What’s So Great About Boxing Coaches, Anyway?

In the lead-up to Affliction’s Andrei Arlovski-Ben Rothwell fight I’ve heard the same question from MMA fans and analysts again and again: how much of a difference will Freddie Roach make for Andrei Arlovski? For those of you unfamiliar with Roach, he’s a former pro boxer and world-renowned boxing trainer who has recently begun working with Arlovski and who will corner “The Pitbull” on Saturday night. Naturally, it’s got to be a help to have someone like that working with you on your striking, but is it really the difference-maker many people think it is?

In order to get on board with that thinking you have to go along with two basic assumptions: 1) MMA fighters are generally far behind boxers in their technical striking ability, and 2) what a boxing trainer knows about striking is relevant and translatable for an MMA fight.

The first point is mostly valid. Because boxers only use their fists and only fight using a limited array of options, they’re probably going to be better at using them, if for no other reason than the fact that they can afford to spend more time on it. Just like a decathlete can do a lot of things well, he still can’t throw a discus better than the guys who do nothing else.

But it’s the transition to the second point that gets me. Boxing is a different sport. Some of the conventional wisdom in boxing — even basic fundamentals regarding stance, hand positioning, and defense — don’t necessarily work for MMA because of the threat of takedowns, kicks and knees, and the size difference in the gloves. So why is it necessarily so great to be coached by a boxing trainer?

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MMA Photo Hunt: Anderson Silva

(Props: BloodyElbow)

It’s surprising how similar Anderson Silva’s new light-heavyweight build looks compared to his old middleweight frame. In fact, trying to spot the differences between these two pictures is like playing the most boring game of Photo Hunt ever. Sure, his stomach is a little more filled out now and he changed his shorts, but then it gets a little tricky. Does his neck look bigger, or is that just the lighting? Is he retaining water in his ankles?

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“Kid” Out of DREAM.5; Shinya Aoki Has Tights Picked Out

(“Wii Fit not as easy as looks.”)

DREAM.5 is only three days away — not the most convenient time for the lineup to fall apart. First, the bad news: Featherweight star Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (pictured above) has injured his right knee in training and won’t fight at Monday’s show; the injury might put him on ice for six months. Even worse, a feature in the forthcoming issue of the Japanese tabloid Shukan Gendai alleges that Yamamoto is a regular user of marijuana. (Apparently, that’s looked down on over there; we Americans revere marijuana for its glaucoma-easing and gogoplata-inspiring properties.) Yamamoto last fought at K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! (12/31/07), where he smoked Rani Yahya via TKO.

Featherweight Hideo Tokoro is also in danger of dropping from the card, as he was rear-ended while driving on Wednesday, and suffered a back injury could take a week to heal completely. Strangely enough, FightOpinion reports that Tokoro’s scheduled bout against Takeshi Yamazaki was being promoted as an “ikemen” (hot guy) match. And if that’s what it takes to sell fights in Japan, I think I’m going to arrange a superfight between Hard Gay and Bruno.

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Dana White and Tom Atencio: MMA’s Newest Soap Opera

(Ladies go crazy for a sharp-dressed man, courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

One thing I’m going to miss with Gary Shaw backing into the shadows at Pro Elite is the name-calling and childish back-and-forth between he and Dana White. It was just so entertaining, what a shame to see it go. But the Dana White-Tom Atencio rivalry could be the next best thing. Sure, Atencio doesn’t wear a track suit, but he does have a wardrobe that appears to consist entirely of Affliction t-shirts, which is almost as good. Plus now he’s taking pages out of the Dana White playbook:

For the money-conscious cable-ready consumer, the difference between watching a free UFC show and paying $39.95 to watch Affliction might be a no-contest.

Affliction appeared to land one last counterpunch, however, making a deal to broadcast its card on closed-circuit television at Gold Coast casino, which is directly across from the Palms on Flamingo Road.

“It’s just another opportunity to watch our fight,” Atencio said.

Granted, it’s more of a symbolic gesture and not quite on par with scheduling an event on the same night as your competitor, but you have to love how Atencio — like White — plays dumb about it. The L.A. Times article actually has quite a few fun nuggets, most notably quotes from White where he plays the role of grizzled veteran MMA promoter:

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Ben vs. Ben: The UFC/Affliction Argument

(One more Ben never hurt anything.)

At Wednesday’s press conference in Los Angeles every single Affliction employee made sure to refer to their event as “the biggest event in MMA history.” That may be a blatant exaggeration, but this coming weekend is still a monumental one for our sport, not to mention a great one for those of us who love it. With that in mind, we bring you another edition of Ben vs. Ben, where Cage Potato’s similarly named editors battle it out. This time it’s personal.

Which underdog has the best chance of scoring an upset this weekend?

Fowlkes: There are underdogs and then there are underdogs. By that I mean there are the guys who are betting underdogs and the guys who are mostly just perceived to be underdogs, even if the line on them doesn’t really reflect it.

For the latter I like Ben Rothwell. It might only be a mild upset for him to beat Andrei Arlovski, but it would go a long way toward silencing the Rothwell haters who still think his thirteen-fight win streak was all IFL hype. Some of it was, sure, but Rothwell is a monster. He can do everything Arlovski does, only better. He’s also matured and become a real workhorse in the gym since leaving the IFL, whereas a lot of guys might have slacked off with no fights on the horizon.

As for real betting underdogs, at +400 Reese Andy’s my man (okay, so the old IFL loyalties are starting to show, I admit it). It’s not that he’s so much better than Brandon Vera, but I just don’t believe Vera’s head is really in this fight. He’s still dwelling on the Werdum fight, still feeling like he ought to be a heavyweight, and now Andy’s going to come in, take him down, and grind away at his face for a decision victory. It’s definitely not out of the question.

Goldstein: Wow. You should have prefaced that response with “Caution: Extreme Nuthugging Ahead.” I like Rothwell too, but to say that he does everything Arlovski does, only better — well, it’s a statement that can only be proved by the fight itself. Still, I have to agree that Rothwell has a good shot at surprising a lot of people. Arlovski vs. Rothwell is the only fight on the Affliction main card that isn’t completely lopsided, and Big Ben has the tools to win.

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Double-Liveblog Action This Weekend!

(Spider-Man punching a hole through the Sandman; just saying.)

Attention, Potato Nation! We will be liveblogging both “Affliction: Banned” and “Silva vs. Irvin” on Saturday night. I (BG) will be posting round-by-round updates and commentary for the Affliction show, while live updates for the UFC card on SpikeTV will be handled by the lovely and talented Chad Dundas of MMA-America. Fowlkes will be attending the Affliction show in person and will surely return on Monday with wild stories. Luiz De Souza, I would imagine, will be somewhere furiously translating Portuguese. And there you have it — there’s no other place to be this weekend for MMA event coverage than CagePotato.com. Come by and bring friends.

As it turns out, I’ll have my hands full covering Affliction, since the entire card will now be televised. “Banned” was originally slated to feature two fights on Fox Sports Net and five fights on pay-per-view, with four preliminary bouts expected to go untelevised. Now, FSN will feature three matches, and the rest will be on the PPV card. Here are the particulars:

Affliction: Banned prelims — Live on FSN, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET; will feature Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Edwin Dewees + 1 more fight
Affliction: Banned main card — Live on pay-per-view starting at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET
UFC: Silva vs. Irvin — Live on SpikeTV, 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET

Be here.

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UFC 90: October 25th in Chicago

(Ditka vs. Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, and GSP simultaneously: Who ya got?)

For the first time in the league’s history, the UFC will be holding an event in Chicago. Dana White broke the good news through the Chicago Sun-Times, announcing that UFC 90 will go down October 25th at the Allstate Arena, which was previously the venue for Adrenaline MMA’s debut card last month. Said White:

”Chicago is a huge market for us. We track pay-per-view buys for our events and ratings on Spike TV, and Chicago is a killer market for us. There are tons of fans in Chicago and around Chicago, and it’s going to be one of the places we hit often. It’s a great fight town, and we’re really pumped that we’re finally getting this done.”

The reason it took so long is because MMA wasn’t fully sanctioned by the Illinois Athletic Commission until recently. No matches are announced for the event yet, though White, unsurprisingly, promised a “big-time fight.” (Forrest Griffin vs. TBA? Sanchez vs. Alves? Illinois native Matt Hughes settling his grudge with Matt Serra?) Tickets will go on sale to the general public on August 9th, though scalpers members of the UFC Fight Club will have a chance to buy tickets earlier.

(Props: FiveOuncesofPain)

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