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Decent reads: Links & Articles


Egg Shen

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This year im gonna try and read more MMA/Boxing related stuff. Ive got into the habit of scrolling twitter and picking up news that way but at the same time neglecting decent full articles being posted elsewhere.

Here's one to start it off, its basically just a list of 20 potential starts for the 2020's. Couple of predictable names here, but theres some wildcards thrown in. Decent read for when you're on the shitter this:

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/01/20-fighters-who-could-become-stars-in-the-20s

feel free to post whatever you feel is worth reading.

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Jack Slack analyses Fedor's striking game - https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/5/31/3053056/fedor-emelianenko-striking-technique-pride

Only bit I slightly disagree with is that Fedor started to decline around the time he faced Sylvia. I think he may have declined a bit before that. He didn't look good against Hunt in late 2006 - a performance that Slack himself has been critical of in the past. 

But I am being petty. It's a cracking read overall. 

 

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Re-discovered this article while searching through my bookmarks - https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/5/Pride-and-Glory-25240

It's a behind the scenes look at the 2000 Pride GP. It contains some very interesting quotes from the fighters.

The author of the article provides this gem :

Quote

In April ’00, Miletich posted a message to mixedmartialarts.com that claimed Sakuraba would purposely lose the fight to Gracie. It was another indication Pride may have been getting uncomfortably close with the demands of the Yakuza and their penchant for gambling.

Any luck, Pat? 😃

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Highly recommended interview with Billy Robinson from July 2012 - https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Sherdog-Rewind-An-Interview-with-Billy-Robinson-66305

He talks about Sakuraba, Tamura, Ali vs Inoki, and lots more. 

This bit cracked me up. 

Quote

Sherdog: What was your reaction watching Sakuraba conquer the Gracies in Pride Fighting Championships, especially submitting Renzo Gracie?
Robinson: Well, I chewed him out afterward because he had the double wrist lock and it took him too long to get into the right position. I chewed him out after the match. What he did was, he grabbed too far up the forearm with the double wrist lock instead of getting lower to the wrist to get more leverage. He would have got the submission a lot faster, but he learned it and did it good afterwards.

 

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  • 3 months later...

In case anyone fancies a bit of reading:

Jack Slack on Cro Cop's decline - https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/7/27/3192110/judo-chop-the-curious-case-of-mirko-cro-cop-filipovic

Nate Wilcox on Couture's dark side - https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/4/20/2122649/the-other-side-of-randy-couture-part-1

                                                           https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/4/27/2136878/the-other-side-of-randy-couture-2-randy-vs-the-ufc

The Cro Cop article is some of Slack's best work. It offers the most convincing explanation for why Cro Cop's career declined after leaving Pride. 

The Couture articles cover his split from Team Quest and the circumstances in which he left the UFC in 2007. I adore Couture as a fighter. So much so, that I have been binge watching his instructional DVDs this week on Youtube. However, despite being one of MMA's greatest heroes and beloved by most fans, he probably is a bit of a dickhead. 

 

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Thomas Hauser's 2015 articles on Mayweather and USADA:

https://www.sbnation.com/longform/2015/9/9/9271811/can-boxing-trust-usada

https://web.archive.org/web/20151016000105/https://www.boxnation.com/boxing-news/was-floyd-mayweather-really-dehydrated-the-fallout-from-can-boxing-trust-usada/

I reread these articles the other day. There is tons of information in them I either forgot or was unaware of.

In particular, I forgot about the rumours that Mayweather tested positive for an illegal substance 3 times between 2011-2012 and that Pacquiao's camp tried to unearth evidence of the positive tests from USADA. 

I would also recommend the articles for anyone who is interested in the differences between VADA and USADA. 

Edited by jimufctna24
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I wrote a few for boxing websites over the years so will post them below. I love a good article so will read these ones. Mart Turley used to do some great boxing ones for instant boxing.

I think these were my finest (ironically links to wrestling story telling)

https://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2017/03/boulevard-of-broken-dreams/

https://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2018/02/the-perfect-ending-knowing-when-to-bow-out/

https://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2017/08/snakes-ladders/

https://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2017/08/making-an-entrance/

 

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This is a pretty mental thread and contains a lot of information I was unaware of - https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/deconstructing-mma-myths-part-39-1-chasin´the-wolf-´round-the-ring-fedor-vs-arona.4126283/

TLDR: Volk Han claimed a few years ago that he persuaded Akira Maeda to fix the scorecards for the Fedor vs Arona fight in RINGS. Han claims that he approached Maeda just before Arona was to be announced as the winner and talked him into changing the verdict. Yet, the video evidence suggests that Han was lying, and that he was not even at ringside for the fight. 

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  • 3 months later...
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3 hours ago, jimufctna24 said:

Interesting article about the Lion's Den Camp - https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/The-Lions-Den-and-the-Greatest-that-Never-Were-176656

TLDR: The author believes that Guy Mezger and Mikey Burnett would have been all-time greats had they trained at a better camp. 

Given that I know almost nothing about early MMA, I turn to you guys to ask if he's on the money or not. He certainly makes some excellent points, if I'm taking him at his word.

What do you guys reckon?

I've only ever heard the Lion's Den referred to in positive tones as one of the early elite MMA schools, now passed by in the modern game, but acknowledged as having their place. But given the amount of carnyism that seems to have gone on in MMA over the years, no doubt a part of the pro-wrestling influence, I honestly would not be surprised to find out that its reputation is bollocks.

Edited by Carbomb
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20 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

Given that I know almost nothing about early MMA, I turn to you guys to ask if he's on the money or not. He certainly makes some excellent points, if I'm taking him at his word.

What do you guys reckon?

This sort of analysis is a dirty science, mostly based on assumptions. That said, while I haven't seen a few of the fights he discusses, I find most of his points reasonable. 

Ken came across as a relic on TUF 3 in 2005/2006. An associate of Ross Pointon's told me that Ken's training was that shit, the UFC had to bring in other coaches to train his team during the show's filming. 

Ken's drawing power kept him relevant in MMA well into the 21st century, but he achieved fuck all of note in the sport after 1996. 

Nice bloke though 😄

Edited by jimufctna24
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  • 3 weeks later...
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Yeah, that article is just shit. I get that a lot of people dislike Bisping, but the guy just vomits out a load of shite, untruths and distortions, to make his point, which seems to be that mediocre fighters who put on shit fights when they should be putting on barnburners to save their UFC careers should be exempt from criticism, especially when one of them is the stable-mate of a commentator he likes.

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