Whuttup, Wisconsin? It's been a long time, but I'm back with more of my asinine and unproductive opinions on the worldwide MMA scene.
    In this episode: Why you should be afraid of Sean Sherk, edged weapons in MMA and Kurt Angle.

Read on!

Who can beat B.J. Penn?

    I mean, have you seen this guy? This is the monster who tore up the division six years ago. The man picked up right where he left off when he was just a young-ass rookie, but now he's got wins over Takanori Gomi, Matt Hughes and Jens Pulver. It's frightening.

    Who can beat Penn? Sean Sherk.

    I'm not saying he will, but the former champ has stamina for days and his technique is superb, particularly his wrestling and top-control. And if you saw him fight Hermes Franca, then you know that he take can a wicked knee to the face and still throw you around like a ragdoll.

    No, I haven't forgotten that the CSAC put Sherk in the Steroid Hall of Fame, but I have my doubts. Sherk put forth a very compelling case when he appealed the decision (as outlined in an article at Yahoo! Sports: link ).

    Regardless, Sherk is pissed off, and he'll be ready for Penn. If Penn isn't fully motivated and eating healthy tofu burritos with whole-grain tortillas, he may very well get overwhelmed and out-pointed.

Say No to Throwin' 'Bows

    Can we please consider eliminating elbows from the UFC? I'm not gonna try and tell you that Penn wouldn't have won if he couldn't throw elbows, but he sliced Stevenson with that elbow. We're lucky the fight didn't straight up get called, which if it hadn't been a B.J. Penn main event, it would have. Instead we get Stevenson struggling with his brain and heart losing valuable blood, which was flowing into his eyes.

    Meanwhile, subtract elbows, add knees, please. Years ago, the UFC needed some housecleaning in order to "legitimize" it and make it acceptable to the government (always the most impeccable judge of what's right for the people). So the UFC cooperated with state athletic commissions and put teh banthammer on kicks, stomps and knees to a downed opponent.
   
    Kicks and stomps are pretty brutal, but knees on the ground just make sense and don't cause egregious face-slicing nor do they cause the same damage as a headstomp. Instruct the refs to take a low-tolerance policy on knees on the ground to protect the fighters if you have to. I would just rather see a fight stopped because the ref wanted to prevent a barrage of knees than a doctor stopping the fight because of a cut.

More TNA in the UFC

    And vice versa. TNA Wrestling will be heavily promoting UFC 81, which features Brock Lesnar's debut in the UFC. They will also air a UFC All Access type feature on Larson's training and a breakdown by none other than Kurt Angle.

    This is just another chapter in the intertwined histories of MMA and pro wrestling, so there's no need for alarm, right?

{mosimage}

    I am alarmed. Yes, I understand that it's a very smart move on the UFC's part and that they're just trying to gain more fans, but isn't the UFC steeped in enough testosterone and laced with enough tribal tattooage (tattooery?)? I don't wanna listen to the guy next to me at the bar hollering about how "Sting would whip that Brazilian dude's ass".

    It's kind of like when someone argues that another Wal-Mart is good because it provides more jobs. Sometimes, my friend, there are more important things than more jobs at Wal-Mart.

    However, I whole-heartedly invite more choke slams and German suplexes in MMA. Wisconsin fighters: make it happen.

 {mosimage}

Until next time...

Comments (14)

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gswahhab said:

	... man i have to say that has me really worried that they are doing anything with pro wrestling
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January 22, 2008
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luke said:

	... nice article! I would like to BJ/Sherk. NOt sure what the outcome would be in my opinion.
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January 22, 2008
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Nate said:

	... When Sherk was at the GNC at Mayfair last year we asked him who his toughest opponent was. I believe he answered Nick Diaz, because he said Diaz did stuff he had never been exposed to. Could be a long night for Sherk because Diaz and Penn are similar in styles, only Penn is much better. Diaz vs. Sherk was a pretty boring fight.
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January 22, 2008
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Bergeron said:

	... good article...i agree w/ MMA and wrestling should stay completey seperate, it'll only add to the "poser" fans... although for the sake of argument, i like elbows in the sport...it adds a whole new weapon for close range attacks from feet and ground. if a guy grabs ur wrist...u still have a weapon that the opponent must contend w/.
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January 22, 2008
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Dom said:

	... don't get me wrong, i used to love ecw and wcw because those guys were real athletes. it's the wwe and the soap operas that i can't stand.
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January 22, 2008
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Googan said:

... IMO, elbows and knees are a huge part of MMA. UFC already does not allow stomps, knees and kicks to the head of downed opponents. If they take away elbows, MMA will be reduced to a combination of american kickboxing + wrestling + bjj. Don't call it MMA anymore if you want it like that. Call it kickboxing, wrestling and bjj = KWB lol. My solution to the cut problem is design an elbow pad specifically for MMA, just like the gloves were designed specifically for MMA. I'm sure there are a bunch of smart people that can design an elbow pad that will not detract from the fight and at the same time prevent cuts, just like a boxing glove does.

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January 22, 2008
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Mark said:

	... Elbows need to stay. They are part of MMA. Getting cut is part of MMA. No need to change the rules. If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it.
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January 22, 2008
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Kaz said:

	... I agree w/ Mark! Luke is that a fruedian slip in your comment above? You'd like to do what to Sherk????
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January 22, 2008
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dom said:

	... Yeah, and "Diaz did stuff he had never been exposed to"?? WTH are you freaks doing to my article?
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January 22, 2008
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luke said:

	... ur halarious KAZ.....
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January 22, 2008
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Rdub said:

... I don't think the amount of stoppages warrant removing elbows. I can only remember a handful of fights that stoppage due to cuts occurred. The simple fact throwing elbows is skill set entrenched in martial arts and its able to end fights in knockout as well as terrificly gory blood baths. Learn them and learn to defend them. As far as knees on the ground I am not sure why cuts that are at most result in a realitively harmless amount of blood would be traded for a technique that can cause concussions and structural damage to the face. With that said I guess I am against them.

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January 22, 2008
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Reedtard2 said:

... elbows stay they have 2 i agree having a fight stopped dew 2 a cut sucks but my answer to that problem is if your a fighter learn how 2 defend your self from them. if you can't adjust 2 them thats your problem. removing more things from mma like googan said changes the sport. its like the argument that when a ground specialist takes a striker down and lays on them they should stand back up; bullshit do something 2 stop it, just like elbows do something 2 stop them. mma is skill set vs skill set whoever has the best should win no matter how that win occurs ref. stoppage, doc. stoppage, tap out, or knock out

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January 22, 2008
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Dom said:

	... 1) i don't think the argument "learn to defend against them" is legitimate. i could say that about any other technique. kicks to the balls? learn to defend against them. 2) if they called it kwb, would you still watch it? hell yeah, you would. if you've ever watched pride, then you've watched mma sans elbows and plus knees on the ground. and stomps and kicks but i never said add those.
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January 22, 2008
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Reedtard2 said:

	... kicking 2 the balls / bitting and those kinda things r not skill sets muyi thi is and elbow are very important 2 those fighters. as far as watching the "kwb" i would and i would still compete in it as well. however, i hope they stay,.
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January 23, 2008
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