We have an all-star lineup this week featuring Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Fedor Emelianenko, the Irish Hand Grenade, and of course Rachelle Leah! It’s everything you’ve ever wanted your 5oz’s of Fury to be.
Randy Couture speaks: I read the recap of Randy Couture’s press conference (highlights of which you can read here). I can understand being annoyed because they wanted to give Fedor more money just to get him to sign, but other than that, it sounded like the main reason he quit was because Dana White and the Fertitta brothers…weren’t nice enough to him. And as far as Fedor goes, Randy may have been around the UFC longer, but Fedor is also in his early thirties and undefeated since around 2000 or so. Couture is past his early thirties, and probably only has two or three fights left in him. Methinks Randy got some bad advice, but I still wear my Xtreme Couture shirts with pride.
Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva: It’s officially official. After four years of Liddell and Silva being the will they/won’t they couple of MMA, they’re scheduled for battle at UFC 79. Both fighters are coming off of back to back losses, but I think Liddell is in more of a “must win” situation. His losses are both fresh in the mind of UFC fans and, now that they’re paying attention, the mainstream sports media. Silva’s losses were in Pride, and since he’s relatively new to both the fans and the media it’d be easier for him to bounce back.
Anderson Silva: I think they should build on Anderson Silva being, pound for pound, one the most dominant champions in MMA, and they should do this by having him go after the two champions currently under contract with Zuffa. Obviously Dan Henderson would be the best choice, but there’s also WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho. When/if Silva gets past the two of them; maybe the UFC will have gotten around to creating a few new middleweight contenders. Interesting thing aboot Yushin Okami – he was the last person to defeat Anderson Silva.
Marcus Davis: According to MMAJunkie.com, Marcus Davis (with the coolest nickname in the UFC, “the Irish Hand Grenade”) is scheduled to fight Jess Liaudin at UFC 80. I’m of the impression he’s going to be one of the featured bouts on the card. He has won his past ten fights, and his last fight at UFC 75 earned him both “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night.” I wouldn’t mind a scrap between him Jon Fitch, in a battle of guys who might be in title contention if the welter weight division wasn’t so damn crowded.
Next for Fedor: Jeff Monson? That’s the rumor, Fedor Emelianenko’s first opponent with M-1 will be Monson, who most fans probably remember as the guy who got beat up by Tim Sylvia last year. This is the rub with Fedor choosing M-1. M-1 offered the most money, but the UFC has most of the heavyweight that would, at least in theory, make an interesting match up. They’re paying him a insane amount of cash, yet there really isn’t anyone they can sign to have Fedor fight that people would want to pay money for. The only big man of interest not signed by the UFC I can think of is Ben Rothwell from the IFL, so… ::shrugs::
As a side note, am I the only one who’s noticed the similarities between Randy Couture/Fedor Emelianenko and the movie “Rocky IV?” Anyway, here’s a picture of Rachelle Leah…
