seriously, those judges were on crack… wanderlei got a big takedown in the first round and had rich on his back for a good portion of round one, almost FINISHED the fight in the second round, and landed some good shots at the end of the third… what did rich franklin do to win the fight? move backwards the whole time and throw the occassional jab/kick? totally weak, but i think wanderlei will come back stronger in his next fight since he will be more preparedfor the weight cut

i agree completely. Wandy did more than enough to win the decision.

I think Wand gassing out really hurt him with the judges. Cause otherwise I thought it was Wand’s fight. Surprised it was unanimous too.

I have been saying that i’m not a Rich Franklin fan and that he would likely deliver another decision. A weak performance backpeddling the whole time with no killer instinct left in him. I hope we wont have to see Rich Franklin headline a ppv ever again.

Rich won round 1 and 3… Wand’s takedown did nothing! takedowns and control doesn’t mean anything if you can’t take advantage of your position!

Wanderlei needs better footwork and mix his striking up better, you can see his powerpunches coming from a mile away so why move in on him too much..

wanderlei doesn’t need a rematch. It was clear in my eyes that he lost. he was a step slower, and he couldn’t catch him with his haymakers. Too bad for him. He’s gonna slide still, I’m tellin’ ya.

CRO COP NEWS:

Mirko has not signed with the DREAM and that a UFC contract extension is still an option. This is what Mirko had to say:

I don’t now why Dana fell for the hype and rumors before talking to me. I hoped we could talk to continue working together and the only problematic thing is how long I have to wait between the fights. I don’t wan’t to sit at home for months and wait for somebody to call me to fight.
I’m greatfull for opportunity in Collogne and despite Dana’s harsh words I’m ready to prolong my contract"

stay Tuned….

Other than landing a couple hard shots, Wandy was outperformed. Wandy did nothing when on top, Rich did. Rich outpointed Wandy with strikes as well. Wandy had Rich hurt…..it comes down to how much credit you want to give that.

I wouldn’t have been too up and arms if they called it a drawy, but Rich was screwed on the Hendo decision IMO so it would have been terrible if this decision went the other way.

For all the sour grapes, Wandy left in the hands of the judges and was outperfomed in some areas so I don’t know how you can be too pissed. While there’s room for differing opinions, it certainly wasn’t one-sided in Wandy’s favor so get over it.

And be happy Wandy’s performance proved he can be a force at MW.

John,

Do you know where Dana got his info?

Dana’s a kid! It’s about time somebody steps up against him , all he wants is to make money on the fighters, but the fighters needs to make money too so if he wants Cro Cop than he needs to give him a good contract with good fights..

If by “good fights” you mean good opponents, Cro-Cop would be getting destroyed. Cro-Cop apparently knows that, which is why he allegedly turned down every other possible opponent, including Velaquez. Mirko needs to be fed a steady diet of cans to have any modicum of success at this point.

Ovaries – it probly had a lot to do with the fact that Mirko bailed after his fight straight home and didn’t even show up to the press conference. But the story Iole ran says cro cop himself told Dana after the fight that he signed with dream. We’ll have to wait and see dana’s reply.

Doesn’t Mirko always bail on the presser?

Jeremy you must wanted him to come back and lose right away, cause that is what would have happened if he fought Cain..
Now Cro Cop can start looking at better opponents, he needed to get some confidence back and that is what he got with this win!
You can’t just jump right in against top comp after coming back from major surgeries…

I didn’t want him to fight Cain. You’re saying Dana needs to give him good fights… I’m saying:

1) He can’t handle good opponents.

2) He doesn’t want good opponents.

And I don’t think this win will give him much confidence. He looked terrible against a widely acknowledged can until he landed the eye poke.

I’ve enjoyed watching Cro Cop over the years, but he has not impressed me in any of his recent fights. I’ll concede he shouldn’t have been matched vs top comp coming off surgery, but I see a predictable fighter with gaping holes in his game and questionable desire. I can’t see him winning vs any of the top several guys in the division.

I think it did him good, he needed that feeling back of just being out there.. with this fight back i say that he’s ready to take on better competition even if he’s gonna lose, a fight between him and MIr after Brock takes him out would be sweet!

I’d put my house down on the fact that he beats Mir up badly too..

Al-Turk is not a ‘widely acknowledged can’. He is a former ADCC Champion and Cage Rage title holder. Crocop made him look like a can. And WTF would Crocop fight someone like Cain only 5 months after having his knee reconstructed?? There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a tune-up fight after having major surgery.

European ADCC Champ.

And to be fair Al-Turk lost from what looks to me like a double eye-poke, the ref should at least of known something was up from his reaction – if it was fake he’d be ran out of the UFC just like Kalib Starnes in any case.

It was not a convincing performance from Cro Cop to me, though that could be ring-rust and he was carrying a little bit of weight. To say he was going to win anyway is ridiculous in this sport, plenty of people have been “losing” only to pull out a KO victory – you should not win by eye-poke and the fight should really be declared a NC.

Mania Alert***

The blogger formerly known as JOHN has changed his Mania name to John G. This is something I should have done a long time ago. Too many JOhn’s post on this site and they always post the exact opposite of how I feel, so its pissing me off.

So when you guys see JOhn G, just know its your BOY!!!!

The blogger formerly known as John as Changed his Mania name to John G….All the bloggers who I respect on here, make a mental note of that. Others like JV, need not apply! lol

Thanks for the heads up JG.

I feel that Rich did enough to win the decision and his little takedown at the end of the third sealed it. Its a shame too because they were having a pretty clasic battle. Every war that Wanderlei has been in in the UFC, his opponent cheated us out of a memorable stand and bang finish. Chuck took him down with 30 seconds to go in the 3rd and so did Rich. Where is the pride guys??? How do you battle for 14:30 seconds and then feel satisfied to lay n pray the final 30 seconds? I myself felt a little cheated both times, but more so when Chuck did it because that was the only takedown attempt the whole fight.

As for Cro Cop, he looked prettty good once he started to fire away. It was as if someone said that he had to win the fight within that 30 second span of time in the first. However, he is in no way, shape, or form ready to take on the top of the HW division. Someone above said Cro Cop would destroy Mir. I’d have to disagree, that would be a relatively easy submission win for Mir.

i knew there had to be more to the cro cop story. i’m ashamed of dana that he would down trod a man of mirko’s capacity. here’s a man who was croatian SF during the Bosnia/Serbia war. Not a canadian SF that only see’s combat as a last resort. Mirko was in the preverbial ‘shit’ during that conflict. and then to go on a become the elected member of parliament for the capital city of Zagreb, which is the equivalent of a senator from Washington D.C.. Dana isn’t 1/4 of the human being/man that mirko is

Yeah VM, I too felt really cheated out of the endings to the wandy/Liddell fight as well as the Rich/Wandy fight!

All fighters talk Sh*t! None of them ever back it up! They all promise this all out stand up war, but always bitch out and go for takedowns. Marcus Davis does it all the time…prior to this event, Rich was so happy that he finally got an opponent that wouldnt punk out, and actually stand with him…and then he pulls this crap! I cant respect that! Wanmderlei is the only fighter, that promises fans a stand up war, and goes out there and delivers, regardless of how the fight is going!

whats even worse, is guys like Chuck and Rich who NEVER volintarily take fights to the ground, punked out, and cheated us out of epic endings to classic fights!

THis is MMA, and I love the ground game…but when you go out and promise about how ITS GOING TO BE AN ALL OUT STAND UP WAR, and then win the fight with a takedown in the last minute of the fight…I call that a BITCH MOve!

When you shoot for a takedown in the last seconds of a fight…Only 2 things can occur:

a) you take the opponent down, and lay n him, holdin on for dear life until time expires…. or
B) THe opponent defends the takedown until time expires.

Both scenario’s lead to boring ends of epic fights, and the fans being cheated out of the last 30 seconds of an epic stand up war!

I have no problems with takedowns, but I am sick of fighters squeeking out wins, with a last second takedown.

IMO, all the mma judges need to be rounded up, and UNIVERSALLY, they should stop awarding points for late second takedowns….when fighters do NOTHING with it, but ride out the victory til time expires…if you take your opponent down, the last 30 seconds of a fight, and proceed to pound the FOCK out him, then thats acceptable….but to lay n pray at the end, or do some BS form of “swicking out”, just to show the judges that you are staying busy is unacceptable in my eyes!

UFC went to Germany for the 1st time ever….as a Headliner, Rich, owed to it to the fans, to bang away for the last 15 seconds….IMO, he cheated the 1st time German fans out of what could have been a classic ending!

just my 2 cents!

John G,

1. No one “promised” a stand up war. Rich said he was excited for one.

2. Wandy went for takedown. (You’ll say not at the end, but so what, it wasn’t off limits).

3. Rich wasn’t “content to lay n pray.” He definitely wanted to inflict damage and try to finish the fight from there.

4. If you feel rocked even a little and you know your safe on the ground, you would be an idiot not to take it there.

5. Even if one were to promis a standup war and it wasn’t working out, it’s fine to change it up especially when a fight goes the distance.

6. You bust out with some total biased sour-grapes rants sometimes and it always catches me off guard. No one jipped anyone or you. Your guy lost. It happens.

Good post John G! Late second takedowns are terrible – especially by fighters who normally do not look for takedowns at all. I dont care if it is the smart thing to do – it sucks for the fans.

At the end of the day, Wandy was fighting for the fans and Rich was fighting for the judges – And unfortunately, fighting for the judges is what will get you the W.

John,

I sound like more of a dick than I intended, lol. I just wanted to make the opposing case.

either knock someone out or get knocked the f*ck out. layin on somebody n taking them down with jr.high football form tackles doesn’t mean u’ve kicked anyone’s ass in my book. leaving someone with knots and gashes on their face is, not bumps n bruises

ovaries is a franklin nuthugger!

Last minute takedowns are within the rules, part of the sport, and an intelligent strategy in a close fight. They can be defended, and if they are the defending fighter gets a nod from the judges.

Do you guys get mad when your favorite football team is up by a field goal with a minute left and takes a kneel-down?

Good points JJ!

Thankyou JJ,

It’s intelligent. Do guys have an obligation to entertain? I think so. Is it there only responsibility? Hell no. Winning is still pretty important even if you have to take someone down at the end of the fight.

CRO COP QUOTE!

"I don’t know why White listened to the rumors instead of talking to me. I hoped that we will talk about a continuing of our collaboration, because the only obstacle was the long period between two fights that has been offered to me. I don’t want to sit at home so long and waiting that someone calls me for a fight."

"However, I am grateful to Dana White for an opportunity to fight in Cologne and despite his harsh words, I don’t see the reason that we don’t prolong the contract."

I didn’t think he would just bail like that, good thing I’m not as fickle or gullable as most “fans”.

N joke! he’s gonna have to cut some serious muscle to just to stay at a catch weight of 195, more less make 185. And that cut in muscule is gonna take away his power and his ability to bully people around.

If Wand cuts properly and gradually he can easily make 185. Look how much bigger Franklin is, and he makes the cut.

“I’m still in shock. Cro Cop was punking all of us. I hope Cro Cop goes on a three fight losing streak and gets the hell out of MMA. He’s a disgrace.”

“…He can’t even beat Mostapha Al-Turk without poking him in the eye.”
this is a quote from ariel halwani, while we normal bloggers can have this opinion, is he a UFC employee or fan boy or is he supposedly the best mma interviewer and opinion giver? These statements are biased and dumb. First, Cro cop can sign with whomever he wants and 2nd, who cares??!!

who is he fooling? punking all of us? what he does is none of his, mine or dana’s business.. Mirko wasn’t signed to anything! He does whatever the hell he wants, it’s his career and his life..

I agree rob. His contract was for 1 fight….he has every right to test the free agent market and sign with whatever organization he chooses. I dont even get how this is an issue…not only does he have every right to sign with whoever he wants, but he is OLD and cant compete with top UFC heavyweights anyway…so who the fOCK cares?

Anyone who knows anything about law will tell you that a verbal agreement to sign a contract is absolutely LUDICROUS! Dana White must be out of his mind if he thinks Crocop is obligated to sign with the UFC just because they discussed it over the phone. He can go wherever the f0ck he wants and good luck to him!

cro cop vs. liddell would be a fight to see

That,s the beauty about these guys..they are part of the older one or two dimensional fighters, but I would still pay big bucks to see a guy like Lidell fight.

Has Wand ever even cut weight before? Rich looked way bigger than him and Wand only had to cut ten pounds… just lay off the carbs for a week and go for a run before the weigh-ins and you’re there.

If he did cut it last minute that is dumb as hell. I’ve never seen Wand tired to start a second round before… and the Pride first rounds were ten minutes!

your telling silva how to cut weight.how many mma fights have you been in.you are your biggest hero

I’ve fought MMA rules as many times as you’ve had intercourse with a woman. Now go lie down on the train tracks. I’m sure there are some behind the trailer you live in with your meth-addicted relatives.

Hey JJ, What did you think about Cottley-Cotto? I was already exhausted from ridiculous judging on the UFC card, i just couldn’t handle it anymore after that fight. 116-111? 115-112? Are you fn kidding me? The fact that joshua threw away that last round also had me reeling in disgust.

It was close as hell NNR. Tough to call. Cotto had the early knockdown and fought through a headbutt later on, but Clottey was landing combinations. To be honest I was smashed by the time I got around to watching it, but the scorecards were bullshit!

Mayweather is injured (allegedly) and the Marquez fight has been postponed. Manny is on the verge of fighting Cotto. I think Cotto should be fighting other welterweights like Williams and Manny should stop fighting bigger guys, but it will be damned interesting.

It’s going to be strange after the TUF Finale next weekend; there are NO fights for three weeks. Get ready for a ridiculous amount of UFC 100 hype for the next month.

Wand and the guys from Chute boxe never got tired in Pride and now that they’ve layed off with the illegal stuff we’re seeing them tire no matter how hard they train..
Sean Sherk looks tired to me too when he fights now after the steroid suspension

Wand was not a huge guy fighting at 205, and I believe typically walks around at a weight close to that. I could be wrong, but I have a hard time believing the weight cut was the reason for him gassing early. Ten pounds isn’t that much. From some of my own experience, sometimes for no apparent reason, energy levels fluctuate and there are down cycles. I believe Wand has some good fights left in him, but also think he has harder miles on him than most other fighters his age.

Rob, I like you, and usually I agree with you, except for when you talk about that Moron TITO…but lay off the unproven steroid allegations…its just not cool to tarnish a fighters name like that without having proof. U r better then that man!
Not to mention the fact that Steroids are used to increase strength. U dont get better cardio by shooting yourself with roids. only way to have great cardio is by busting your ass in the gym, and putting in the necessary work. THere isnt a substance known to man, that can make you a cardio machine just by taking it, or shooting it into your system.

i actually dont think as many fighters did Roids in Japan, as many of you guys make it to be. Did some fighters in Pride use roids? ABSOLUTELY, but guess what, there are athletes in every single professional sports league that do roids. I’d bet that there were far more fighters in Pride that didnt do roids, then ones who did use them. so, iMO its not fair to tarnish every fighters name that came over from Pride.

Some Pride fighters have looked amazing in the UFC, and others looked crappy, but there isnt a direct correlation leading to steroid use.

THere have been fighters like Fedor, who were Dominant in Pride, but then came over and started fighting in the USA, were all fighters are tested, and havent lost a step like: Fedor, Rampage, Anderson Silva (yes he is a Pride guy. THe debate is PRIDE vs. UFC, not Prode vs. UFC vs. Cage rage).

THen there have been guys from Pride that havent been as stellar as they were in Pride, but there are reason’s why some havent panned out.

Lets take Shogun for example. I dont think its fair to say that he was on Roids in Pride, and now he isnt fighting up to par because he cant take them anymore.The guys has suffered the most devestating injury in pro sports, TWICE over the span of only 1 year….Isnt that a good enough explanation. Shogun actually fought in America under the pride banner and looked Phenomenal. He dominated both Alistar Overeem (everyone’s new favorite fighter) and Randleman, and he did so, in typical dominant shogun fashion, fighting as good as he ever fought in Japan, all while passing the Vegas athletic commission’s steroid and drug tests!

Then there are guys like Wanderlei and Nogueira, who have fought at a high level (minus the mir fight), but arent their Dominant selves like they were in Pride. I dont think lack of steroids affected their game…I just think they have been through too many WARS over the years and now find themselves a step slower having to face top competition on a constant basis. THere are no Zulu fights for NOg in the UFC, and Wandy hasnt been fed Guy Mezgar in the uFC…they are consistantly being matched up against the best of the best, and when that happens, someone has to lose….but I dont think that means that they are done! Look at wanderlie…his decline actually started while he was still in Pride. He lost his last 2 fights, one against Henderson in America (no he didnt test positive) and one against Cro cop in the OPen weight grand prix. A hater will say, 1st time wandy fought in America he LOST, so he must have been on roids in Japan…what an silly statement! He lost to Dan Henderson, not some Can, in a fight that wanderlei came into with over a hundred degree fever and it was a very competitive fight that lasted close to 20 minutes. Also, if Wandy’s terrific career was due to steroid use, why did he get demolishede by Cro Cop in the open weight grand prix? Did he stop taking roids when it was tim to fight MOnsters? if I were a chronic steroid user, you better believe I would be extra juiced up when entering an open grand prix where he could have faced Heavyweight MOnsters like Nog, Aleks, Barnett, Cro Cop, who would all outsize him by a ton!

Then there are fighters like Henderson, who are simply OLD! Hendo has looked like a former shell of the PRIDE version of Hendo who would just knock peoples heads off, yet NO ONE ever accuses him of roid use….Father time has caught up to him. Simple as that. I would also group Cro Cop in this category and Injuries have also played a part in his demise….getting his head Kicked off by GOnzaga also played a part Im sure!

THen there are fluke fighters from Pride like Sokoudjou. He has looked like crap since leaving Pride, but no one ever attributes that to steroids. He just wasnt that good to begin with. He was untested, but made a name for himself by kO’ing 2 top fighters who probably overlooked him. BOth Ko’s came right at the beginning of the fight, and we had really never seen him tested in a fight. He is basically the PRIDE version of Houston Alexander.

I think Generalizing Pride as basically the steroid era of mma is an extremely exaggerated and inaccurate statements. Like I said, I am sure some athletes in Pride have taken roids, but thats no different then the UFC or any other pro sports league. its easy to say, they were on Roids so now, they arent performing how they did in Pride, but I think if you take it on a case basis, and dig a little deeper, there are other factors explaining their UFC losses.

Actually John, EPO (the blood doping agent common in the Tour de France) pumps extra oxygen into the blood, increasing endurance.

John, Pride IS different from the UFC in that they didn’t test for steroids! Of course athletes everywhere are using them, but it stands to reason that Pride would have a much higher percentage based on the fact that they were allowed! Especially in the fight game, where strength and size and injury recovery (another benefit of juice) are such a huge advantage.

and some asthma meds

Watch it Syd, dude might call you a jackass.
I love Wandy, love Rich, but Rich’s technical game was, well..umm, more technical, Wandy was the aggressor, but unfortunatly, not enough to win a fight. I was in my opinion more of a split, but Franklin had that little edge more.

sorry buddy but kendall grove has already peaked and he is on the downhill slide.

Kendall needs to lay off the smoke, same as Vera, good fighters but lazy, kool guys though

Wanderlei quote to MMAweekly on fighting at 185:

"Yeah, I could try because every guy in my division have to cut to 205 and my normal is 208."

he’s around 208 when training. when not training he is between 215 and 220. i have a friend with ties to chute, and he said wandy is always around 220 when he comes back to train after time off. he also doesn’t believe wandy can make the cut to 185.

i guess it depends on what your version of walking around weight is. your training weight or your natural weight. if you’re training everyday and you are at 208, it would be hard to cut another 23 lbs. that is more than 10 percent of your body weight.

LOL, no kidding MM. This is one of the first fights I’ve seen where Rich HASN’T came into a fight with a mouse under his eye.