UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2

[devildog47959]

Little over a week away! -Aug 28th-

 

 

 

Official fight card:

 

Main card

Lightweight Championship bout:  Frankie Edgar © vs. B.J. Penn

Heavyweight bout:  Randy Couture vs.  James Toney

Middleweight bout:  Demian Maia vs.  Mario Miranda

Lightweight bout:  Kenny Florian vs.  Gray Maynard

Welterweight bout:  Nate Diaz vs.  Marcus Davis

 

Preliminary card (Spike TV)

Lightweight bout:  Joe Lauzon vs.  Gabe Ruediger

Lightweight bout:  Andre Winner vs.  Nik Lentz

 

 

Preliminary card

Middleweight bout:  Dan Miller vs.  John Salter

Welterweight bout:  Nick Osipczak vs.  Greg Soto

Welterweight bout:  Mike Pierce vs.  Amilcar Alves

[devildog47959]

Main card

Lightweight Championship bout:  Frankie Edgar © vs. B.J. Penn

Heavyweight bout:  Randy Couture vs.  James Toney

Middleweight bout:  Demian Maia vs.  Mario Miranda

Lightweight bout:  Kenny Florian vs.  Gray Maynard

Welterweight bout:  Nate Diaz vs.  Marcus Davis

 

Preliminary card (Spike TV)

Lightweight bout:  Joe Lauzon vs.  Gabe Ruediger

Lightweight bout:  Andre Winner vs.  Nik Lentz

 

 

Preliminary card

Middleweight bout:  Dan Miller vs.  John Salter

Welterweight bout:  Nick Osipczak vs.  Greg Soto

Welterweight bout:  Mike Pierce vs.  Amilcar Alves

 

BOLD = Winners

 

Should be some great fights. I have to go with my boy B.J. The loss to Edgar made BJ hungry again and he will get his belt back, Should b a great fight!  Randy proves he's still got it!

[MattM]

It will be intersting to see if Penn does get his "hunger" back.  When he is on his top game not many people can hang with him but you never quite know if he is motivated enough to train as much as he should.

 

The Couture fight is mostly a joke baring a lucky right from the opening bell from Toney.  When this one is all said and done we should see 2 things.  1-classically trained boxers can not automatically become UFC fighters in a few months.  2-Toney will quickly have to resort to what little wrestling he learned in those two month proving that to be in the UFC even a boxer realizes you need something more.

 

Florian is another one of those guys I just don't see winning all the big fights but he always finds a way to get the job done.  Maynard will be getting a test against a now proven vet to see his his name deserves to be at the top of the division.

 

Maia will hopefully be out to proves he's more than a one trick BBJ pony and  Miranda need to prove he should be considered for big fights in the future.

 

I can't stand Diaz when he opens his mouth but his lanky body does present a challenge to many fighters.  Diaz also has some crazy need to always prove his self as a striker which can get him into trouble against someone with heavy hands like Davis (if he can get past the reach to get inside).

[JB1212]

I agree with those picks but I think that Maynard might beat Florian. It could go either way.

[Smooth34]

I agree with those picks but I think that Maynard might beat Florian. It could go either way.

 

I actually can't wait to see this fight.  However, if Florian wins, does he get another shot?  There isn't really anyone left for him to fight other than maybe the BJ-Edgar loser. 

[Smooth34]

Not a great card. 

 

Diaz looked good against Davis.  That cut on Davis' eye was huge.

Florian looked terrible.  Maybe Maynard just does that to everyone.  He's been in the cage and won against really good guys (Edgar, Florian, Huerta, etc.)

Maia had opportunities to submit, but couldn't capitalize.  Very lackluster win.

Couture....no surprises there.

I thought BJ would come back strong but he looked disinterested tonight.  He didn't even look like he cared.  Big props to Edgar.  He should get to avenge his loss to Maynard.

 

My favorite fight of the night was Lauzon.  Best two minutes of the card. 

[DemOGuy]

Not a great card. 

 

Diaz looked good against Davis.  That cut on Davis' eye was huge.

Florian looked terrible.  Maybe Maynard just does that to everyone.  He's been in the cage and won against really good guys (Edgar, Florian, Huerta, etc.)

Maia had opportunities to submit, but couldn't capitalize.  Very lackluster win.

Couture....no surprises there.

I thought BJ would come back strong but he looked disinterested tonight.  He didn't even look like he cared.  Big props to Edgar.  He should get to avenge his loss to Maynard.

 

My favorite fight of the night was Lauzon.  Best two minutes of the card. 

I agree!! Cant wait until 119

[MattM]

After this one I'm starting to think Penn has truely lost the motivation to train hard for fights.  He's obviously uninspired by the challenger at his weight to push himself to be at top level for an entire match.  A lackluster Penn is not worth watching so he may be due  for a retirement as a fighter.  I can see him disappearing to just hang out in Hilo training with guys at his gym.  Maybe his next inspiration can come from building one of his fighter into a big name since he doesn't seem to want to do what it takes to be there anymore.

[Drooke]

Hey MM, I see you liked my "drunk sailor Dana White" question in the Herb Dean interview. Ha

[MattM]

Hey MM, I see you liked my "drunk sailor Dana White" question in the Herb Dean interview. Ha

 

Not exactly the  in-depth journalistic questioning most of rest of the article had but it was by far the highlight of that interview. 

[Drooke]

Haha.....this is the complete interview the highlighted  in red questions were mine.......

 

MMA Official Herb Dean Talks with TOM

Published on August 17, 2010 by viratas  ?  No Comments

By TOM Staff

 

MMA Official Herb Dean took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to speak with TOM Staff. Dean may be one of the most visible officials in MMA and is a main stay with the UFC and has been the center of many big fights.

 

TOM: How and why did you get into refereeing? How long have you been with the UFC?

 

HD: I?ve always been involved with martial arts on and off throughout my life. I trained with Larry Landless when he used to be a referee. I started shadowing Larry at unsanctioned MMA events on Indian reservations. The first show I refereed was at King of the Cage. King of the Cage got licensed in Nevada, and at the time I was one of the only licensed referees in the state. I guess I did a good a job there, and I?ve been with the UFC for about 6, almost 7 years

 

TOM: What sports or martial arts have you competed in?

 

HD: I started training as a kid. I?ve competed in kickboxing and submission wrestling. I used to train boxing in high school, and I did Judo for a couple of years but didn?t compete much.

 

TOM: Do you think that competitive experience should be required for the judges and referees involved in MMA?

 

HD: I think so. I think you should at least know the techniques that the guys are doing. MMA is a new sport. There are some officials that have experience, but the competition is beyond their time. Their competitive age is over. A good martial artist might make a good official without necessarily having to have competed in MMA.

 

TOM: Are you currently training? Have you left your gloves in the cage or are you open to another pro fight?

 

HD: Yes. I teach on Wednesdays at Fight Academy in Pasadena and work out with the guys. My last fight was two years ago. I took about a year off from martial arts to let my body heal, but I?ve been training for the last month and half. And yea, not going to do another fight. The reason I got into martial arts is because I enjoy the sport. My job is to be a referee and that?s what I do. Some people say do one or the other, pick one. Refereeing is what I do.

 

TOM: What is required to become a referee? Should refs take basic classes on the different techniques of the sport, or Continuing Education Credits on the different aspects of MMA to keep their ref licensing?

 

HD: That?s always changing. Now you need to be licensed, and every state has their own criteria about how they choose their licensees. The [American Boxing Commission] requires officials pass a training seminar. If you?re going to be a ref in US you need to be trained by an approved training curriculum. My curriculum was approved by the ABC. I teach mechanics of officiating, some of the ethics of it, what to expect with working with commissions, large shows, small shows.

 

TOM: Tell us about your refereeing and judging seminars. Who are these designed to help/educate?

 

HD: I?ve done one seminar with my new curriculum. I?m reviewing the test now and will send out some certificates soon. The seminars are designed for those who have been officiating already or looking to get into it. I suggest you be a martial artist because there are a lot of techniques in martial arts that you should know. I teach criteria, we watch a lot of tape, review fights, go over situations, judging. We go through the whole experience from beginning to end. This is also for those with no experience in martial arts. But I can?t teach them the sport? what they should of learned over a couple years? in a few weeks. But everything is on my website, herbdean.com.

 

TOM: What advice would you give to an individual that would like to get into officiating MMA.

 

HD: Go to herbdean.com. [laughs] Or any of the recommended courses the ABC endorces. You can go to the ABC website for others.

 

TOM: There have been quite a few ?controversial? decisions by the judges recently. Do you think there is a problem currently with how fights are being viewed and scored by the judges? What would you change about fight and/or judging procedures, if you could?

 

HD: I?m not sure, we?ve been talking about that, having meetings with different athletic commissions quite a bit more than we used to. We try to be on the same page as far as what they?re giving credit to. I think there?s always going to be controversial decisions. Judging is pretty subjective. It?s someone?s opinion of who won the fight. I think that the biggest thing is making sure that athletic commissions are getting more qualified officials, and continue to review the problems we have and correct them. This is a growing sport and we haven?t seen everything that?s going to happen. There?s always something new that someone?s going to do.

 

TOM: Should there be a scoring rubric created for judges that will help guide them in their scoring rather than just thinking ?Yeah, I think this guy gets a 10 and that guy gets a 9″?

 

HD: It?s pretty hard to make something like that for MMA. There?s so many different ways that you have to compare apples to oranges. There?s also going to be different qualities of apples and oranges. Doc Hamilton has suggested a new system like that for tiebreakers. It?s a way to break ties by counting techniques on a solely technical merit. It?s something new that hasn?t been adopted, but he?s been using it and working with it as a shadow system. The fights are still being judged under the old system, but he is judging them using his system to see how it works.

TOM: Do you have a say in the shaping of judging and refereeing procedures?

 

HD: We don?t make the decisions by ourselves. The commissions make the decisions, and the commissions all get together at the ABC. There are ways to make your opinion known, and myself, I get involved in it. And some of the other officials get involved as well and suggest things. There?s a lot of gray area on the things that are already decided on, and everyone has their own opinion. We try to make sure everyone?s on same page.

 

TOM: Drug testing has been a very hot topic lately in MMA. What are your thoughts about the existing standards? Would you be in favor of ?Olympic-style? testing? What in your opinion would be the best method to eliminate the use of performance enhancing items such as steroids, HGH, and EPO?

 

HD: I don?t really get that involved in that. As long as its something that?s consistent, and it should be effective. That?s basically it.

 

TOM: Two separate weigh-ins (day before/day of). Yay or Nay?

 

I think one weigh-in is enough. Some commissions are doing two separate weigh-ins, some one. I think one is enough.

 

TOM: Have you ever had a reason to apologize for something that happened inside of the cage to one of the fighters?after the fact?

 

HD: No.

 

TOM: What are your thoughts about officiating the Hamill/Jardine bout and finding out what Keith Kizer already knew?that Matt H. had a staph infection. Did you know Matt had the staph infection before the fight? Did that cause you to be at any risk?

 

HD: No, I didn?t know. But it?s part of the risks of the sport. I?ve got black gloves. I trust the black gloves. [laughs] And I try to avoid breaking the fighters up using my face.

 

TOM: Dana White has been very outspoken about the possibility of MMA being contested at the collegiate or Olympic level someday. Do you think this is a possibility for the sport? Where do you think MMA will be in say, 10 years?

 

HD: I think so, definitely. I?d love to see that. I may be biased, but I believe MMA is the best sport on earth. I don?t see any reason why it shouldn?t be. Now that we have amateur MMA growing, using different rules we should eventually be able to find some way to make people comfortable having it at that level. I don?t know where it?s going to be [in 10 years] but I know its going continue to grow, taking its rightful place as the top sport in the world.

 

TOM: Do you follow collegiate/freestyle/greco wrestling? If so, who is the number one wrestler you would like to see make the transition to MMA?

 

HD: Not currently. I?m not as familiar as who are the best guys. But definitely I think MMA is the perfect sport for wrestlers. Basically it?s the next step, it?s professional wrestling. When wrestlers want to go pro they go into MMA. Before those guys didn?t have anything to go into afterwards.

 

TOM: What has been your most memorable moment in the cage?

 

HD: I think I?m going to have to say the Tim Sylvia arm-break. That was definitely pretty memorable. Definitely a pretty interesting situation. I got some flack for that, but it was only for a few minutes.

 

TOM: What has been your favorite venue and why?

 

HD: I don?t think I have a favorite venue. I really enjoy all the different places we go. Every place and every crowd is different. I enjoy the small fights, it?s a little bit more intimate. Some of the fights in other countries have a different flavor too. It?s all good, it?s all MMA.

 

TOM: As a fan, is there a ?dream? matchup that you would like to see in particular?

 

HD: Let me see. I think I?d like to see, at their prime, Rickson Gracie vs Gene LeBell. Just because it?d be great to know, great to see. They?re two of the founders of our sport.

 

TOM: What is your favorite sport besides MMA? Who is your all-time favorite athlete?

 

HD: I like track and field. But my all-time favorite athlete, that?s a hard one. I think Tommy Hearns from boxing. Him and Marvin Haggler had one of the most exciting three rounds of boxing I?ve ever seen.

 

TOM: Is there anything to stop you from selling your own t-shirt line?

 

HD: Nothing to stop me from doing that. I actually have some different people have made for me. They?re fun shirts. You can find them on herbdean.com or run into a couple of them at different shows. But nothing that I?ve really put out there a lot yet.

 

TOM: When Dana White talks to you on a personal level, does he still curse like a drunken sailor?

 

[laughs] He?s Dana White. Dana White is Dana White all the time.

 

TOM: It?s safe to say that you have the most awesome hair in all of MMA. How long have you been growing it out?

 

HD: I?ve had this for about 20, 21 years.