After The Bell: UFC 109:Relentless
by Rich on Feb.07, 2010, under MMA, UFC News & Rants
Last night, after some B.S with the cable company, I had the chance to sit down and watch UFC 109. Before I get into the fights, I must say that the card was very good and a lot of the fights had surprising finishes. I also stand by the fact that UFC has the best event preparation in the game today. Strikeforce take notes.
I will give my thoughts on the main card since I did not get to watch the the prelims.
Matt Serra (16–6) v Frank Trigg (19–7)
Everyone I spoke to expected this fight to go the distance. But after the trash talking and the fact that this was a make or break fight for either one of these guys, you knew a lot was on the line. The fight started as you’d expect with Trigg keeping Serra away with punches and Serra working the body. Then the unexpected happened — not a miracle submission or a ground battle but a big right hand from Matt Serra that leveled Trigg. Serra capitalized on the K.O with a pounding and the ref stopped it.
Matt Serra is a favorite fighter of mine because he is tenacious and has a real “no quit” attitude that makes him fun to watch. It helps that he’s a fellow New Yorker, but let’s not let small details like location take away from the fact that he always entertains and surprises me.

Serra by K.O.
Dan Miller (11–2, 1NC) v Demian Maia (11–1)
Demian Maia came in to this fight with something to prove after his KO loss to Marquardt, and Dan Miller was a great opponent for him on his comeback trail.
First round was a healthy mix of standup from Miller with some takedown attempts from Maia. There was an inadvertent strike to the groin that Maia delivered, but the pace was solid and it was a great first round for both guys.
Second round had more striking from Maia, but nothing that really changed the tide of the fight. Miller continued working the striking game but couldn’t hit his stride which annoyed the crowd. Why does the crowd boo this really solid chess match? It boggles my fucking mind.
Third round had Maia really working on some takedowns. Miller continued to land solid shots and even cut Maia but it was not enough.

Maia wins by Decision
Brian Stann v Phil Davis
Phil Davis at first glance reminded me Jon “Bones” Jones due to his athleticism and explosiveness. Stann gave him some trouble in the first half of the round, but Davis woke up and put in some work in the second and third rounds to take the fight via unanimous decision.

Davis by Decision
Paulo Thiago (12–1) v Mike Swick (14–3)
Swick was substituting for Josh Koscheck here and wanted to avenge the losses of fellow A.K.A members to Thiago. Swick and Thiago exchanged a bit in the first, but neither fighter displayed a clear advantage. The second round started fairly the same but Thiago dropped Swick with a left and applied a darce choke for submission victory.

Thiago by Submission (Darce Choke)
Chael Sonnen(25–10-1) v Nate Marquardt (32–8-2)
Chael Sonnen came into this fight with a great performance against Yushin Okami and Marquardt was expecting a title shot after this victory. Sonnen proved to be the spoiler and proceeded to use his superior wrestling to bully Marquardt for the entire fight. Sonnen may have got himself into the title picture with these last two great performances.

Chael Sonnen by Decision
Mark Coleman (16–9) v Randy Couture (17–10)
Coleman gets props off the bat for coming out to Lil’ Wayne. Both of these legends have made some of the greatest contributions to the sport of MMA, and at the end of the day their performances will something we can all remember. Couture came out and proceeded to bully Coleman into the fence in typical Couture fashion. Coleman had no answer for Randy’s offense and Randy easily took the first round. Couture came into the second round using the same game plan and scored a takedown and the submission victory via rear naked choke.

Randy Couture by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
It wouldn’t be a post fight interview without some fireworks and those fireworks came in the form of the one and only Tito Ortiz who made some disparaging remarks to Coleman. I am sure whatever Tito said was far from cordial when it ends with Coleman saying “Fuck you, Tito” and “Anytime douchebag”. I am sure Dana saw some dollar signs with a potential Coleman v. Ortiz match.
Overall it was a solid card with some great fights. Randy Couture continues to improve with age and is a his best every time he fights. He is still dangerous at 205 lbs. and poses a threat in the division. Congrats to him and Coleman for going in there and putting on a great show. Nothing but respect for those two legends.
Armchair Booker: TNA
by Rich on Feb.04, 2010, under TNA, Wrestling
When TNA first started, I knew they were a special organization. They had a unique and innovative product that introduced us to guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, CM Punk, Abyss, Beer Money, Triple X, Amazing Red and countless other bright young talents. Over time TNA evolved from a niche company to an established brand. They went from weekly PPV’s to TNA Impact on Spike TV and have been growing ever since. Over the course of this growth, we have seen some great veteran talent come through TNA’s doors. Superstars like Raven, Sabu, D-Lo Brown, Kid Kash, Christian Cage and of course, their best acquisition was Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Most of these veterans came in and helped the organization as well as helped make stars out of TNA’s young talent.
Recently though, something happened that has made TNA standout to a larger audience - that being the involvement of Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff. While I appreciated the fact that Hogan was involved in growing a new promotion and even adding some mainstream media exposure to the brand, I was concerned about the appearances of some less than desirable wrestlers that would jeopardize the growth of TNA’s home grown talent. Hogan succeeded in bringing in some new blood, but, mixed in with the old were Hogan flunkies and older wrestlers that frankly have no place in the promotion. Over the last few weeks, TNA has become a mish mosh of 1990 WWE Attitude Era + WCW/NWO, which has turned me off from the product a bit. Now, often times I hear wrestlers say that “marks” know nothing about the business and should stop trying to know everything. Sadly in some cases they have a point. Nonetheless, I wanted to take the chance to do a little armchair booking and give my own take on how I’d change TNA. Enjoy.
- Keep Hogan as an on-air, non-wrestling talent but keep the TV time minimal.
- Eric Bischoff is best suited to work behind the scenes and help grow the product without hogging the spotlight.
- Kevin Nash should be involved with Hogan in a GM-type role.
- Mick Foley should work backstage with the talent and help them improve. His TV appearances should be few and far between.
- Ric Flair should continue with AJ Styles as I see that partnership having potential.
- Christopher Daniels needs to be in the main event scene and even hold the title at some point.
- Samoa Joe should be in the title picture often, as his matches with AJ & Daniels are without-a-doubt classics.
- Pope D’Angelo Dinero is ready for the main event - let’s move him up a few pegs.
- There should be a TV Title to free up space in the X-Division.
- Build your X-Division around Amazing Red, Homicide, Doug Williams, Syxx Pac (If he’s going to stay clean) and Suicide.
- I would not have released Petey Williams.
- Maintain the serious edge in the Knockout’s division. Avoid going into WWE territory with gimmick matches.
- No Scott Hall – Huge fan but he adds nothing to the product.
- Raven needs to be in TNA for his great mic work and also for those extreme matches with Abyss & Rhino.
- Don’t lose sight of your Tag Division and make the best in the world. That means no Nasty Boys!!!
- Why is Orlando Jordan there? Boot him.
- Sign Rob Van Dam to add some spice to the X-Division and World Title scene.
- Establish a working relationship with foreign promotions and showcase their talent against TNA talent. Great way to learn things
- Keep the 6-sided ring to differentiate yourselves from the competition.
- Create a developmental program to help current talent improve and younger talent become better.
- Macho Man should manage Jay Lethal. Makes for a compelling storyline but it needs to have a solid payoff to elevate Jay.
If I continue this post will be way too long. Nonetheless, these things are but small steps toward making TNA a legit threat to WWE.
What do you folks think?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
More Smallville photos for upcoming Absolute Justice
by Andrea on Feb.03, 2010, under TV
All photos are courtesy of Smallville’s Facebook page.
Strikeforce: Present & Future
by Jason on Feb.02, 2010, under MMA, Strikeforce

Strikeforce has shown that they can be a major contender in MMA against the UFC, just check out any media website where they normally talk all about UFC. Strikeforce flooded the MMA websites this past weekend due to the January 30th Strikeforce: Miami event.
Although I really enjoyed Strikeforce: Miami, it wasn’t anything spectacular, but still a good show. There were a total of 12 fights on the card, 6 of which had major importance to Strikeforce. I’ll break down those 6 cards real quick before getting into the upcoming Women’s Tournament at Strikeforce.
Jay Hieron vs. Joe Riggs
This fight was shown free on www.easportsmma.com, obviously to promote the upcoming EA MMA game (which actually doesn’t look too bad, but I’m still unsure whether or not I will buy it). It’s difficult to forgive a hypocrite game company like EA for bashing MMA a couple of years back when the UFC wanted to make an EA MMA game, and then they come out with an MMA game of their own. But we’ll see.
Anyway, the Jay Hieron vs. Joe Riggs fight was sub-par, ending with Hieron winning via Unanimous Decision. Hieron won, and therefore was supposed to get a shot at whomever won the fight that night between Nick Diaz and Marius Zarmonskis for the Welterweight Title. Though, it now looks like Diaz may be heading over to Japan to fight in Dream against Hayato Sakurai for one fight, since Strikeforce has aligned themselves with the Japanese promotion.
With that, I’ll jump into the headlining fight of the evening.
Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zarmonskis
Marius Zarmonskis was supposed to be the man to give Diaz the most difficult time in the Welterweight Division (outside of the UFC), but Diaz pretty much picked apart Zarmonskis throughout the whole fight, never letting Zarmonskis establish a game plan. Diaz ended the fight 4 1/2 minutes into the first round via TKO.
Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
This fight went pretty much as expected. The out-of-shape Wes Sims, who had a week to prepare for the fight, was dominated throughout the fight, and was taken to the ground, and treated like an amateur. Lashley finished Sims two minutes into the first round, which prompted Sims to start a barrage of name-calling after the fight. He even called Lashley a “juiced-up turd” in a post-fight interview.….. really? It wouldn’t break my heart if we never see Wes Sims in the MMA cage again. Unfortunately, he is getting back into the cage in March, against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia in an MMA event in Ohio. You know, I’d actually love to see Tim Sylvia vs. Wes Sims - at a hotdog eating contest. That would be more entertaining.
So, what’s next for Bobby Lashley? Strikeforce needs to give him a step-up in competition, and he just might get that step-up in Brett Rogers. Strikeforce’s CEO Scott Coker has talked about the possibility of Bobby Lashley vs. Brett Rogers, and although it would most certainly be a great fight to watch, I don’t see Lashley surviving that fight. Lashley is a very likable guy, and is fun to watch, so I’ll be rooting for him in that fight.
Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
Herschel Walker didn’t look too bad in his MMA debut, but he was fighting against Greg Nagy, someone who nobody knew anything about until he fought in the cage. It didn’t take long to see why they put him in against Walker. Nagy shouldn’t have been in there in the first place. Nagy went after Walker like a zombie goes after brains. Hands out front, waving around, and he even ducked down like he was going to ram Walker with his head. It took three rounds to for Walker to finish off Nagy, and even that finish wasn’t very convincing. Again, I like Herschel Walker a lot. He is a tremendous athlete and great personality, but he should probably just retire from MMA undefeated.
Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manheof
It’s been seven months since Lawler’s defeat against Jake Shields, and in this fight he was looking to get his grove back. Manheof was dominating Lawler throughout the entire fight with devastating punches and leg kicks. 3 1/2 minutes into it, Lawler threw a hail mary punch which connected with Manheof’s chin and knocked him clean out. Just goes to show that anything can happen in MMA.
So, what’s next for Robbie Lawler? Nothing has been discussed as of yet, but personally, I would really like to see Robbie Lawler vs. Cung Le. I think that would be a hell of a match!
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Marloes Coenen
This was possibly the fight of the night, and was also the fight that showed how well Cyborg can take a punch. Coenen hit Cyborg with everything she had, and Cyborg barely flinched. At the end of the fight, Cyborg became victorious 3 minutes and 40 seconds into the third round via TKO, and the punishment she dished out showed on Coenen’s face. I don’t think there is anyone in the 145-lb women’s division that can defeat Cyborg right now.
Strikeforce is now setting up tournaments in the 135-lb. and 145-lb. Women’s Division, which is something I’m looking forward to! There are a lot of great fighters in those divisions. Unfortunately, undefeated 135-lb. fighter Sarah Kaufman will not be competing in the tournament, but instead, she may be fighting for the vacant title against Smackgirl veteran, Takayo Hashi.
Other notables to look for in the upcoming 135-lb. women’s tournaments are Miesha Tate, Kaitlin Young, and Shayna Baszler; and possibly Kerry Vera and Kim Couture taking their spot in the 145-lb. tournament.
No set date for the tournaments as of yet, but expect them to start in the spring.
Smallville: Absolute Justice — New Trailer
by Andrea on Jan.28, 2010, under TV
As MTR’s resident TV wondergirl, I have been keeping you all up to date on the fastly approaching Smallville movie event. Today, I have a new trailer for you, which brings back J’onn J’onzz (Martian Manhunter) and Green Arrow, and features Hawkman, StarGirl and Doctor Fate.
Are you going to watch or set your DVR’s? Feast your eyes on the trailer and comment:





