Mma fighters, and all athletes for that matter, can gain positive or negative effects from fans, magazines, and the general public by their actions. Twitter is the source of much of this negative feedback. We can all remember the time Frank Mir tweeted that he wanted Brock Lesnar to die from octagon related injuries. Or the time Marcus Davis tweeted that he hoped Dan Hardy got AIDS and died. Although these tweets were over the top, sometimes when athletes or athletic executives engage in “normal”, ordinary behavior, it can be entertaining to fans while at the same time they can relate more to that person.

Recently, Dana White did just the thing. Dana White is such a likeable guy because he is approachable, will curse like a sailor, makes inappropriate jokes, and acts like your buddy. He acts like a normal, everyday guy which gives him a lot of public appeal. White recently got into a fight with a Jersey Shore Guido looking character. This guy, supposedly named Joseph Thomas or “@tweetontilt”, started a feud with White. Thomas was apparently giving White beef about the small crowd attendance at UFC on Fuel 3.

Like I said before, Dana White is a funny guy and loves to crack jokes. Here a couple of the tweets he sent to Thomas:

“@tweetontilt those eyebrows jumped it. LOL Pauly D wants his hair back, that lady from Jesery wants her tan back and nobody wants the brows”

— Dana White (@danawhite) May 16, 2012

“@tweetontilt I’m sorry bro I can’t fight with u on twitter!!! Everytime I look at ur face I start cracking up. Now I feel bad, sorry LMFAO”

— Dana White (@danawhite) May 16, 2012

The two left on alright terms, as no serious harm was caused. However, it proves that being an athlete or executive, you can still have fun. It is just important not to go over the top. I’m sorry, but hoping a fellow fighter will get AIDS and die is excessive. This is a perfect example why everyone loves Dana. He is funny, he says what is on his mind, and he has the type of personality where you want to be around him, and be his friend. This won’t hurt his reputation, in fact it will probably just because more people to like his blunt, but lovable characteristics.

-Elise Kapala

–Saturday night’s Strikeforce card was much better than advertised. Especially by me. It featured the arrival of Daniel Cormier as a major contender and a fight between Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thompson that proved all of us who said we had no interest in seeing this rivalry become a trilogy wrong. Unfortunately, it doesn’t leave us with much to anticipate going forward. Melendez has no one else in the division to fight. Yes, he could fight Pat Healy. But in reality, Healy is clearly the third best 155 pounder in Strikeforce after Melendez and Thompson. Cormier has even less competition. And by that, I mean no competition. If he doesn’t move to the UFC, Strikeforce is going to have to sign someone just to get him a fight. The only interesting fight to be made after this card is Rafael Cavalcante vs. Gegard Mousasi, which brings me to my next point.

–The UFC appears to be continuing its strategy of purchasing, pillaging and disbanding its competition. And with their ridiculous success over the last ten years, I don’t blame them for sticking with the gameplan. But I think they might be ignoring one aspect of running a professional athletics empire. They are clearly modeling their organization more on successful team sport endeavors like the NFL and NBA than on the combat sports model created by boxing. They want to be the one venue where the best athletes compete for the most important championships. And to a large extent, they have already achieved that. But before those athletes are ready to be amongst the best in the world, they need to develop their skills somewhere. The NHL and MLB both have extensive minor league systems where young players compete to earn the right to play at the highest level. The NBA and NFL both use the NCAA for the same purpose. With collegiate MMA an unlikely proposition any time in the near future, the UFC is going to need a developmental system for young fighters who are not ready for the octagon. My suggestion to the UFC would be to use Strikeforce for that purpose. Make Strikeforce the proving ground for fighters trying to earn their way into the UFC. This model would create an interesting dynamic by adding a promotion/relegation element to MMA and MMA discussion. When is an emerging star ready for the big show? Should a struggling veteran be “sent down” to Strikeforce? The counter argument to this of course is why should the UFC pay to develop talent when smaller promotions are perfectly willing to do the work for them? My answer is that a clear pattern is emerging. It goes like this. Non-UFC organization X signs young fighters with raw talent for a minimal investment. Over time, several of those fighters develop as projected and begin to gain recognition. Those fighters have a sense of loyalty to the organization that gave them an opportunity. The organization rides those fighters to financial viability and begins to make enough noise that the UFC is forced to acknowledge them. The UFC attacks Organization X directly by scheduling competing events and luring away fighters. Organization X’s growth slows or plateaus, which causes financial issues. The UFC swoops in and buys out Organization X at a good price to eliminate competition. I don’t know what this process is costing the UFC but instead of going through this every few years, why not just be proactive in eliminating competition by having a place for emerging talent to compete instead of allowing that talent to sign elsewhere and being forced to deal with the problem on the back end? Even if you only break even or take a slight loss in raw financial numbers, isn’t the increased strength of the monopoly and brand singularity worth the investment?

–I have a feeling that this is going to become a consistent theme of this column for as long as I’m allowed to write it but I feel compelled to address another judging issue. And by “issue,” I mean the absurdity of lazily copycatting boxing’s system. MMA should not be scored on a 10-9 round by round system. Based on the judging criteria, Melendez won the first three rounds last night and Thompson won the last two. But Melendez barely won those three rounds and did no damage to Thompson. In the final two rounds, Thompson completely controlled the fight and came the closest to finishing it. I know that damage isn’t everything but Thompson obviously inflicted a significantly greater amount than Melendez. That has to count for something. We’re scoring a fight. Damage matters. If you ask me to assess who won that fight without regard for any scoring system, I’d be adamant that Thompson won. But within the confines of the scoring system currently in place, Melendez won. And to me, that’s a problem. We need a mechanism that allows for greater flexibility. I don’t know exactly what that is but I do know that Thompson was robbed on Saturday night. Not by the judges, who did a great job throughout the event, but by the framework within which they were forced to operate.

-Alan Wells

According to spectators on the scene, Jones left with a bloody nose and two girls who were in the car with him suffered facial injuries. The air bag prevented Jones from suffering further serious injuries. While no one knows why he was driving around that early in the morning with two girls in his car, the main concern at the moment is their recovery.

The real twist to the story is that Jones shot a video with the same law enforcement officers earlier in the year discussing police training and protocol.

Yesterday following the incident Malki Kawa, Jones’ manager, stated, “I can confirm that Jon Jones was arrested early this morning on suspicion of DUI. While the facts of this situation are still being gathered and situated, First Round Management fully supports Jon, and we are asking for fans and media to respect the privacy of Jon and his family during this time.”

While it hasn’t been verified if Jones was actually driving under the influence of alcohol, all this negative exposure has put Jones’ character into question. Jones is notorious for setting an example of integrity for others, and seeks to be a role model. While he has maintained a primarily pristine image in the face of the media, a mistake was bound to have been made. Unfortunately, this could ultimately hurt him with future sponsorship opportunities. A fan can only hope that this will not affect the UFC light heavyweight champion in the long run, whose next fight is approaching September 1. Whether or not the UFC decides to take action against him to use as an example for others, his fans support or disapproval, undoubtedly, will be the real testimony to his offense.

-Emily Kapala

Daniel Cormier defeats Josh Barnett via Unanimous Decision

Last night, Daniel Cormier officially arrived at the top tier of the heavyweight division. Josh Barnett is one of the top five heavyweights in the world and Cormier completely dominated him for five rounds. Cormier was never in trouble at any point in the fight. He controlled the striking game despite Barnett’s huge reach advantage. He closed the distance easily and used his quickness to outstrike Barnett on the inside. He consistently landed combinations damaging Barnett over and over with his uppercut. Any time he felt his opponent building a bit of momentum on the feet, he used his Olympic caliber wrestling to put Barnett on his back and dominated the fight on the ground as well. Barnett’s only opportunity to win the fight came when he latched on to Cormier’s leg and attempted a heel hook but he was never able to get a decent grip and Cormier slipped away easily. Considering the UFC’s history of handling organizations it purchases, one would have to expect that Cormier will make his way into the octagon for his next fight because the Strikeforce heavyweight division is basically non-existent at this point and Cormier is one of the fastest rising fighters in MMA. Considering Barnett’s history, his future is much less clear but provided his post fight PED testing comes up clean, he has earned another chance to compete at the highest level.

Gilbert Melendez defeats Josh Thompson via Unanimous Decision

Gilbert Melendez nearly lost his belt last night. I scored the first three rounds for Melendez with the first round being the closest of the three. But Josh Thompson dominated the last two rounds and had the fight continued past the fifth round, Thompson would have won the fight. By the end of the fight, I was looking for ways to justify scoring the fight in favor of Thompson but the scoring system is what it is and based on the criteria as they exist, Melendez was the winner. But that didn’t stop one of the judges from giving the fight to Thompson and even though it was the wrong way to score the fight, Thompson deserved the split decision. The first three rounds were basically a boxing match with Melendez barely getting the best of Thompson in the exchanges. He repeatedly stuffed the challenger’s takedown attempts and landed a takedown of his own to seal the second round. After the fight, Melendez claimed that he knew he won the first three rounds and that he started to “cupcake it” after that. If that’s the case, his face payed for his lack of effort. Over the last two rounds, Thompson began to dominate the exchanges and his cardio was clearly better than the champion’s. Thompson landed a right hand that proved to be the most powerful strike of the fight early in the fourth round. At the end of the round, he took Melendez’s back and in the most dangerous moment of the fight for either fighter, attempted to finish with a rear naked choke. The fifth round was more of the same with Thompson’s cardio continuing to be the difference and Melendez unable to keep pace. After the fight, Thompson seemed surprised at the decision but it was really the only one that could have been made. In his post-fight interview, Melendez tried to explain his performance by saying that he had a hard time getting motivated to train as hard as he normally would for the fight because he felt that he had nothing to gain by beating Thompson again. Whatever the case, Thompson proved that he deserved a third chance at Melendez and he also proved that he is back as a contender at the highest level of the lightweight division.

Rafael Cavalcante defeats Mike Kyle via 1st Round Guillotine Choke

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante made a statement with an explosive first round stoppage of Mike Kyle. He hurt Kyle with a knee early in the round and latched onto a guillotine while Kyle was trying to recover. Kyle tried to slam his way out of it but only succeeded in pushing the choke in deeper and was forced to tap. The performance by Feijao was impressive but we did not get to see if he had improved the main deficiency in his game, which has been his cardio. With the heavier divisions in Strikeforce currently in flux as the UFC cherry picks fighters to bolster its roster, the future for both of these fighters is unknown but I expect that Feijao will eventually make his way to the octagon.

Chris Spang defeats Nah-Shon Burrell via 1st Round TKO

In a matchup of up and coming welterweights, Chris Spang scored an impressive knockout over Nah-Shon Burrell. Burrell came out more aggressive throwing looping right hands and controlling the center of the cage. Spang seemed to struggle initially with the distance and unorthodox style of Burrell but once he figured it out, he closed the distance quickly and started landing combinations. Spang then landed a big left hand that hurt Burrell but didn’t drop him. Instead of going crazy as one might expect from a young fighter, Spang stayed under control and continued to throw combinations of punches and knees. He battered Burrell around the cage who showed a great heart and chin in trying to stay in the fight despite being hit with several huge strikes. Eventually, Burrell could not stay on his feet and Josh Rosenthal stepped in to mercifully end the fight. Burrell will need to study his technique and come back with a tighter defensive game. He clearly has the athleticism to compete in MMA but he has now had two consecutive losing performances in Strikeforce and needs to come back strong if he hopes to continue competing at this level. Spang, on the other hand, found an opponent willing to engage in a striking match with him and he showed that he’s dangerous in that aspect of the game. If he continues to develop his overall game, he has a chance to make an impact in the 170 pound division.

Ok – keepin this one short and sweet. Like two favorites…

Nah-Shon Burrrell (-260) and Rafael Cavalcante (-200).

Both of these fights should end early. Lay the money tonite and add 2 units to the bankroll!

Crisper

This is the case with Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. As reigning UFC Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz has seen only one loss in his career: the likes of Urijah Faber. They first met at WEC 26. Faber won the fight due to guillotine choke, and successfully defended his title. Years later, after the WEC merged with the UFC, Faber fought against Cruz for Cruz’s championship belt in UFC 132. This time, by unanimous decision, Cruz came out on top.

Now, all UFC fans have been anxiously waiting for the rubber match between these two fighters at UFC. The anticipation and thrill of deciding the ultimate victor is almost too much to bear. I personally had already ordered my ‘Team Cruz’ shirt, put aside my money for pay-per-view, and was already clearing my schedule for the fight. Then while watching The Ultimate Fighter Live on FX, it was announced that Dominick Cruz was out on ACL injury. I was utterly mortified.

One of the frustrating aspects of mma is injury. It happens to the best of fighters, and is a condition that even the best of fighters may face. At UFC 148, Faber will now get the chance to fight for the interim belt. But against who? No one quite knows yet. Not only is this a huge upset for fans, but also for Faber and his training team. He now has to re-focus on a new fighter, a new strategy, and someone with different fighting skills. The only problem is he still has no idea what this entails. As a true gentleman of the sport, he has already stated he does not care who is scheduled to fight him, and he shows no favoritism towards any one fighter to go against.

We can only hope that an opponent is chosen soon for the previous WEC champion. My bet is that Michael McDonald will be slated to fight Faber in July. Whoever his opponent is, one can only hope that Faber does win the fight. Any avid fan of the feud between these two bantamweights can hope to finally see who will come out on top. As their running record stands 1-1 in fights between each other, we are forced to wait for Cruz to heal until we will finally get the privilege to see the ultimate champion between these remarkable fighters.

-Elise Kapala

The highly anticipated Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, which began almost a year ago meanders to an anticlimactic conclusion this Saturday, May 19th. This was an event that was supposed to bring back the drama and spectacle of the old Pride Grand Prix’s from Japan. It started with both Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem competing along with a strong supporting cast. We were supposed to see eight of the best heavyweights in the world fight for the Strikeforce belt over three exciting events. Instead, we saw Alistair Overeem’s worst performance in years and we watched Fedor have the torch he carried for so long ripped from his hands. This was not what we expected. But as one legend is pushed out of the sport, we may be seeing the arrival of a new star. And before he can be officially established as a top heavyweight in the world, he has one more veteran to dispatch.

Saturday’s main event between Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett is more about Cormier than Barnett. Despite the fact that Cormier is only one year younger than Barnett, he feels like an up and comer while Barnett feels like a grizzled veteran. And in MMA terms, those would be accurate descriptions. Barnett has been competing for fifteen years and has fought in every major organization over his polarizing career. Barnett has had multiple PED and licensing issues but has been clean thus far in his Strikeforce run. His game is a known entity. He’s well-rounded with solid striking and high level submission grappling. His catch wrestling is different than the typical Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu grappling most fighters employ and can be problematic for those who haven’t faced it. But given Cormier’s Olympic background, it seems unlikely that Barnett will be able to get him to the ground. More than likely, this fight will take place on the feet. And if that’s the case, both fighters will be working the less established aspect of their game.

Cormier’s game is less of a known entity than Barnett’s and his skill set is still growing significantly between fights. With only nine fights, Cormier is far less experienced than Barnett but he has shown flashes of athleticism and explosiveness that could pose serious problems for his more established opponent. With his first fight coming at age thirty after a distinguished wrestling career featuring multiple Olympic appearances, many people questioned whether Cormier would be able to develop an MMA skill set quickly enough to have a major impact in the sport. His surprising knockout of the granite-chinned Antonio Silva in his last fight suggested that he may be progressing more quickly than expected. A similar performance against Barnett would thrust Cormier into the upper echelon of the heavyweight division but a decision victory is much more likely than a finish. The only fighters to finish Barnett in his storied career are Mirko Cro-Cop and Pedro Rizzo. If Cormier adds his name to that list, the rest of the heavyweight division will have to take notice.

The bookmakers have this fight listed as basically a pick ‘em with Barnett at -120 and Cormier at -110. That seems appropriate considering that we will likely be looking at a striking match between two fighters who prefer to be on the ground. Based on the growth arc displayed by Cormier over his last few fights, I have to think that he’s going to come out and show us even more than his has in the past. If that’s the case, I expect that he’ll be a little too much for Barnett to handle. However, if Barnett can use his significant reach advantage to keep Cormier on the outside, we could see the end of Cormier’s undefeated record. Barnett will need to use kicks and jabs to keep Cormier from closing the distance and using the power punches he showed against Silva. With such a clear advantage in terms of submission skill on the ground, Barnett should be able to kick freely and that will be the key for him. So while this isn’t the fight we expected to see when this Grand Prix was announced, we will definitely learn something about the future of the heavyweight division.

Fight fans love trilogies. And while this one has a bit of a foregone conclusion feel to it, the fighters did split their first two fights and Josh Thompson earned this title shot by controlling KJ Noons in their March fight. Melendez dominated Thompson in their last fight and since then, Thompson has struggled with injuries while Melendez has continued to develop into one of the best lightweights in the world. But with Strikeforce’s 155 pound division featuring names like Ryan Couture and Pat Healy as the next best options after Thompson, this was really the only fight to be made.

In a third fight like this, pre-fight discussion and analysis is generally rendered moot. We have seen this fight before. We know exactly what to expect. Melendez will use his boxing to set up takedowns and try to maintain top control. From there, he will use his ground striking to wear down Thompson and hopefully finish the fight in the later rounds.

Thompson will use his kicks to keep Melendez on the outside. He will look to stuff Melendez’ takedown attempts and create scrambles. Out of the scrambles, he will look to find his way to top position and show his own ground and pound skills as well as try to lock on to a submission if Melendez leaves him an opening.

A finish to this fight before the twenty five minutes have passed is unlikely. Melendez goes into the fight as a huge favorite at -445 with Thompson the underdog at +345. Based on the previous fights and what we have seen from both fighters since those fights, Melendez is the obvious choice to win this fight. But everyone, even Melendez, knows that. And that’s the biggest danger for the champion in this fight. Josh Thompson is still an elite fighter and Melendez cannot afford to take him lightly. Thompson will be coming out to prove that he is fully recovered from his injuries and ready to reclaim his title. And if Melendez has had anything other than a championship caliber training camp, Thompson could score the upset.

Rafael Cavalcante (11-3) vs. Mike Kyle (19-8)

In another rematch, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante tries to avenge a 2009 loss to well-traveled veteran Mike Kyle. Feijao was expected to win the first fight but tired in the second round and suffered an upset TKO loss. Kyle will be looking to prove that the first fight wasn’t a fluke and put together back to back wins.

Feijao has the unique history of never having been involved in a decision and I wouldn’t expect this fight to be the first. Both fighters have power in their hands and both have a history of either finishing fights or being finished. Feijao’s biggest asset is his muay thai and he will look to keep the fight on the feet. He will try to pull Kyle into the clinch where he can utilize his versatile striking skill set. His knees are the most dangerous part of his arsenal but his punches and elbows are dangerous as well. Expect Feijao to close the distance, push Kyle against the cage and look to attack in the clinch from there. Kyle is not averse to fighting in close and he will look to counter Feijao’s muay thai with dirty boxing. Considering his opponent’s history of cardio issues, I would expect Kyle to attack the body early and try to tire Feijao. Kyle would also be smart to try to wrestle Feijao to the ground and wear on him with ground and pound.

Feijao is the favorite going in to the fight at -205 with Kyle at +165. If Feijao is in shape and motivated, he should finish Kyle by the end of the second round. But if Kyle can push the pace early and keep the fight on the ground, he could grind out a late stoppage or decision.

-Alan Wells

TJ Grant (-460) – This one was like takin candy from a baby ….Grant took control from the onset and dominated all phases. It’s nice when you’re laying so much to never really feel nervous at any point during the fight. PUT ONE IN THE COOKIE JAR!….. + 1 unit.

Donald Cerrone (-250)- Cowboy uses his reach advantage to completely outclass a good fighter in Lil Heathen Stephens. Stephens couldn’t even play dead in a western on this night. He had no chance and Cerrone never let him breath, give the Crisper another one!…… + 2 units.

Jorge Lopez (+110) – Just read Alan Wells’ recap on this fight in UFC on Fuel Random Thoughts. We got SCREWED by the judges and I am none to happy about it. Cost us money. Bullshit. Anyway….take a half a unit and stick it up the judges asses……+1.5 units

Dustin Poirier (-325) – All I can say is, when you lay on a big favorite and he gets his ass kicked, for the betting man it feels like getting your nuts kicked in. Korean Zombie took it to our boy, and there was really never a doubt. It looked like Poirier started to turn a corner in the 3rd by establishing his jab, but Zombie turned the tables and finished him off. That result completely ruined our night giving back 3.25 units……-1.75 units

This brings our total on posted picks to -1.025 units. Check back this weekend for Crisper Picks on Strikeforce Saturday night May 19th!

–On the opposite end of the spectrum is Dustin Poirier. He’s the prospect with overwhelming potential who was supposed to earn his first title shot. He’s the twenty three year who was handed a golden opportunity on a silver platter. And for the first time in the octagon, he was the loser. Poirier was emotional and disappointed after the fight, which is an appropriate response from a young man who lost the biggest fight of his life. But the great thing about being twenty three years old is that he has plenty of time to have a career full of fights much bigger than the one against Jung. Some will argue that this was a blessing in disguise because it will give him more time to develop without having to face the pressure of a title fight. But that isn’t true. It would have been better for him to win. It would be better to have a title shot early and feel what the best in the world have to offer. But that moment has passed. He’s on a different course now and he’ll have to work harder to get that first title shot. Based on what he’s shown thus far, does anyone think he won’t?

–Donald Cerrone is awesome. If anyone was looking for a training video on how to finish combinations with leg kicks, he just provided it. Jeremy Stephens is a highly respected fighter but Cerrone outclassed him badly. A weaker fighter might have been finished by Cerrone’s leg kicks but Stephens showed his heart by staying in the fight. That said, his left leg might have something to say to his heart because I can’t even imagine what it looked like after the fight.

–Judging in MMA is still an issue. This becomes especially apparent when the sport leaves its strongholds like Nevada and California. Amir Sadollah’s victory in particular was questionable. We don’t know how the judges scored the fight other than their totals but one would have to suspect that Lopez won the first round and Sadollah the second. Neither fighter was dominant enough to be overly upset about the decision but I scored the third round in favor of Lopez and thought he was the better fighter on the night. When one considers the mystery stand up by the referee at the end of the final round, Lopez’ case gets even stronger. But that wasn’t the only time the judging was brought into question. Both Brad Tavares and Igor Pokrajac received favorable scoring. I scored the Tavares fight in favor of his opponent, Dongi Yang and based on the reaction to the scoring, a large portion of the crowd had an issue with it as well. The fight between Pokrajac and Fabio Maldonado was another close fight and I’m surprised none of the judges scored the bout 29-28 for Maldonado as I did. While I don’t think anyone can have a major issue with a 29-28 Pokrajac score because the first round was so close, I do think the judge who scored the fight 30-27 showed a fundamental lack of understanding on how to score the sport because Maldonado clearly won the second round. That kind of mistake should not be made at this level of the sport.

-Alan Wells