jpg" alt="Junior dos Santos" width="298" height="375"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Junior dos Santos beat Frank Mir via second-round TKO in his first title defense. (Julie Jacobson/AP)</p></div> <p>The main event was scheduled for five rounds, the other bouts for three rounds. But three of the five fights on the UFC 146 main card Saturday night in Las Vegas did not make it out of the first round, with two of them lasting only a minute or so. In all, we saw four KOs. Why? Because it was the mammoth fight organization’s first all-heavyweight main card. And you know what Jimmy Cliff says about heavyweights: The harder they come, the harder they fall. One and all.</p> <p>So, since the most we got from the big guys was the 8:14 that, after a Stipe Miocic TKO, left Shane del Rosario as wobbly as a late-night tourist on The Strip, let’s go a full five championship rounds here.</p> <p>Not with fisticuffs, though, but philosophy.</p> <p>OK, maybe that’s too lofty a description of the words that were spoken inside the octagon in Sin City over the weekend. But it’s always refreshing to be reminded that — belying their fierce looks, sculpted physiques, abundant tattoos and the occasional red Mohawk — many of these men have depth, compassion and a childlike sense of humor.</p> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/05/28/post-fighting-words-ufc-146-edition/#more-2506" class="more-link">Read More…</a></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>May 28, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/05/28/post-fighting-words-ufc-146-edition/#respond" title="Comment on Post-fighting words: UFC 146 edition"><span data-lf-article-id="2506" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2467"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/05/25/ufc-146-not-to-be-taken-lightly-literally/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to UFC 146 not to be taken lightly, literally">UFC 146 not to be taken lightly, literally</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/05/25/ufc-146-not-to-be-taken-lightly-literally/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/05/25/ufc-146-not-to-be-taken-lightly-literally/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_2470" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/ufc146.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2470 " title="ufc146" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/ufc146.jpg" alt="UFC 146" width="298" height="225"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Main event fighters Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir are contributing 500 pounds to UFC 146′s main card total of 2,845. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa/Getty Images)</p></div> <p>LAS VEGAS — The world’s tallest Belgian draft horse. A cubic yard of well-packed topsoil. My 1998 Honda Civic with 197,000 hard miles on it.</p> <p>These are things that weigh around 2,500 pounds.</p> <p>Here’s one more: UFC 146.</p> <p>Actually, we exaggerate. The combined bulk of the 10 fighters on the event’s main card is actually only 2,485 pounds, according to the groans emanating from the poor scale that had to weigh them all Friday afternoon.</p> <p>You can add a few pounds to that total, though, once the big guys hydrate and hit the buffets along The Strip. And by the time Saturday night’s fights at MGM Grand Garden Arena all have been fought, don’t be surprised to see an eight-sided crater denting the desert floor here in southern Nevada.</p> <p>The main event inside the hopefully-well-reinforced UFC octagon pits 239-pound heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos against 261-pound Frank Mir, himself a two-time former belt holder. The rest of the tonnage on the five-bout main card ranges from Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and his one-big-toe-from-being over-the-line 264 meaty pounds to the appropriately nicknamed Dave “Pee-Wee” Herman and his paltry 233.</p> <p>This is no doubt a UFC record. FightMetric, which keeps official stats for the behemoth MMA organization, does not have numbers to back that up, but considering that this is the first all-heavyweight main card in UFC history, I feel comfortable going out on a limb. A very sturdy limb, I hope.</p> <p>Friday afternoon’s weigh-ins were lacking in the usual drama, in fact, because heavyweights seldom have much difficulty making the 265-pound limit. None of them even had to strip down to their skivvies, as did the every-ounce-conscious competitors in the evening’s seven other bouts. Everyone made weight, right down to the featherweights.</p> <p>Saturday’s first three prelims can be seen on the UFC’s Facebook page (starting at approximately 6:45 p.m. ET), and the other four will air on FX (8 p.m. ET).</p> <p>“I am so excited to defend my belt on such a huge show,” dos Santos said in a statement released by the UFC.</p> <p>Huge show. <em>Heh-heh</em>, Junior.</p> <p>Not to be out-punned, Mir added, “This is the biggest fight of my career.”</p> <p>OK, guys, quit it.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><em><strong>– Jeff Wagenheim</strong></em></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>May 25, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183833/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/05/25/ufc-146-not-to-be-taken-lightly-literally/#respond" title="Comment on UFC 146 not to be taken lightly, literally"><span data-lf-article-id="2467" 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