FIGHTS: STRIKEFORCE results: Fedor falls, Coenen Crashes, Lawlor Dances by Bowie V. Ibarra

Pretty good night of fights with Strikeforce.  After the opening with Frank Shamrock and Mauro "Dana White" Ranallo and that other announcer guy, it opened with a battle of fists.

SCOTT SMITH V. TAREC SAFFIEDINE

Would somebody please teach Scott Smith some head movement? 

Don't get me wrong.  I respect the guy, like all fighters that step into the ring and put their bodies on the line for our beer-guzzling entertainment.  But it's getting harder and harder to watch his fights as he spends a majority of it getting punched about the face, waiting to get his patented "Hand of Steel" KO.  Seriously, he's a great fighter, but Saffiedine peppered his face with punches for the decision win.

I just don't want to see Scott as the poster boy for MMA concussions and be put out to pasture like Chuck Liddell and other MMA guys that have had too many KO concussions too frequently too early in their lives.

MMA safer than Boxing?  My ass.  Let's talk to Scott in another 10 years and test that theory.

Even better.  Let's just start recommending they study the head movement of boxing.

DALEY V. WOODLEY

Woodley did exactly what every opponent needs to do when fighting Daley:  Keep him on the ground.  Though Daley was able to escape when on the ground many times, he doesn't get any points for that.  Personally, I would have given Daley a +3 for his attempt at a LeBell lock escape, but I don't make the rules.  Lackluster on the feet, it was Woodley's work on the ground that got him the decision win over 'Semtex'.

"DANCING" ROBBIE LAWLOR V. TIM KENNEDY

Who the hell is Robbie Lawlor's fight coach, Tommy Tune?  I know "Country Boy Can Survive" Matt Hughes isn't training that shit.  God knows his testosterone alone would repel a Bob Fosse-trained instructor from the gym.

But Robbie spent the first three minutes of the first round doing some kind of bizzare foxtrot ususally reserved to a Bugs Bunny cartoon, cutting a rug in the cage like a dancing queen as if he was auditioning for "Dancing with the Stars".

I expected Bruno to take Shamrock's place and provide a commentary.

"Lil' Kim is alive and well and living in your pants, Robbie Lawlor"

It's too bad he wasted all that time in the first round, because he didn't do anything but get dominated with takedown attempts and takedowns by the rabid Army Ranger.  A broken nose couldn't stop Kennedy's assault.  And his heart and effort was greater.  Considering there were dudes outside the ring who had lost limbs in war, Robbie had to do a lot more than get a high score from guest judge Lil Kim to win this fight.

Let's face it.  Kennedy is not going to go back to his friend, Mr. Schlitz, who is missing both arms below the elbow and say, "Yeah.  Well, I broke my nose and I didn't think I could make it." 

Talk about motivation.

WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH:  COENEN (C) V. TATE

"Destroy.  Destroy.  Destroy."

Guys talking trash is whatever.  But when girls talk trash, especially using the verb "Destroy" more times in an interview than I've ever heard a girl actually use that verb, then SMILE after saying it, you know they are the meanest and deadliest human gender on the planet.

Even Marloes Coenen, in her Lord of the Rings style-elven blonde french braid, somehow looked sinister in her powder blue hoodie, smiling as she laughed off her imminent "destruction" at the hands of Tate.

And, as per nature and the way guys are wired, as she warmed up with crisp and educated fists for the camera, a dude was talking on the phone behind her and checking her out.

So was another dude.

We never learn.

In the end, the girls threw down in one of the best fights of the night.  And, as ususal, they both melted down in emotion restricted to female fighters for their respective title win and loss.

Okay.  Female fighters and Tito Ortiz.

Okay.  That was a cheap shot.  Love you, Tito.  Shake the haters off like you always do.

FIGHT FOR RELEVANCE:  FEDOR VS. HENDERSON

The fight started fast, and can be illustrated effectively by the pics below.

It was the same slick wrestling move I remember Anderson Silva using against Nate Marquardt in their title fight a few years back.  Pretty much the same outcome, too.  Hendo crushes the living MMA legend Fedor in the first round.

Good night of fights.  Thanks to all the fighters that mixed it up Saturday night.  Continued luck and health to all of you.

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Bowie V. Ibarra is the author of the combat sports title "Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire" and the upcoming "Pit Fighters: Double Cross".

Network with Bowie at ZombieBloodFights.com

This has been a ZombieBloodFights.com production.

FIGHTS: Review - "Becoming the Queen of Wrestling", the Sara Del Rey DVD by Bowie Ibarra

Last month, I had the chance to see one of the greatest female pro-wrestlers in the business today.  Her name's Sara Del Rey, and she's awesome.  She participated in an Evening Gown match at the ACW Prom in May.  Here's my recap, in case you missed it:

ACW Prom: Nothing Is As Real as a Dream, '11

http://zombiebloodfights.blogspot.com/2011/05/acw-prom-beer-infused-enchantment-under.html

I had a great time and had some dough ready to pick up some Sara swag.  I was hoping to grab a shirt, but was fine with picking up a copy of her DVD.  She was cool enough to sign it, too.

I've watched the DVD several times now and feel it was totally worth the money.  There's lots of great SdR action that any fan will enjoy, with few shortcomings.

The DVD opens with an old country song about a wrestling queen.  It's a very obscure song with a bit of a somber tone to it, even though just a few lyrics were included, along with a banjo accompaniment.  It kind of gave me a "The Wrestler" vibe as I went into the first match.

Sara getting ready to whip ass at the ACW Prom Evening Gown match

The DVD is filled with great matches.  The first, against MsChif, is an amazing and hard hitting affair.  There is a wild Tapatia that Sara delivers to MsChif that needs to be seen to be believed.

The second match is against Hailey Hatred.  Hailey comes out fast on all cylinders, but Sara shuts her down.  I thought it was a great example of Sara's skill, as she slowed down the match and put herself in the driver's seat.  When Hailey tried to get momentum, Sara quickly shuts her down.

This is the match, however, that I had a hard time enjoying fully, as the organization had the announcer commenting over the sound system at the venue.  Still a good match in spite of that.

Third match features her fight with Daizee Haze in ACW for the first Queen of Queens title.  This is a good match, with the power of Del Rey against the speed of Haze.

The fourth match is against Alexxis from NWA Ringsport.  This match is pretty much a Del Rey wrestling clinic, as Alexxis was valiant, but outmatched.

Then business picks up again with a great match against Daffney with Remix Pro.  This one is worth the price alone.

It finishes with a tremendous Falls Count Anywhere match against JAPW rival Hailey Hatred.  Hailey and Del Rey take it into the arena itself, throwing down among the fans in a really cruel match.  This is a great finish to the full matches.

The final part of the DVD is clipped matches from her matches in Japan.  She takes on a masked woman named Bullfight, then mixes it up with Awesome Kong.  In typical Japanese fashion, they glam Sara up for the promo spot as a contrast to the "evil" Kong.  The clipped match itself is great, with Sara showing amazing power with several tremendous throws on Kong.  You've got to see it!

Then, there is a clipped match with Natalia "Natural Light" Neidhart.  It's a simple finish to a tremendous DVD.

The quality varies, but all of the matches are watchable.  Since she grabbed them from many sources, every match looks different.  But they are all worth the price.  Let's face it.  She's an indy queen.  And like the indies, she's just trying to make it happen.  So it works for me.  I can relate.

I think the best part of the DVD is it really showcases one of Sara's strengths, and that is her awareness of the things going on around her.  The few times I've seen her in person, I found her to have an uncanny awareness of what's happening all around her.  The first time I set eyes on her in person, she was walking down the stairs at Hooligans in San Antonio.  I knew her reputation as a bad ass, and didn't want her to whip my ass, so I backed away and made room for her.  She looked at me with a cruel smugness and said, "Yeah, you better get out of the way."  She was my hero from that moment on.

Even in matches, she's aware of what people are saying.  One minute, you might not think she's listening to the trash you are talking to her.  The next, she turns to you in the ring and actually comes back with a emphatic remmark.  You might not think she was listening, but she was.  And she knows who you are.  You see that several times in this DVD.

So, in short, if you want to have a great custom DVD from The Queen of Wrestling, grab this DVD the first chance you get.  I did.

Bowie Ibarra is the author of the combat sports story "Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire" and the upcoming sequel, "Pit Fighters: Double Cross", available from Amazon.com.

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FIGHTS - UFC 132 Results: Silva/Leben, Faber/Cruz

Hey, everyone.  I found Wanderlai Silva's jaw.

I knew, like everyone else who keeps up with the fight game, that Silva/Leben was going to end in the first round.  These two are two of the most vicious, unscientific fighters to ever grace a fight space with their brutality.  It took less time than I thought it would, with Silva falling to a wild looping forearm before clinching.  Silva tried to knee, but the wild Leben attacked quickly with uppercuts, putting Silva away.

It's time for Silva to hang it up and put him out to pasture with Chuck Liddell.  He lost his chin and his edge.  Maybe the Ferttitas or Dana can hook him up with a door greeter gig at a casino in Vegas.  I'm sure they have the hook up.

As for Faber/Cruz:  Amazing!  What a great fight.  Faber is a tremendous fighter, and Cruz is, too.  But Faber had no real answer for Cruz's unorthodox attack.  Great five round fight given to Cruz, who dominated Faber.

To all those who think this fight was close, could you seriously help me with your opinion.  With the fact that UFC always gives the edge to the person with the most takedowns, and fighters even train to takedown and not do anything with it, how could you think Faber was even close when Cruz had near double digit takedowns. 

When reversals are not scored, takedowns are at a premium when it comes to scoring.  Ask Alan Belcher after his match with Akiyama.

The two main events to UFC 132 did, however, blow the much-hyped Klitchko/Haye bout out of the water.  C'mon, boxing.

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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the combat sport novel "Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire".  Network with Bowie at ZombieBloodFights.com for news, exclusive videos, and pics.

This has been a ZombieBloodFights.com production

FIGHTS - HBO Boxing Results: Klitchko/Haye - Haye fails to deliver...

David Haye had been shouting to the world for months now that he was going to bring the pain to the big Ukranian Heavyweight Boxing kingpin, "Dr. Steelhammer" Vladimir Klitchko.  I'd been waiting for the fight for weeks now.  And so was this dude.

"Go Engrland!  Engerland, Engerland, Engerlaaaaaand!"

As per their boxing fan tradition, the UK stood solidy behind Haye, praying that he would deliver the promised goods.  In fact, Haye's trip to the ring was pure pandemonium, with his fans jumping in front of him and the camera forcing his handlers to shove people out of the way.

Haye even enlisted MMA fighter James "The Colossus" Thompson to help him to the ring.  You remember James Thompson?  He's the guy that almost beat Kimbo Slice, and got his cauliflowered ear busted in the process. 

And he had his hands full.  He should have wore a mohawk, he would have looked like Wez from "Road Warrior".

"You!  You can run, but you can't hide!"

Then, the avant-garde theatrical style popularized in Germany in the 60's and now Lady GaGa went into full effect.

Since the fight was in Germany, the promotion put together a very 1960's German Arthaus style leadup to the fight, complete with what seemed like actors from a local theatre group.  Berthold Brecht and Epic Theatre movement would be proud.

George Forman had a role as well.  He played a man on a park bench reading a newspaper from the future that had video of Klitchko/Haye press conferences.  I guess we have Lady GaGa to thank for all this classic German Arthaus stuff.

"Achtung!  Eine kline Foreman Grill"

Klitchko became a part of the Epic Theatre production, walking through the set.  I thought he was going to rough up the actors with his crew before hitting the ring.

National Anthems were sung, playing up to the natural jingoist aspects of an international battle.  A unusually sublime and feminine "God Save the Queen" was played before the masculine Ukranian National Anthem.

Personally, I think it would have been better if Nicolai Volkoff sang the classic Soviet National Anthem instead.  And Fred Blassie returned from the grave as his manager.

Below is a picture that pretty much sums up the fight.

Haye had amazing head and body movement for a heavyweight.  But he wasn't adding any punches to the mix, staying on the outside.

There were few flurries from either fighter, and Haye didn't deliver the goods as he promised.

For me, if you're fighting for one of the oldest, most coveted and respected titles in the history of combat sports, you have got to let it all hang out.  I love British fighters.  And I wanted to see an upset, even though I knew the cold Russian had the advantage with his jab.

But Haye did little but flop to the ground when Vladimir made the slightest pushing movement downward on Haye on the inside.  Haye needed to get to the inside to fight, not flop.  And with Haye staying on the outside, Vlad had the advantage with arm length.  But nothing really happened apart from several flurries from Haye.  It was not enough to take the win.

This was supposed to be the biggest heavyweight fight for years, and it sputtered thanks to Haye and Klitchko.

Boxing, please.  I love you.  I'll always love you, and champion you as sport of sports.  But if you can't put two guys who truly want the greatest combat sport title the world has ever known and to forever be known as one of the best combat sports participants in the world, then you have to put two guys in there who will lay it all on the line for the greatest combat sport glory the world has ever known. 

Please, or you will fade away.

What this fight needed was Nicolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik jumping in with steel chairs.

Volkoff sings the Soviet National Anthem at Madison Square Garden, circa 1980's
http://youtu.be/3TVU-sjy5_4

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Science will always win over a brawler
http://zombiebloodfights.blogspot.com/2011/03/fights-mayorga-vs-cotto.html

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Bowie V. Ibarra is the author of the combat sport novel, "Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire".
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