Fight: Florian and Lauzon represent Boston at UFC 136

Posted: 9th October 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Uncategorized
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HOUSTON- Saturday, two local fighters faced underdog situations and performed for different results at UFC 136.
Joe Lauzon faced off against Melvin Guillard. Guillard stood in a position to move up from prospect to contender, but the savvy veteran stood in the way. Kenny Florian faced Jose Aldo for the Bantamweight –145 pound– belt. The cerebral challenger faced the most explosive champion ever to come into the B.C. graduate’s sights.

Though both fighters came to the octagon game, only one made a successful bid.

“I knew I had to attend to business tonight,” Joe Lauzon said, at the post-fight press conference. He described how he stayed in his hotel preparing mentally instead of going to the UFC fan expo.

Lauzon came into the ring a 3-to-1 underdog. He left after proving odds makers wrong.
When Melvin Guillard met him at the center of the cage, Lauzon stunned him with a few punches to the head. The favorite dropped to his hands and knees.

Upon seeing his opponents back, a less experienced fighter may have jumped straight in for the choke, or ground and pound –not Lauzon. The savvy veteran of 26 fights instead observed an old adage from BJJ: “position before submission.” Lauzon ran legs.

Since the uninitiated remain welcome and encouraged to read Blast Double, this requires explanation.
The phrase “ran legs” comes from wrestling. Simply put, a fighter takes the opponents back. Then, he “runs” his legs in between his opponent’s legs, after straddling the opponent’s hips. Hooking his own ankles around the inside of the knees, around the calves, or around the opponent’s ankles adds control.

From that point, Lauzon made a masterly display of control, patience, and position. Even though it happened relatively quickly, Lauzon displayed patience by diligently taking away Guillard’s ability to control his own position on the ground. Lauzon sank in a rear naked choke – a simple choke, secured by looping his arm around Guillard’s neck from behind—to finish.

Old ladies ‘tend’ to their gardens. Joe Lauzon ‘attended’ to his business against an explosive fighter many said he couldn’t likely defeat. He did it with cold professionalism, not the warmth sometimes shown by his demeanor. He took home a submission of the night bonus worth $75,000 for his work.

Kenny Florian walked into the cage with a harder night ahead.

One of Boston’s best fighters ever, Florian showed his improved wrestling in the first round. As the rounds went on, Florian attempted to use his wrestling, experience and timing to disrupt the speed of the champion.

As Aldo settled into the fight, he made good on a swell of combinations. The champion countered the remainder of Florian’s attempts to wrestle for position.

“I wasn’t successful on the wrestling end of it,” Florian said, at the press conference.

At times Florian kicked Aldo in the legs and inner thigh, turning a technique on the champion with which many expected Aldo undo Florian’s game plan and break him.

Ultimately the champion retained his explosive demeanor, but could not finish the stout-hearted challenger. Aldo took the unanimous decision as judges Douglas Crosby, Nelson Hamilton and Cecil Peoples scored the bout 49-46.

President of the UFC Dana White expressed his thought that Florian will have to make his decisions on whether or not to continue fighting.

“It was definitely a big night for Joe Lauzon in every way, shape and form,” White said of Lauzon.

Explanation: Diaz V. Penn

Posted: 8th September 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Explanations
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OK, usually I don’t break news here, but Dana White just tweeted that BJ Penn will fight Nick Diaz at UFC 137.

Interview: Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera

Posted: 22nd August 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Interviews
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Jorge Rivera greeted each fan with a quiet, smiling demeanor.

On Sunday, August 21 The UFC’s Octagon Nation Tour brought Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera to Fenway Park where he signed swag, shook hands, held babies, and generally gave priority to people around him at the Latino Family Festival.

Scheduled from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., Rivera stuck around chatting with fans and Blast Double for about 45 minutes afterward. His polite consideration offered a great chance to get to know a top fighter in the king of all MMA promotions.

Rivera began training in 1997 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Sometimes to get a break into doing something you love you must knock on the same door again and again until someone gives you a shot. The Framingham native did just that to Jason DeLucia, who fought in the first two UFC events.

“He had actually already fought Royce Gracie, in the first one or two UFCs,” the former Army tank driver said.

Even before his appearance in UFC 1 and UFC 2, DeLucia took the “Gracie Challenge.” The Bellingham, Mass. native lost a match with Royce after driving to California intent on fighting Steven Seagal. But why did Rivera choose DeLucia?

“He was just in my area,” he said. “So I bothered him, and pestered him, and got on board.”

DeLucia pitted Rivera against another fighter before training the newcomer.

“I didn’t realize what I was doing, or what I was getting into until about two or three years after that.”

Rivera came up on local circuits to enter the UFC at 6-1. With only three UFC fights under his belt, the American of Puerto Rican descent faced a young Anderson Silva at Cage Rage 11 in London. Silva, possibly thebest fighter ever, took a TKO win with punches and elbows.

“He hadn’t been who he is now,” Rivera said. “He’s a tough guy, but I didn’t know he was that good.”

Rivera recently announced that he won’t retire, but I still asked him about a few of the controversies in his career and scheduling fights.

When Michael Bisping spit into his corner at UFC 127 it created a stir in MMA, but Rivera said he has moved on and let it go.

“I think it’s pretty obvious, just put yourself in the same situation,” Rivera said. “We’re all human beings, and we’ll probably experience the same emotions. Just move on.”

He said his Boston roots give him strength to let that roll off his shoulders.

Additionally, he has no regrets about the illusive fight with Alessio Sakara.

“It doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t. It’s a fight,” Rivera said. “I don’t have a personal desire to fight any one guy.”

Delucia brought some Kung-Fu to early MMA fights, so the subject came up. Rivera has faith that other styles could produce some great fighters if they step up.

“I do think there are a lot of people that are very good at these arts that haven’t come out,” he said respectfully. “And I think in the future there will be, you know, somebody who will be faster than these other people, in Kung-Fu or Tai Kwan Do that just haven’t been around yet. You know, but I’m sure it’s out there.”

Rivera hung out after the allotted time to spend time with the fans who worked the event.

Maintaining his demeanor of giving priority to the people around him, he turned to the UFC representative.

“Can I carry that for you?”

After providing Boston a taste of what you can see at many live UFC events, the UFC Octagon Nation Tour moved on.

Explanation: BJJ Shrimp

Posted: 19th August 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Explanations
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I went to Wai Kru again to shoot some video. I yielded to the authority of the coach on what to show as a basic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu move. I wanted to let the expert do the talking, but that didn’t quite work out. Play the video to see why.

Fight: Jorge Rivera v. Costa Philippou

Posted: 6th August 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Fights
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Entrance: Jorge Rivera enters the ring looking calm despite that this could be his last fight. He comes out to slow music. Costa Philippou looks aggressive. Mario Yamasaki referees the bout.

Round 1: The fighters pace their corners before the bell. Rivera fakes a kick. drives forward punching exchange. Riveraiverainst cage. Costa works takedown. Rivera fighting from back  pinned on cage again. Costa works ground and pound. Rivera uses wrist control to get up to feet, Rivera still pinned on cage. Costa left underhook. Yamasaki breaks them up. Costa kicks, punches, and pins Jorge on cage.  Jorge forcefully reverses and works knees. Jorge clips Philippou with a right  and pins him on cage. Rivera works clinch for an uppercut right. Phillipou ends round with Rivera on fence.

Round 2: Philippou punches for knockdown and tries ground and pound. Rivera reverses and hits his own ground and pound on cage. Philippou gasses a little. Rivera tries for guillotine. They stand and work the clinch. Rivera gets pinned on the cage before Yamasaki breaks them. Rivera pins Philippou on cage for takedown and lands in an armbar. Rivera keeps hips close, thwarting Costa’s leverage. Rivera drives knees into Philippou from close range. Philippou reverses for little action before horn.

Round 3: Rivera lands big right knee then misses a roundhouse kick. Big punches from Rivera. Philippou secures takedown after exchange. Rivera gets shucked aside after attempted triangle, and stands up. Pins Costa on cage. reverses for cage control, and stomps Rivera’s feet.  Yamasaki breaks it up. Rivera Pins opponent on cage and looks for guillotine. Rivera pounds away. Philippou pinned on cage and bloody. Philipou stands. Standing grappling exchange before Philippou lands a left hook before a flurry from Rivera.

Score: Philippou def. Rivera UD 29-28

Explanation: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Posted: 2nd August 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Explanations
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Grappling at full speed with an opponent trying to pry limbs, neck or head from your body clarifies just how hard ripping someone’s head off can be. The ligaments, muscles and bones do a remarkable job holding the human body together.

Last week I went to Wai Kru in Allston, Massachusetts a few times. On my first trip I took one of the free intro classes. I took a no-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Nick Drummond. The workout took me past what I thought were my physical limits, and I felt fantastic immediately afterward. Over the next few days…not so much.

The workout in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pushes your body hard. For every move you make, an opponent makes an opposite move. Just struggling for position puts you through sprint-like cardio, as grappling your opponent presents resistance like weight training.

The intensity does a great job getting you in shape, but the creators of BJJ developed the system to win fights –especially against stronger attackers.

The system comes more from the Olympic sport Judo than from the more traditional Japanese martial art Jujutsu. Renzo Gracie, a member of BJJ’s first family who I’ll get to in a moment, confirmed this for me via Twitter.

The story of BJJ goes back to 1904, when the father of Judo Kano Jigoro sent one of his disciples on a 10-year mission to prove the power of his “do,” or way. Judo, and by extension BJJ, provide the practitioner with a sport, a fitness routine, and essentially a way of life.

Finding his way in life Mitsuyo Maeda settled in Brazil where he trained Carlos Gracie. Gracie trained generations of his sons and their sons. His brother Helio Gracie became a national icon –he once received a medal of honor for saving a man’s life at sea.

Rorion Gracie brought BJJ mainstream in  Lethal Weapon as a choreography consultant for the 1987 film. But BJJ took the world by storm in the next decade.

In 1993 Royce Gracie showcased the skills his family created in the first Ultimate Fighting Championship. The Gracie family essentially created MMA with that.

In the next week I will post a video explaining a basic BJJ technique,  and some photos from Cage Fighting Xtreme: Beantown Brawl, It’s no tea party! where I saw Dom Warr, a Wai Kru fighter, take home a win.

 

Explanation: Why I Write

Posted: 10th July 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Explanations
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In the two weeks before the Fourth of July, an old lion thrashed a young lion in a fight to survive, an upstart overcame his fear and knocked out a legend, a fighter of unrealized potential delivered an amazing knockout, and unfortunately two local boys dropped fights. This keeps me intrigued.

The fact is I write because of the nature of the game. Anything can happen in MMA. Predictions from fans, promoters, oddsmakers, and even youtube trolls held no water as Tito Ortiz rocked and submitted Ryan Bader less than two minutes into the first.

But on another level I write because I love MMA fighters. These guys interact with the fans and remain accessible. I often have a hard time rooting for one over the other, because I have seen both fighters excel in and out the cage.

Sam Sheridan explored this idea in “A Fighter’s Heart, One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting” –a great primer for burgeoning MMA fans. As we see fighters go through the ups-and-downs of fighting, we develop a sense of being there with them. In a sense, we fail, succeed, elate, and despair with a fighter as we follow his career.

As soon as Chris Leben admitted feeling fear before his fight with  Wanderlei Silva, I was with him. He had me with that. All men know fear, yet I was also with Silva to similar degree. Having seen his trials and triumphs through the years, his status in my eyes diminished not a bit as Leben punched him into cognitive absence within 27 seconds.

Cheick Kongo dropped a few fights in recent years, but with the status of some Greek statue, his charisma reasserted itself quickly. After rooting for him, watching him develop, and seeing some of his losses I wanted him to rebound. After getting knocked to the brink of unconsciousness twice by Pat Barry, he posted himself up, rose to his feet, and made a final bid to win the day. The Frenchman regained his composure just long enough to hammer his opponent into an eyes-rolled-back state of analgesia at the 2:39 mark, for vindication.

After watching  Christian Morecraft dispatched by Matt Mitrione with an early knockout, I got ready to blow a gasket when John Howard got robbed in a decision against Matt Brown. Two local fighters losing in one night, one of them getting robbed, angered me.

I felt justified in my thinking when I sat down and spoke with Howard, but it was all casual conversation which I won’t attribute, so I’ll get beck to this in another post. The point is, I was able to walk into the gym where he trains and say, “Hi.” I promise I hold no clout affording me such privilege. Try that at Fenway.

In the ring they bleed for us, outside the ring they bend over backward for us, so on this blog I’ll continue writing to build a community for their efforts.

Interview: Mark Daniels of “Inside the Octagon”

Posted: 26th June 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Interviews
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Rather than just bringing passion for MMA to an attempt at journalism, one 27-year-old Boston blogger and reporter brings his legit sports journalism pedigree to MMA coverage.

Mark Daniels lacks neither passion nor pedigree. Before his career at the Boston Herald, he edited his school paper, and interned a year covering sports at The Eagle Tribune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VHlXK12y6s

“I learned a lot of respect for the sport,” he said. “And I realized the effort it takes just to train.”

He brought a bloody nose, a black eye, and the experience of getting choked out to his first job at the Herald, where he advocated for and eventually started covering MMA.

“I first started covering MMA in the end of 2009,” he said.

His first MMA story brought him to a fight In Wilmington where he met Kimbo Slice –one of the first fighters to make a big media scene when he came into MMA from Youtube street-fights.

He was surprised how nice the fighter was.

“You see this guy who’s scary looking. He has gold chains, gold teeth, and you talk to him. He’s just a nice man.”

Even with his keen understanding of the sport, and how nice fighters actually are, Daniels faces a challenging weekend.

As I post this, he’s out covering Cage Titans –a local promotion he mentioned in our video interview– at their “Vendetta” event in the Local 103 Union Hall in Boston. Then tomorrow, local MMA standouts John Howard and Christian Morecraft take to the cage at UFC Live on Versus. The mix makes for a busy reporter.

“Local MMA, it almost happens in spurts,” he said. “Like in April, I think every week there was, you know, one to two fights a weekend. And, you know, here in June it’s been that again.”

“It’s just a good time right now for local MMA.”

Some days Daniels covers other sports, runs out to cover local fights, and gets up to do it again the next day. He banged out a tight schedule last weekend.

“Last Saturday, I’m in the Boston Herald here in the office at 11 a.m., you know, I’m editing. I’m doing layout stuff and just, you know, doing everything I can. And writing stories while in the office. I left around four, went home, let my dog out, and then headed to Wilmington for the show. I got back at 1 a.m., so I worked from 11 until 1 a.m.”

Despite the hectic schedule he plans to keep at it.

“Honestly no other papers cover local MMA,” he said. “It’s my goal, and kinda my dream, to cover MMA for a living.”

Fight: Florian Stifles Nunes

Posted: 12th June 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Fights
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Kenny “Kenflo” Florian came into the cage looking nothing like Christian Bale from the “Machinist,” his lethally-lithe frame looked more like Brad Pitt in “Fight Club,” as he plowed through rounds  to overcome a top-ten  145 pound prospect.

His critics expected a gaunt, exhausted and hungry Florian withering under a barrage from Diego “The Gun” Nunes. They had a third of that equation right. Florian came in hungry for a 29-27, 29-27 and 30-27 unanimous decision.

“I wanted to face someone like that and prove that I’m one of the best featherweights in the world,” he told Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight.

Nunes came into the first frame of the UFC 131 ready for a firefight, and so did the Vancouver fans. The Rogers Arena fans in British Columbia, Canada came gunning for Florian because the Westwood, Massachusetts native donned a Bruins shirt at the weigh-ins. Florian tuned them out and scored a takedown, despite dominating striking from Nunes.  Stunned and on his back, Florian went for a triangle with no luck to finish.

In the second frame conditioning and musculature made the difference. Florians lean-wiry frame of muscle carried him, while Nunes carried more rounded bulky muscles as his pace slowed.  After Nunes stopped a takedown by grabbing the fence –illegal– for a second time in the bout, he found himself in Florian’s guard buying elbows. Florian kicked his legs a few times, after Nunes backed out. John McCarthy –arguably the greatest UFC ref– stood them up after a few kicks to Nunes’ legs nearly hyper-extended his knee.  Florian demonstrated excellent awareness of his opponent’s hands, as he changed levels to duck a punch and blast Nunes to the mat. Nunes ended up with Florian between his legs, in a position called full guard. Florian pounded in some punches and elbows, and wore the blood of his opponent back to his corner.

Early in the third, Florian delivered a sweet blast double. I thought, “Thank you sir.” Then Florian got aggressive on top, before Nunes scrambled for his feet. Florian looked the more adept as he picked shots, but Nunes put him on a knee with a strong combo seconds before the final bell.

When the judges delivered a unanimous decision, doubts about Florian’s career and contention went out the window.

“I got stronger as the fight went on,” Florian said at the post-fight press conference.

Florian never intended to leave it to the judges.

“I wanted to do more man. I’m never satisfied if I don’t get the finish,” he said. “I want to go out there and determine the fight by my own hands.”

But, the ref did raise his hand at the end of the fight.

Interview: Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil

Posted: 31st May 2011 by Christopher Pineo in Interviews
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Tomorrow night on Spike, local MMA hero Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil fights in the semifinals of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team Dos Santos.” Blast Double caught up with the former Cage Titans FC welterweight champion, a dark horse from Bourne, Massachusetts who took a wild ride getting choked out, fighting his way back to choke someone else out, avenging the loss, and ending an opponent’s career.

Ultimately, this season focused on a 14-man tournament for a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but the potential boost for a TUF fighter’s career goes beyond the objective. Even without winning the six-figure contract, George Sotiropoulos, Gray Maynard, Joe Lauzon, and Josh Koscheck all made the jump to the big stage after strong showings in the semifinals. O’Neil stalwartly takes nothing for granted.

“Just because you’re on “The Ultimate Fighter” doesn’t make it that you belong in the UFC. That’s not how it works.”

Dana White, UFC president, reintroduced the wildcard format this season. The wildcard format gave two fighters the chance to fight their way into the semifinals after early-round losses.  O’Neil lost via triangle choke to Zach Davis in their first battle.

Laymen might not get the term triangle choke. In that case, welcome to Blast Double layman. I caught up with a real authority on MMA for an explanation, in case you popped in.

“When you put your legs like this, the space created looks like a triangle,” Mark Daniels, MMA reporter at the Boston Herald, demonstrated for me. He sat –not wanting to lay on the nasty carpet– with his right ankle tucked into the back of his left knee, and his shin parallel to the floor. “It’s a very awkward choke to practice.”

O’Neil felt a bit worse than awkward when Davis hit this on him. Afterward, O’Neil said he was not himself in that fight.

“I needed to refocus myself, and get myself back on track, and start fighting like the real me from back home.”

Given another chance to fight, he came back strong, proving his point, and this time forcing his opponent onto the business-end of a tight choke.

To finish off Javier Torres, O’Neil battled through a tough first round exchanging strikes in the clinch with a game opponent. After a scramble in the second round, O’Neil transitioned from attempting a kimura –a lock applied to the arm– to securing a D’arce choke –a brutal circulatory choke. His opponent tapped out.

He split the finish bonus with his friend Charlie Rader, a fighter who had difficulty with child support issues and had not seen his son in a year.

“I didn’t so much do it to feel a certain way,” O’Neil said. “Charlie’s like a brother of mine, and there’s so many fathers out there that couldn’t give two shits about seeing their kid. I got the money, and I wanted to put the money towards my good friend trying to get his kid back.”

In the same episode O’Neil avenged his loss against Zach Davis. In the quarterfinal match, he took a commanding decision win by out-striking Davis. Afterward, Davis announced that he incurred torn retinas and would not be fighting again.

“It sucks,” O’Neil said. “I felt horrible.”

Even though the two came to an understanding, O’Neil had little time to adjust before further trouble erupted. After drinking that night, Tony Ferguson exploded into a physical and verbal conflict with Rader. Ferguson repeatedly made a verbal attack on Rader’s fatherhood. O’Neil became irate at an attack on a man he calls a brother.

“Obviously a battle-line was drawn and he stepped over the boundary,” said O’Neil.

In the last episode O’Neil vowed to take Ferguson’s dream of the six-figure contract away. If he fights like he means to do it, Dana White and UFC fans should see “Cold Steel” O’Neil again.