Paul “Semtex” Daley fills in for injured Mike Swick at UFC 103

According to reports first published by The Sun, UFC welterweight newcomer, Paul “Semtex” Daley, 26, will fill in for injured Mike Swick against fellow welterweight contender Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 on September 19th, in Dallas, TX.

Swick, 30, recently suffered a minor concussion in training and apparently will be unable to compete in two weeks against Kampmann, 26. The injury comes as a disappointment to fans and MMA analysts alike who had been anticipating the No. 1 contender showdown in the welterweight division as I’m sure it does to the entire Swick camp.

The winner was set to face Welterweight Champion and renowned No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the World, Georges St.-Pierre for the title. With so much on the line, it sure comes as a shock that a mere minor concussion is going to sideline Swick.

It is a disappointment, no doubt, but the show must go on as they say. Kampmann (15-2) will now face Daley and there is currently no word yet on whether a win for Daley will mean a title shot as well.

Rising British star, Daley will be making his UFC debut at 103. He previously fought in EliteXC before coming over to the UFC after the promotion folded. He had been scheduled to fight Brian Foster and there is no word yet on Foster’s future opponent for the event.

Swick confirmed the news of his injury on his Twitter account. “I got foot swept while sparring this week and lost my legs.

“I landed on back of my head and neck and suffered a pretty bad concussion. I am out of UFC 103. It sucks and I am sorry guys…”

This news is terrible for Swick. He had a real legitimate shot at beating Kampmann and thus propel himself into a title fight with the dominant GSP and into the limelight. Now he’s injured and forced to watch another fighter given the opportunity that he had from the sidelines. A Daley/Kampmann showdown looks a lot like the Kampmann/McFedries bout that took place in way back at UFC 68. Despite the amount of time between the fights, McFedries and Daley present a very similar skill set as well as challenges for the “Hit Man”. Will Kampmann still be granted a title shot with a win over Daley? Or will Daley pull off the upset and earn himself a shot at GSP? Will GSP be sitting for longer than the UFC wants? We shall find out soon.

“A-Team” filming to scratch “Rampage” Jackson from UFC 107 card

It appears scheduling conflicts will postpone the heated grudge match between light heavyweights Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-7) and Rashad Evans (18-1-1) at UFC 107 on December 12th.

Jackson, 31, recently landed the role as B.A. Baracus in the upcoming “A-Team” remake and will soon begin shooting according to the Vancouver Sun. The six-week film shooting schedule will apparently hamper Jackson’s ability to put in a solid camp in time for the December 12th, UFC 107 date with Evans which was set to take place in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion will oppose Evans , 29, as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter season 10 set to air on Spike beginning on September 16th. The two will be coaching two teams of eight prospective heavyweight fighters for the UFC which includes Kimbo Slice and three former NFL players.

It has been a rough year filled with scheduling conflicts for Jackson. Ever since exacting revenge upon his nemesis Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 back in December, “Rampage” has seen his title shot get put off because Evans wasn’t ready and then put off again because Evans couldn’t beat Lyoto Machida.

It will also mark the second time this year, “Rampage” has now chosen to put off fighting for the big screen. Instead of taking on a guaranteed title fight with new Light Heavyweight Champion Machida, Jackson opted to coach alongside the former champion Rashad Evans on TUF season 10. Now despite begging for an opportunity to fight in his hometown, he will pass in favor of more training camp time.

With a six week film schedule, “Rampage” should be free to return to training at his Wolf’s Lair camp in England by mid-October. This would give him roughly an eight week camp to train, seven at the worst, for the fight with Evans. I guess that’s just not good enough for the Memphis native.

The postponement shouldn’t go longer than a few weeks, with the fight taking place sometime in early January 2010 in Las Vegas on the UFC’s annual Christmas/New Year’s show.

Let’s hope 2010 brings more of Jackson in the Octagon and less behind the camera.

UFC eyes Vancouver, B.C., Canada for June 2010

The big news coming out of the UFC camp in the build-up to UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera was that the UFC is eyeing a third trip to Canada in June of 2010 with the likely destination being Vancouver, B.C.

A trip to Vancouver, B.C. would be huge for both the city and the UFC. Being from there and having traveled to the city numerous times, I can personally attest to the passion for MMA that the people have up there. Plus, with the olympics set to hit the city in February of 2010, there probably is no city that is going to be more ready for a big time event, not to mention how much publicity it will give the UFC for doing a show just four months after the world’s best winter sport athletes perform in the same building.

It will also be the UFC’s second trip to the Pacific Northwest after this weekend’s venture into Portland, Oregon. From all looks of it, the venture into Portland was a very successful one. The event was attended by 16,000 plus, drew a $1.92 million gate and had some very exciting fights.

The biggest obstacle right now for the UFC is the fact that the province of British Columbia doesn’t currently sanction MMA. The UFC hopes that that will change within four months, giving the promotion plenty of time to plan a summer 2010 event for the second biggest city in Canada.

What makes the sport hard to ignore for the city and the province as a whole is the revenue that it will bring to a city that desperately needs some after all the expenditures dished out in preparation of it hosting the olympics. This event accompanied by a possible UFC fan expo will do just that for the city.

The target venue according to UFC president Dana White is GM place, home to the Vancouver Canucks and a 19,000 plus seat arena.

Post event analysis of UFC 102

The UFC brass can’t be much more proud of how their first foray into the Pacific Northwest fared Saturday night as they displayed UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera in Portland, Oregon live from the Rose Garden.

Over 16,000 fans filled the arena, producing a gate over $1.9 million while almost every one of the 11 fights proved to be exciting.

None more than the main event between the two heavyweight legends. Randy “The Natural” Couture (16-10) entered the fight against Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Noguiera (34-5-1) as a heavy favorite but it was Noguiera’s superior boxing and ground game that was the difference in the fight as Noguiera went on to scrape the unanimous decision.

It was a battle in every round with the two Hall-of-Famers going toe-to-toe while unleashing the best of their striking arsenal upon their foe’s face. The heavily Couture-sided crowd rose to its feet everytime Couture landed some big strikes that had Noguiera retreating or whenever he reversed the Brazilian’s efforts on the ground.

An epic battle from start to finish that will certainly find a spot in the UFC’s “top 100 fights”. Noguiera’s win should propel him into the discussion for No. 1 contender of Brock Lesnar’s heavyweight belt where about four or five other fighters consistently reside.

The 34-year-old Brazilian says he’s in top form, if he can keep it up a win over a guy like Cain Velasquez or Gabriel Gonzaga down the line could further propel him.

On the other side of the coin is Couture, who announced on Sunday that he has signed a six fight, 28 month contract extension with the UFC. What’s amazing is the fact that at 46 years of age, Couture believes he is in the best shape of his career. So the Hall-of-Famer will go on fighting for another 28 months which will carry him well past his 48th birthday.

God bless “The Natural”. What lies ahead? We’ll see in the near future but rest assured, Couture will be fighting only the best.

Outside of the main event, there were a number of important developments from undercard fights. First off was Nate Marquardt dispatching fellow middleweight contender and previously undefeated Damien Maia (11-1) in 22 seconds with a highlight reel knockout.

Marquardt joins Dan Henderson as No. 1 contenders for Anderson Silva’s middleweight belt. Both have previously fought — and lost — to Silva before and both, however, have improved especially Marquardt. Who the UFC chooses still looks to favor Henderson but remains in the air.

The other action was just as compelling and noteworthy. Thiago Silva stunned Keith Jardine with a vicious right hand and some quick ground-and-pound for a TKO victory in under two minutes of their fight. Silva bounced back nicely with the win after the KO loss to Lyoto Machida, inserting himself right back into the picture while Jardine continues his trademark one step forward and one step backward march through the elite of the division. It leaves Jardine in a precarious position. He’s a top 7 or 8 guy in the division but firmly set there — no better and no worse.

Jake Rosholt took “submission of the night” honors and a $60,000 bonus for his choke out of Chris Leben. Gabriel Gonzaga finished Chris Tuchscherer impressively in one round with strikes and another heavyweight, Todd Duffee, continued bolster the division’s depth by scoring a very impressive, seven second KO which set the UFC record.

The other nightly honors:

Fight of the night: Couture vs. Noguiera

Knockout of the night: Nate Marquardt

UFC: 102 Couture vs. Noguiera interest lies beyond main event

At first glance the UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera card looks rather unspectacular, disappointing is a word I would use. In the main event, we have two fighters in the twilight of their careers looking to prove that they still have it against a similar past-his-prime fighter.

Randy Couture (16-9) will take on the legend Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera (31-5-1) in the consolation bracket of the heavyweight tournament that began almost a year ago at UFC 91 with Couture facing Brock Lesnar.

As far as implications to the division, this fight is about as interesting as watching a tournament on the Nationwide Tour. Other than seeing a tactical fight between a great wrestler and the ultimate gameplanner in Couture against the world class jiu-jitsu of Noguiera, the main event offers little in the way of excitement.

But if you look further, beyond the main event you see four fights that are much more intriguing. The first of which is what appears to be a No. 1 contender match-up in the middleweight division between Nate Marquadt (31-8-2) and Demian Maia (11-0).

Both fighters are on impressive winning streaks. Obviously Maia has never lost, winning against former WEC middleweight champ Chael Sonnen and contenders Nate Quarry and Jason MacDonald most recently. Meanwhile, since losing a split decision to Thales Leites at UFC 85, Marquadt has gone on to impressive wins over Martin Kampmann and Wilson Gouveia via TKO stoppages.

This fight has exciting written all over it.

Then there is the light heavyweight clash between top 10 contenders Keith Jardine (14-6-1) and Thiago Silva (13-1). Both fighters are coming off of tough losses that knocked them back out of the title discussion — to “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida respectively.

The fighter who can bounce back on Saturday night will find himself right back in the mix while the other will have some searching to do after two straight losses to guys now ahead of him.

Two other fights also have my interest piqued. Another light heavyweight clash between two guys that are right on the edge of the top 10: Brandon “The Truth” Vera (10-3) and Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski (19-9-1). Soszynski has been extremely impressive since breaking into the UFC after The Ultimate Fighter season seven while Vera has been inconsistent since making the drop to 205 lbs.

The last fight I’ve got on my radar is a clash between former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4) coming off a loss against Shane Carwin, and UFC newcomer Chris Tuchscherer (17-1). Gonzaga has been said to be in the best shape of his life, with a new determination in the sport since the knockout loss to Carwin.

In a division that has suddenly found some much needed strength at the top and depth in the middle, Gonzaga will need a big win to get himself back into the fray with the heavyweights. It is perhaps this fight, rather than the losers battle between a couple of past-their-primers in the main event, that could have greater implications to the future of the heavyweight division in the UFC.

Usain Bolt, the best athlete of all time?

As he turns the tender age of 23 today, many around the World — especially those in Berlin who witnessed his latest triumphs in the 100 and 200 meters — are wondering just whether Usain Bolt may be the best athlete of all time.

In case you’ve been somewhere other than on this planet the past week or so, here’s a little synopsis of what the great Jamaican sprinter has done plus some videos to prove it.

Let’s see… first there was the 100 meter final on Sunday in which Bolt dominated the fastest field in history with a jaw-dropping 9.58 world-record time while four others including Tyson Gay (9.71 set U.S record) and Asafa Powell broke 10 flat.

Then there was Thursday’s performance in the 200 final at the World Championships in Berlin. Despite facing no real threat to winning the Gold (after all his 19.3 last year in Beijing snapped the 19.32 Michael Johnson record that had stood for 12 years and was thought to be untouchable and the kid has only gotten faster since then), Bolt still ran his best attempting to discover whether he could set a new world record.

Well, whether it was his best or not, the 19.19 he ran not only left the onlookers in Berlin dumbstruck, but his competition in awe.

“He’s a gift to this earth,” American sprinter Shawn Crawford, who finished fourth said. “He’s a blessing to the track game…I’m just waiting for the lights to flash ‘game over’ cause I felt like I was in a video game.”

Sunday’s 100 m

Thursday’s 200 m

As Will Ferrell would say, don’t act like you’re not impressed.

But back to the original question of is Bolt the best athlete of all time. In my mind ‘the best’ is hard to qualify. What makes one “the best athlete”? Is it someone who can play multiple sports at a professional level? I would say that that is the criteria so Bolt who really “only” runs wouldn’t really qualify and maybe guys like Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson or Michael Jordan were better.

At the very least, though, I would say he is the most impressive athlete of our time and because athletes or this generation are unquestionably better than those from prior generations, Bolt is thusly the most impressive athlete of all time.

Who’s more impressive today? There’s certainly some worthy contenders who would spark a debate: Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Albert Pujols, LaDainian Tomlinson, Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Anderson Silva and perhaps Tom Brady.

I really just don’t think any of their accomplishments can rival lowering world records in both the 100 and 200 meter races to times that were unthinkable just 13 months ago. The fact that Bolt — who is now only 23 years of age — is not yet in his prime and still reaching unchartered waters while testing the capabilities of the human body to their absolute fullest extent…

Nobody else does that.

Y.E. Yang stuns Woods, golf fans alike

With a final round 70, Y.E. Yang overcame a two shot deficit to not only become the 91st PGA Champion, but the first person to beat Tiger Woods when he held the 54-hole lead at a major championship.

He certainly deserved it. The shot of the tournament, the one that will be talked about for years to come, came from Yang just off the fairway on the 18th.

With a one shot lead and his playing partner, Woods sitting pretty in the fairway with a much better angle, Yang set up for his 206-yard shot with a hybrid 3-iron.

All he had to do was lift it up over a tree 50 yards in front of him to a pin location nestled just over a bunker and in tight amongst rough in behind and to the left.

Oh and lets just add one tiny tidbit: it was a pin location that had yielded just two birdies all day.

What did he do? How about landed it within a foot of the cup only to roll to about 10 feet for birdie which he made.

Commence the celebration.

Yang played remarkably solid all day to hang around and hang around. While every other contender fell by the wayside including Padraig Harrington who entered the final round at 6-under — tied for second with Yang — the South Korean held steady.

Then came an eagle chip on the driveable par-4 14th from just off the green that gave him his first outright lead all tournament. The shot immediately put Woods firmly on his heels despite being just one shot behind after making a birdie of his own on the same hole.

Since TNT went on air with Thursday coverage, Woods had at least a share of the lead the entire tournament. However, midway thru the back nine on Sunday he found himself in a very unfamiliar spot — trailing.

Woods who ended with a 75 (more like a 74 since he really didn’t try on his second to final putt on 18), struggled with the reads all day on the greens. A player who rarely misses putts within 10 feet, burned the edges of the cup all day on putts that length.

But for all of Woods’ struggles, make no mistake about it, Yang won it. To shoot a 2-under 70 in just his seventh major championship on a Sunday in the final group with Tiger… you absolutely have to give Yang every ounce of credit that he deserves for this win.

The other headline emerging from this performance is what this does for golf in Asia. Yang becomes the first ever major champion born from the continent and effectively settles in as its hero. There is no doubt that Sunday, August 16th 2009 is the watershed moment for golf history in Asia.

Absolutely incredible.

Bolt makes history yet again — 9.58 at World’s

A Lightning Bolt struck the Berlin World Track and Field Championships on Sunday, only it didn’t leave the spectators running for cover. Instead this Lightning Bolt struck and it left everyone crooning for more.

Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter and world-record holder in both the 100 and 200 meters, did something no one in history has ever done, perhaps no human ever even thought possible. Bolt reached 9.5 territory in the 100 meters.

A time of 9.58 to be exact.

In a race that was the most anticipated of its kind since the Beijing Olympics, Bolt — followed by Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell — made sure it lived up to every ounce of that billing.

It was the fastest race in history. Bolt running an absurd world-record time of 9.58, trimming 11 hundredths of a second off of his Beijing summer games time. Gay setting a U.S. record of 9.71 which would have been a world-record time just a year and a half ago, while Powell took the bronze in 9.84.

Fast, fast, fast!

It sure was an amazing sight to behold. Whereas last year Bolt got caught up in the moment of the Olympic race, on Sunday Bolt was all business.

There was no showboating this time. From a solid start out of the blocks — not fabulous, but solid — to pulling away at the 30 meter mark and finishing it off at the 75 meter mark, Bolt was tremendous all the way through.

Running into a slight headwind, the 9.58 was as legit a time as there will ever be run. The incredible thing is, Bolt isn’t quite 100 percent. The Jamaican has battled an ankle injury, endured a car crash (albeit minor) and a slow summer training camp only to break into unchartered territory.

The question now becomes: how fast can this amazing human being run? Can he go sub 9.5? I don’t think it becomes out of the question especially when you consider the fact that he is still just 23 years old and seemingly still shy of his prime.

His prime should coincide nicely with the 2012 London Olympic games. And if we’ve learned anything so far about Bolt it is the simple fact that he is the ultimate showman, the ultimate competitor.

He rises to every moment and occasion. Surpasses every conceivable expectation that even the most radical fan could offer up.

It was a year ago at this time that I threw out the question who has been more dominant, Bolt or Michael Phelps after each’s amazing Olympic performances.

Now I ask, how fast can a human being run? Is 9.4 possible? 9.3?

Breaking down UFC 101: Declaration

Philadelphia, home to some of our nation’s most historical moments, will see its historical first foray into Mixed-Martial Arts by the sport’s fledging promotion go off this weekend with UFC 101: Declaration.

Considering this, the UFC isn’t bringing their “B” show to the home of liberty. With two of their best champions in tow — Anderson Silva and BJ Penn — the UFC isn’t leaving anything to chance for this important event to go well.

It helps that the main event will feature a close-to native son in Kenny Florian who hails from Massachusetts as he attempts to derail the Lightweight champion Penn. It was Florian who himself declared after his win at UFC 91, “I want BJ’s belt!” He’ll have his best opportunity here after a nine month layoff in which his mind has been focused on nothing but the events that will come to fruition this Saturday night.

In the co-main Silva will once again make the jump up to 205 to test his world-class abilities against the former Light Heavyweight champion and fan-favorite Forrest Griffin.

In short, some of MMA’s best will bring their game to the home of our nation’s original 13 with the idea of making the East Coast a more traditional home for their sport. Kendall Grove and Ricardo Almeida will look to work their way up into contention at middleweight at the other’s expense, Amir Sadollah — the TUF 7 winner — looks to begin his lightweight career, and Kurt Pelligrino battles Josh Neer in another lightweight tilt.

The UFC itself, will be hoping to declare Philadelphia as a primary home of the UFC.

UFC Lightweight Championship:
BJ Penn (13-5-1) vs. Kenny Florian (11-3)
Breakdown: With a full six months now between him and the controversy that was “greasegate” that he himself stirred up after being manhandled by Welterweight champion Georges St.-Pierre, Penn looks to focus his attention once again on the division in which he dominates and the belt in which he’s obligated to defend.

A natural competitor at heart, it seems Penn would rather test himself at higher weight classes than defend his belt against what he feels as lesser competition. It is a mindset that so many analysts feel could potentially hurt Penn, yet as he showed against Sean Sherk and Joe Stevenson, he still has been able to dispatch any contender rather easily despite it.

Penn has, in short, world class ability both on the ground and standing. His boxing game is impeccable as Sherk found out firsthand while his ground game is ingenious and perhaps second to none in all of MMA.

His challenger, Florian, is a nice fighter who has certainly improved tremendously since his days on The Ultimate Fighter’s inaugural season. His game is centered on a sound Muay-Thai striking game and solid boxing that beats up inferior opponents and allows him to impose his will on the ground where he also features a black belt in Brazilian jui-jitsu.

Here the problem is Penn is no inferior opponent and possesses superior skills in both areas. Unless Florian can settle for a fight on the feet in which he receives as much damage as he dishes out and hopes to be the busier fighter, receiving more points on the three judges scorecards, he will be out of luck.

Prediction: Florian will come out gangbusters being in front of an almost hometown crowd with an opportunity he’s been dreaming about since the day he took up the sport. The only problem being Penn will be his methodical self and soon Florian will be discouraged by his fruitless attempts to inflict damage on the champion. By the third round Penn will have the Bostonian right where he wants him — desperate — and will take advantage earning a submission on the ground.

Anderson Silva (24-4) vs. Forrest Griffin (16-5) 205 lbs

Breakdown: Two consecutive lackluster title defenses, at least in the minds of many fans, has Anderson Silva back up at 205 to challenge one of the promotion’s more popular fighters at his weight class.

After his boring, albeit successful title defenses against Thales Leites and Patrick Cote, Silva finds his pound-for-pound superiority being questioned by the likes of Georges St.-Pierre and buddy Lyoto Machida. So it may be important to Silva for this reason — and fighting in Philadelphia as well — too get back to his dominant ways.

Of course Silva’s strength is his dynamic, accurate striking arsenal that for every bit as lethal offensively as it is, is as good defensively with Silva’s great elusiveness.

The problem for Griffin is Anderson’s strength greatly counteracts his greatest weakness — chin. For all of Griffin’s toughness, his chin is as brittle as, well, peanut brittle. When fighting Silva, this is a serious problem. Just ask Rich Franklin (who resembles Griffin greatly).

Griffin’s best bet will be to implement his unmatched gas tank and hope that he can not only take Silva to the mat but where him down when he gets him there. All easier tasks said than done.

Prediction: Silva comes out and feels Griffin out for a minute or so before dismantling him in a performance so utterly perfect that it has Philly fans proclaiming his greatness and immediately cements his status as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Georges St.-Pierre next, anyone? After Dan Henderson that is.

Time for Mariners to quit fooling themselves

This loss is a good thing. It clears up what was foggy. It brings to light every flaw that we fans wanted to overlook for so long. Seattle’s clutch, timely hitting is awful eight out of 10 times.

The Mariners have huge holes right now at catcher, short, third and left field as far as hitting goes. Their starting  right fielder is nothing but a slap hitting, singles machine who only hits when there’s nobody on base. For as many hits as he has (138 thru tonight) he has all of 25 RBIs.

It’s time to make the right moves to ensure this team’s promising future. Trade Washburn who’s value is absolutely as high as it’s ever been and in a market that is perhaps as weak as it has ever been in recent memory. Teams are desperate. And you know what happens when teams are desperate — they get fleeced. It’s high time the Mariners were the fleecers and not the fleece-ees.

Next, dump Branyan for whatever the best deal is for him out there. We have no need for a 30-something flash in the pan who can’t play d. Bring up Carp and let him play the rest of the season at first. Ditto for Saunders in left and Clement at DH with spot time at first and catcher. It’s time to dfa Sweeney and Cedeno (anybody’s better than him).

Look, it was fun while it lasted. Everyone wants to be in a pennant chase every season but the fact of the matter is not everyone can be. This was a re-building season from the time when pitchers and catchers reported in February. We can’t let a little surprise first half jade us.

Make the right moves, build for 2010 and beyond.