UFC 203, Glory 33, and GGG vs. Brook Fallout

It was another busy weekend in the combat sports world. It was also a very strange weekend in that same world. Each major show featured some type of controversy. The UFC saw a pro wrestler debut and than after he was done a bad episode of WWE Raw break out. The main event saw the loser claim some type of screw job worthy of Vince McMahon had gone on only for the replay to dispel that. Kickboxing saw a world champion more or less give away his own championship. With boxing the most feared knockout puncher in the world under perfomed yet still get the stoppage.

Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook- The fact this fight was taking place at all was strange a series of dominoes having to fall just right. Golovkin the WBA, IBF, and WBC middleweight champion wanted Canelo Alvarez who said “I’ll fight him” only to stall. He was open to Billy Joe Saunders in hopes of becoming the Unified champion only for Saunders to run away. That left him negotiation with Chris Eubank Jr. a lesser known middleweight from the United Kingdom. Brook meanwhile the UK born IBF welterweight champion has longed for a big fight. Amir Khan a fellow British fighter would make the most sense but has turned down the fight and Khan is still recovering from a KO by Alvarez in May. Brook and his promoter Match Room Boxing attempted to set up a fight with WBO champion Jessie Varguez. Match Room also handles Eubank Jr. Than Britexit happened, suddenly The Varguez fight no longer made finiach sense. At the same Chris Eubank Sr. the father manger and former fighter in his own right began making demand of Match Room including ticket and PPV prices in the UK (The fight aired on HBO in the US) and even things like who could call the fight. Match Room refused. Finally Eddie Hearn the owner of Match Room offered Brook the fight with Golovkin and the fight was made.

The led up to the fight was largely Big Middleweight Brawler vs. Smaller Better Boxer Welterweight. Most expected a fight similar to what we saw when Canelo fought Khan in May. That wasn’t true. Golovkin is hardly a brawler only looking for a big show. He’s a got a great skill set when it comes to his pure boxing. Brook meanwhile is a huge Welterweight also Brook hasn’t shown to be prone to power shots like Khan has. In fact in at ever check of weight Brook outweighed Golovkin. In the first round GGG came out more aggressive than usual looking to end the fight in spectacular fashion. He hurt Brook early on. Soon though it was clear it wasn’t a typical night for GGG. The second saw Brook win the round. The normally super accurate Golovkin failed to land many clean shots. He took several punches and his face was showing damage signs early on. That’s not to say he was losing. Brook took a tremendous amount of damage as well. As the fight went on more and more Golovkin managed to trap Brook in a corner or against the ropes.

After the forth round the corner for Brook seemed frantic. In the fifth Golovkin again had his challenger trapped and appeared to be taking over moving towards the KO. Still Brook was up fighting and appeared unhurt. Than Dominick Ingle the trainer for Brook threw in the towel ending the fight. At the time it was stunning commentator Bernard Hopkins even questioned it. Post fight it came out that Brook had suffered a broken eye socket in the first round. Ingle made the always difficult call to protect his fighter from himself. Golovkin showed even on an off night he’s still dangerous. Brook got a big payday he had been seeking for years and gained great respect for his Daring to Be Great.

UFC 203- It was a bizarre event even before it began. The pro wrestler at 0-0 fighting the guy that was only 2-0 with less than a full round in those two fights. Ian McCall being the victim of a late pull out again. Fighters getting stuck in a elevator and it falling injuring CB Dollaway and forcing him to withdraw. Than the actual event happened. And CM Punk the pro wrestler had to wonder at times “Am I back on Raw?” given many of the almost pro wrestling like moments that took place.

Earlier this year Stipe Miocic broke the curse of Cleveland when went to Fabrico Werdum’s home town and knocked the Brazilian out to claim the title. This earned Ohio Native his own home town title defense. A week before Miocic won the belt Alistair Overeem had just won his forth fight in a row earning the first shot at the new champion. The match up was exciting for fans and nearly perfect. If wanted the perfect fighter to beat Miocic you want someone like Overeem a diverse striker with KO power in any limb and a solid ground game with take down defense. And if you wanted the perfect fighter to beat the Reem it would be a guy like Miocic. A super athletic fighter with good boxing, known footwork and cuts angles, with strong wrestling and a powerful right hand.

In the first minute it looked the UFC was about have yet another new champion. Overeem caught Micoci with a punch dropping the champion. Reem who came out to the old Pride FC theme than used another trademark of the Pride era looking in the guillotine choke he won many fights with during that time. Miocic though escaped and got the fight standing. From there is seemed Overeem abandoned any type of game plan. It was one of the confusing plans by the guy that is the most experienced fighter in the UFC. Instead of effect back peddling, using the bike he just ran away. Not just avoiding the fight he actually ran. When Overeem did attack it was a lot of looping shots that missed. Going into the fight many speculated Miocic would have the advantage in cardio given the pace he can keep. Overeem wasted gas with such moves. Also not helping when Miocic did cut off the ring Reem was to accepting of taking punches. Both men hurt the other but Miocic hurt Overeem more. After an ill advise side kick by The Reem, Stipe took him down. The champion quickly gained mount and hit effective ground and pound. Miocic retained his title. Post fight Overeem didn’t help himself accusing Miocic of tapping out earlier in the fight.

The co-main event was a disgrace. It was bad fighting, awful coaching, poor revering all at once. In the first fight between these two Fabrcio Werdum dominated Travis Browne. Most expected much of the same in the rematch. Since the first fight Browne has gone downhill badly losing badly to Velasquez and Arloviiski. Werdum had won the world title in a brilliant performance. He than lost it when he fought stupid and charged into a Miocic right hand. Once again Werdum fought stupid. Yes he won but it was not in a way impressive enough to demand another title shot. Werdum has gotten away from the very things that won him the title. The solid Muay Thai striking has given way to a jumping bean. If Werdum tried to fight Miocic he fought Browne I see another knock out coming his way.

It’s truly sad to see what has become of Travis Browne. Brian Stann a former training partner of Browne’s posted the following during the fight and it sums up perfectly. “I remember sparring w/Travis Browne, his footwork was confusing and his kicks massive. Now both are gone.” There was a time Browne was seen as a champion in the making coming off strong knockout wins over Josh Barnett and Overeem. Than the first fight with Werdum happened. It exposed big holes in his game. Browne made changes in his training. He left Jackson Winkeljohn to head to the Glendale Fight Club and head trainer Edmond Tarverdyan. It proved to be a huge mistake. Browne technical ability to throw a punch improved so much of what made him a contender has been lost. Even worse Tarverdyan offered no help in the corner anger screaming making no appearance to give actual advice. Post fight Tarverdyan was kicked by Werdum a truly disgraceful fight.

There is a whole lot to really say about Micky Gall’s easy win over CM Punk. Gall did exactly what he should have done take Punk down and work a submission game. People that liked Punk odds are still fans. Those that hated him and found it to be a disgrace to the sport still hate him To Punk’s credit he got in the cage. He made efforts to escape and even blocked a few submission. Post fight he was humble made no excuses. Gall appears to have a real future he shown good striking and grappling in limited appearance. He himself was realistic about who he beat and when making a call was smart. He didn’t attempt to force himself into the top ten before he was ready.

The California Kid is no kid anymore. Uriah Faber is now thirty seven years old with forty three fights in his career. The truth Faber hasn’t been an elite fighter in a few years. His last impressive win was over Michael McDonald in 2013. He’s won fights but that is part in due to a combination of a lower level fighter and a slow decline in his skills. He got his title shot at Cruz based more on name value and the selling point of the rivalry with Cruz. Jimmie Rivera entered the fight on a long win streak and seemed like the person that could beat Faber. In this fight Faber looked slower and weaker than he ever has. Faber out struck him and Faber didn’t move well against it. He couldn't get a take down. In many ways Faber’s best attacks were illegal two low blows and a eye poke. Rivera has skills and I don’t want to make it seem like he only won because Faber is old. No doubt it played a role.

In the main card opening Jessica Andrade mauled Joanne Calderwood. Both fighters came in off big wins. Andade had easily beat former title challenger Jessica Penne while Cadlerwood had dominated another former challenger in Valerie Letourneau. Andrade known for her aggression charged right at Calderwood ate one elbow and than controlled the rest of the fight. Calderwood is known for slow starts and never really get started.

Glory 33- In five years of operation Rico Verhoeven has been the best fighter in Glory Kickboxing. He is now tied for the most wins in the promotion and with five world title deference he is the most successful champion. Despite being a heavyweight he is more known for technical strikes and speed over raw power. The promotion has set up a super fight with former K-1 Star Badr Hari the bad boy of kickboxing with numerous knockouts. Verhoeven though had some business to take care of first. Verhoeven had a title defense Anderson Silva (different Anderson Silva) a long time vet. Verhoeven simply chopped Silva down with leg kicks earning a second round KO. In the featherweight contender tournament former champion Serhiy Adamchuk attempted to earn another title shot. Facing off with Gigi Chikadze Adamchuk took a large number of body kicks. Chikadze scored the win. But the real start of the tournament was the debuting Mike Embry. In the first round Embry knocked out veteran Lim Chi-Bin. In the finals he knocked out Chikadze to earn a title shot.

The Glory Middleweight championship has often found itself stepped in controversy. The first fight between Simon Marcus and Artem Levin was a clinch fest scored a draw. Though many felt Marcus should have won. The rematch was another clinch fest that saw was poor officiated. It got so bad Levin not only walked out on the fight he walked out on the promotion. Marcus was making his second title defense as the main event of the Super Fight Series portion of the card. Jason Wilnis has fought Marcus in a tournament fight losing. Wilnis has always his loss was due to have a tougher first round fight. Marcus controlled the first round and was on his way to winning second until he played games. Late in the round Marcus was in a corner and began moving his head like Ali or Roy Jones. Wilnis caught him with a hook though that sent Marcus’ mouthpiece flying. The referee stepped in and issued a count giving Wilnis as 10-8 round. In the third Marcus came out to brawl moving away from the style of fight he had been using to win. An aggressive fighter though is an open fighter. Wilnis caught Marucs three times which the referee ruled as knockdowns. Three knockdowns in a round ends the fight in Glory. Marcus might of well has handed the belt over. So will argue the referee was wrong. But a ref’s job is to protect the fighter. Marcus put himself in the position and he’s the one that fought stupid.

Biggest Winners

Stipe Miocic- Hey he’s a champion that retained his title. These days that is pretty rare. Rising up the rings Miocic was seen as a fighter with great potential but by no means a sure thing to become champion. Now in consecutive fights he’s beaten two fighters both in the debate for greatest heavyweight of all time knocking both out in the first round. Miocic showed no fear of The Reem’s vaunted striking. He was hurt early on but recovered. Add into that the added pressure of fighting at home he performed brilliantly.

GLORY- The kickboxing promotion has a very good show airing live on ESPN 2. Add into that new investors from China including former NBA star Yao Ming two big land marks for the company. Even more important the Rico vs. Badar is now set. Verhoeven won his fight in dominate fashion. Any time you book a fighter it’s a risk. Anderson “Bradrick” Silva is a tough vet and going in some wondered if Verhoeven could be over looking him. Instead the King of Kickboxing handled business easily.

Micky Gall- “I’d really like to fight that man CM Punk.” With those words Gall jumped into the limelight. It got him into the UFC long before many fighters would even get to fight main event on the local scene. Gall also fought very smart he knew he would have a huge ground game advantage so he took the fight there got the submission. He is now 3-0 with three finishes. Has a huge win will be viewed as the “defender of MMA” by some. And well has another big prefect fight in sights with Sage Northcutt.

Lost but earned praise

Kell Brook- No one would have blamed or odds are ever even known if Brook turned down the fight with GGG. Instead he went into the ring with the most feared man in boxing. He was actually doing very well. On two scorecards it was even and one he was a head. Mostly unknown outside the UK this fight brought him a new level fame around the world. Hopefully Brook can also start getting the bigger fights he craves without having to fight middleweight.

Dominick Ingle- Brook’s trainer made a tough call and should be praised. His fighter was hurt but still fighting back. The crowd was going to boo the stop. And many were questioning what Ingle was doing. It was only after the fight where he learned how bad Brook was hurt that he was proven correct. In many other sports a bad loss where you are “beaten down” doesn’t end a career. In boxing a bad loss really can be a beat down and one bad beat down has ruined a career. With an injury and tons of time left as one of the best was staring to find his grove Ingle saved his fighter.

CM Punk- Many have already written about the praise Punk deserve for simply getting in the cage. So I won’t repete that. But its true. Add into that Punk earned the respect of his teammates and coaches pretty good for someone “who doesn’t belong.”

Biggest Losers-

Edmond Tarverdyan- Tarverdyan rose to fame as the trainer of Ronda Rousey. As Ronda’s fame and success soured so did his and the high profile client list. Its a cycle we often seen in combat sports, as Andre Ward emerged as a star fighter like Amir Khan and Andre Berto sought out Virgil Hunter, As Carlos Condit and Rashad Evans hit the upper level of MMA many fighters turned to Greg Jackson. The problem is Hunter and Jackson have had other success fighters besides there first one to become a star. Rousey fighter is the only high profile fighter to have a winning record with guy as trainer. Jake Ellenberger had already slipped a bit as GFC fighter he slumped badly. Travis Browne has fallen off the map since working with Tarverdyan having awful performances in several fights. Than add in other names such as Jessyman Duke and Shayna Bazler who looked awful under his training.

Almost every fighter out of GFC seems to have the same style. They comes out throwing one or two punches and wait wait wait wait and wait some more. Ironically the only fighter who doesn’t have this style is Rousey. And well as her mother pointed out “He taught Ronda nothing. The things that made her a champion are things she knew before going getting into MMA.” And his advice is the corner is awful. We all remember the infamous “you looking great champ.” At UFC 193. At UFC 203 he was screaming manic in the corner. Only saying things like “he’s got nothing for you.” Browne was a left a lone out there had no help or tips on how to turn a tide.

Travis Browne- Once upon a time it seemed Browne was destined to be world champion. He was 16-1-1 his lone loss in part due to an injury. He had amazing knockout power good wrestling, he was aggressive with a mix of footwork and big kicks. Than he ran into Fabrico Werdum and the holes in the game were exposed. He made changes but really they have only taken away the things that made him so great. Now I won’t tear him down for hurting his finger and having a human reaction. But in a fight it felt like he had to win he wasn’t willing to go all out to get it. He’s 1-3 in his last four fights and it seems like he’s father away from the title than anyone.

Marcus Simon- Simon fought the first round of his title defences against Jason Wilnis so well. You simply can’t play games in the ring. Simon put himself in a bad spot. He was in a corner hands down moving his head but not escaping. He can’t blame anyone but himself for giving the ref the chance to count him. Than he came out stupid in the third. He had won the first round by being tight and not brawling. The third round played right into Willnis hands.

Alistair Overeem- What the hell was he thinking? Going into the fight most expected a battle of Miocic’s ability to set the pace vs. Reem’s one puncher power. Most believed Overeem either needed to finish the fight early or dispute the pace to win the fight. Instead he ran around the cage. Literally broke into full sprints. When he did attack it was a lot of wild looping punches that missed. We often refer to cardio as the gas tank. Reem was wasting gas badly during this fight. Throughout his career Overeem has been prone to be sloppy with his defense and it showed hear. Often his hands were down and he was way to accepting of taking punches. Against a guy like Stipie it’s the worse kind of fight you could fight. Mioci is big athletic and moves well. You also can’t a guy with that much power hit you clean.

What Comes Next- The fight everyone truly wants in boxing is GGG vs. Canelo Alvarez. Sadly unless the buyrate for Alvarez vs. Liam Smith is extremely low it seems that fight won’t happen any time soon. Golovkin expressed an interest in fighting Billy Joe Saunders the WBO champion but again that seem unlikely given the fact Saunders is avoiding “Second tier” fighters. He also turned down career high money to fight GGG already. The WBA one has already orded Golovkin fight Daniel Jacobs. Golovkin holds the super or real version of there middleweight title and Jacobs holds the regular or secondary version of that title. Jacobs has skill and good KO power and could give GGG a challenge. The real issue will be the usual boxing politics. Golovkin has a contract with HBO. Jacobs is one of many fighter working Premier Boxing Championships and Al Haymon. While GGG has made it clear he wants to be the unified world champion that could be enough of a hold up that the fight doesn’t get made.