Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers Commentary

On Saturday night was the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers mixed martial arts event, which was on CBS and marks the first MMA event on network TV since the fall of the EliteXC promotion. I was away this weekend, so I taped the event and just watched it today. Overall, it was a great main card, with all of the four main card fights featuring fighters that are generally reasonably highly ranked within their weight classes. In the end, three of the four fights are what I'd classify as good, while the other one was what I (and seemingly the crowd at the event) thought was a major disappointment.

*****

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum

I'm really impressed with Fabricio Werdum in getting this win. In the first round it looked like he was going to get dominated, as he was clearly outplayed by a calm, scientific Silva. Werdum got rocked by some huge elbows and Silva was able to land really powerful punches on the grounded Werdum. Late in the round, Silva seemed to be getting a little tired - though he wasn't panting, he was letting his guard down, allowing Werdum to land a few solid strikes that foreshadowed the rest of the fight.

The second round started off with Silva knocking down Werdum with a big straight punch. However, instead of waiting for Werdum to have to stand up, Silva unwisely goes down to land a couple punches. This may have been the turning point of the fight, as Werdum landed a big knee and punch as the two were standing up. Most of the round involved a lot of pummeling from the Greco-Roman clinch that amounted to nothing, but finally Werdum was able to get Silva onto the ground. I'd have to say that for a hulk, Silva has impressive ground defense, being able to avoid damage from half-guard and having the mobility to escape once Werdum escaped into side control.

The third round was all Werdum. Silva definitely looked sluggish, and Werdum was able to perform a beautiful single leg takedown and land punches in big numbers. On the feet, Werdum was even able to use the muay thai specialist Silva's game against him and land some hard knees to the face. In the end, Werdum came out with a well-deserved victory in a fight that after the first round I thought he had little chance of winning.

Werdum defeats Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

*****

Gegard Mousasi vs. Sokoudjou

The moral of this fight is that even the most awesome judo throws won't get you anywhere if you can't be effective once taking the fight to the ground. Sokoudjou's strength in the fight seems to be his ability late in the first round and in the beginning of the second round to toss Mousasi and to reverse Mousasi's takedown attempts and establish a good top position. However, Mousasi's ground game is great and he is able to escape or roll Sokoudjou over and establish a top position of his own. And from the bottom, there's not much Sokoudjou can do.

In the beginning of the fight, Mousasi looked invincible, displaying a lot of speed and calmness. Sokoudjou looked as tense as anything and kept ducking his head when going in for strikes. I was waiting for him to get rocked by a well-timed uppercut. Indeed, Mousasi was eventually able to capitalize on this and send a flurry of punches Sokoudjou's way. Then Sokoudjou started going to his judo game, which as we know didn't turn out so well. In the end, Mousasi is able to get the TKO victory after a series of uncontested punches to a curled up Sokoudjou's head.

Mousasi defeats Sokoudjou by TKO (strikes, Round 2, 3:43)

*****

Jake Shields vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Jason Miller had the perfect game plan to defeat someone like Jake Shields and blew it. It seemed like he was convinced that he could finish the fight and not have to rely on winning individual rounds, but when you're against a good wrestler who can kill a lot of time off the clock by keeping you on your back, you can't rely on that. Anyway, Mayhem's plan was to conserve energy and explode once Shields tired out. Shields indeed seemed to start running out of gas, but Mayhem was just only attacking whenever Shields really made himself vulnerable. Most of Miller's attempts at exploding didn't last long and just ended up in a clinch, and his only shot at finishing the fight was a solid rear naked choke that came at a very bad time for him (at the very end of a round) as Shields was just able to wait the time out.

In my opinion, Miller really needed to start picking things up in round 3 (or even as early as the end of round 1) so that he could at least fall back on a decision victory, which I think he could have done. Instead, Shields is basically able to win the fight purely based on control, as in the typical Jake Shields style, his punches from the top position seem to do basically no damage to Miller.

Though Jake Shields just beat a quality opponent (well actually I think it's more Miller losing than Shields winning), I still don't think he can be considered a top fighter in either the middleweight and welterweight divisions. I think I've seen him as high as #2 on some welterweight rankings, which just puzzles me. He is an outstanding grappler and is basically able to pass guard at will. However, his striking, even by welterweight standards, is way below par and I think top fighters in both weight classes should be able to exploit this weakness. From looking at Shields's past fights, even his strikes from mount seem essentially harmless. It looks like he's not even trying to hurt his opponent - he's just trying to "score points!"

As a Mayhem Miller fan, I am truly disappointed in this fight - a fight I thought he could definitely have won, especially given his good groundwork skills. But in the end, Miller just wasted way too much time conserving energy and trying to pull a Muhammad Ali. I scored the fight 50-45 for Shields, but it seems like the judges were a bit nicer to Miller.

Shields defeats Miller by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)

*****

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett "The Grim" Rogers

I think this is the most mortal I've ever seen Fedor be (even more so than his fights against Kazuyuki Fujita and Mark Hunt in Pride). Brett Rogers was using his range and sheer size early and I really thought he could seal the deal during the first round. Once he gassed out though, his chances all but disappeared. Fedor was throwing some wild punches, which are on one hand just part of his sambo style, but also in this case missing wildly in particular out of respect for Rogers's huge reach advantage.

By the end of the first round, Rogers was out of juice and was struggling to survive against someone he had been completely laying the smackdown on. And then in the second round, Fedor delivered an incredible hook that was lights out for Big Brett. This must be really disappointing for Rogers, who seemed to have a genuine chance at winning the fight on much more than a punch's chance. Instead he fell victim to Fedor's crushing punching power, and it was basically a single punch that caused his own demise. I'm sure Brett will begin to focus on his cardio, which was never really a problem for him as his previous fights were all quick finishes for him.

Meanwhile, Fedor upon winning has his usual look - one filled with an intense lack of emotion. Well it's a great thing for Strikeforce that Fedor won, otherwise it may have fallen under much like EliteXC did with the embarrassing defeat of Kimbo Slice. This leaves me wondering what's next for Fedor, as I don't think anyone in Strikeforce other than Rogers has any chance of defeating or even at least providing an entertaining fight against Fedor.

Emelianenko defeats Rogers by TKO (strikes, Round 2, 1:48)

*****

As much as I wanted to see Fedor lose (as a kind of karma thing for joining Strikeforce instead of UFC), I am more than satisfied with his fight against Rogers, and I'm glad I have the event taped so that I can save the video to re-watch, as this fight was exceptional. Particularly disappointing (once again) was the Shields vs. Miller championship fight, which was a mostly uneventful 25 minutes. I was waiting for Miller to just go crazy on Shields after his rope-a-dope tactics early on, but Shields was able to hold on to get a boring but deserved decision.

The next major Strikeforce event is Strikeforce: Evolution on December 19 and so far it doesn't have any huge names that would make me too excited to watch it. I think Strikeforce really went all out with this event to see if they can be successful on network TV, and we'll have to see what happens. In its current state, I don't think they have much left in the tank, but if they sign some more big games, perhaps they have a chance of starting some competition with the MMA behemoth promotion UFC.

Speaking of UFC, Dana White has graced us with UFC events both next Saturday and the one after that. First is UFC 105 on November 14. This event is competing with the Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto fight, at least in the US. Actually, since UFC 105 is in Britain, they'll actually be done well before the Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas even begins, but as far as I know, the TV broadcast of the UFC event is at night. Probably because of two events competing for a similar audience, UFC 105 is free on Spike TV and doesn't feature as many big names as typical UFC events. Still, in the midst of a card that showcases British fighters, we have a fight between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy that will determine the next challenger for the welterweight title against GSP. Then, the main event is Randy Couture, who is looking to redeem himself after a tough loss against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in UFC 102, against Brandon Vera, who is facing his toughest challenge in several years.

Then on November 21 is UFC 106, which is just packed with great matchups. The main event was originally going to be a heavyweight title fight between Shane Carwin and champion Brock Lesnar that was basically guaranteed to be a thriller - until Lesnar came down ill, which means the fight will either be postponed or replaced with an interim title fight. Instead, the main event is a rematch between Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz, who won their first fight in a controversial split decision. Also, making his debut in the UFC is Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the other Nogueira's twin brother. The main card is completed with fights of some of the most exciting and some of my favorite fighters out there - Anthony Johnson, Phil Baroni, and Karo Parisyan.

Top 100 Movies!

Any list of the "top 100 movies ever made" is doomed to failure from the start, but at the same time, 100 is a nice number to expect someone who really wants to get into film to go out and watch over the course of, say, a year or two. And don't even get me started about ranking these 100. Sure, I know that I like certain movies more than others, but to create a definitive ranking is impossible, so you can treat the following "rankings" more like neighborhood rankings.

Still, each one of these movies is still worth seeing for their own reason. And as "horrible" as the famous AFI list is, all 100 of those movies are also worth watching (though I should note that specifically the biggest reason not to stick biblically to that list is that it only includes American movies). So are all the movies on many other lists you can find on the internet.

But since I love recommending movies for people and kind of feel the need to make my own Top 100 list, I figured why not? Narrowing the list down to just 100 was really difficult. I started really struggling once I cut down the list to about 200, but that would make for definitely too long of a list. Technically the final count in this list is 107 movies, but I took the liberty of grouping some trilogies and sequels with the originals. All of these movies can be considered among my "favorite movies," so needless to say my Facebook list of "favorite movies" is far from comprehensive!

And as I've implied already, lists like these are completely subjective. For example, how do you rank a great horror movie against a great comedy? You may notice that my list contains fewer westerns, screwball comedies, romances, and action movies than other lists. Also I made these selections based on the movies' general beauty and quality, their importance, and my personal feelings for them. So just keep all this in mind as you browse through, and definitely try to see these movies!

Here is the full list, and I'll write a little blurb about each of these movies in future posts. Stay tuned!

*****

THE OFFICIAL Yet Completely Un-definitive

Jason Chan Top 100 Movie List

100. Across the Universe (2007)	50. Hoop Dreams (1994)
99. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)	49. Stroszek (1977)
98. Duck Soup (1933)	48. Do the Right Thing (1989)
97. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)	47. On the Waterfront (1954)
96. Adam's Rib (1949)	46. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
95. Children of Men (2006)	45. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
94. Natural Born Killers (1994)	44. The Shining (1980)
93. The Right Stuff (1983)	43. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
92. Shane (1953)	42. The Player (1992)
91. The Birth of a Nation (1915)	41. North By Northwest (1959)
90. The Red Shoes (1948)	40. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
89. Carrie (1976)	39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
88. Abre Los Ojos (1997)	38. Groundhog Day (1993)
87. Red River (1948)	37. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
86. The Battleship Potemkin (1925)	36. Casablanca (1942)
85. No Country For Old Men (2007)	35. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
84. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)	34. The Producers (1968)
83. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)	33. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
82. Moulin Rouge! (2001)	32. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
81. Woodstock (1970)	31. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
80. Forrest Gump (1994)	30. Raging Bull (1980)
79. The Bicycle Thief (1948)	29. The Apu Trilogy (1955, 1956, 1959)
78. Boyz n the Hood (1991)	28. Annie Hall (1977)
77. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)	27. Citizen Kane (1941)
76. Rocky (1976)	26. City of God (2002)
75. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)	25. Chinatown (1974)
74. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)	24. Schindler's List (1993)
73. Ace in the Hole (1951)	23. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
72. Alien (1979)	22. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
71. Being John Malkovich (1999)	21. Rear Window (1954)
70. What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)	20. Double Indemnity (1944)
69. Goodfellas (1990)	19. The Star Wars Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983)
68. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)	18. West Side Story (1961)
67. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)	17. Gone With the Wind (1939)
66. Strangers on a Train (1951)	16. Vertigo (1958)
65. Rain Man (1988)	15. The 400 Blows (1959)
64. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)	14. Metropolis (1927)
63. Ben-Hur (1959)	13. Amadeus (1984)
62. The Three Colors Trilogy (1993, 1994, 1994)	12. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
61. Ran (1985)	11. The Godfather, Parts I & II (1972, 1974)
60. Don't Look Now (1973)	10. Network (1976)
59. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)	9. Psycho (1960)
58. Dark City (1998)	8. 8 1/2 (1963)
57. Jaws (1975)	7. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
56. My Fair Lady (1964)	6. Taxi Driver (1976)
55. The Conversation (1974)	5. The Seventh Seal (1957)
54. The Last Picture Show (1971)	4. Orpheus (1949)
53. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)	3. Modern Times (1936)
52. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)	2. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
51. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)	1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

My Woot Shirt Collection

I think it's well-known that I am quite a big fan of Woot shirts. For those who don't know of Woot shirt, it can be found at http://shirt.woot.com. Every day, a new design is posted, but you can only order that design on that particular day. The good news is that once in a while there's a really good design, and to make things even better, the shirts are American Apparel t-shirts and cost only $10 (free shipping!).

Every week, there is a contest called the Derby in which a theme and set of rules is selected, and anyone can submit designs for consideration. Users vote on the designs, and the top three are selected and made into t-shirts. On the other four days of the week, designs created by users with already well-established reputations are posted.

Anyway, here's my collection (in the order in which I got them)!

*****

Fly the Furry Skies

Derby Theme: "Travel"

*****

Rodent's Revenge

*****

Anatomy Test

Derby Theme: "Trompe L'Oeil"

*****

May Be Subject to Random Searches

*****

Swim, Little Nessie!

Derby Theme: "Water"

*****

Why Can't I Fly, Friend?

Derby Theme: "Line Art"

*****

Finding Technicolor

(shirt was too small, gave it to my brother)

*****

Perpetual Emotion

Derby Theme: "Motion"

*****

I Saw Something Weird

*****

Tin: Old Skool

Derby Theme: "Your Favorite Element"

*****

I Hope You Brought a Lot of Baggies

Derby Theme: "Pets"

*****

Willing to Endure Scientific Research

Derby Theme: "Thrift"

*****

Imposter

Derby Theme: "Winter"

*****

You Have to Try This Guys

*****

Campfire Tales

Derby Theme: "National Parks"

*****

Computer Mice

Derby Theme: "Visual Puns"

(just ordered this!)

Machida or Shogun?

As you know, Saturday's UFC fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua ended in a controversial decision, with Machida winning 48-47 on all three judges' scorecards. The result was booed by the fans at the event, and many viewers felt that Shogun was snubbed.

But let's face it, all five of those rounds were really close. So I decided to do a little web surfing to see who thought won each round, and here are the results (the first three people were the judges who scored the actual event).

Round #	1	2	3	4	5	Total
Cecil Peoples (Official Judge)	X	X	X			48-47 Machida
Marcos Rosales (Official Judge)	X	X	X			48-47 Machida
Doc Hamilton (Official Judge)		X	X	X		48-47 Machida
Dana White (UFC President)		X	X			48-47 Rua
Jordan Breen (sherdog.com)	X	X				48-47 Rua
Brian Knapp (sherdog.com)		X	X			48-47 Rua
Mike Fridley (sherdog.com)						50-45 Rua
mmajunkie.com					X	49-46 Rua
Yahoo! Cagewriter		X	X			48-47 Rua
Me			X		X	48-47 Rua

It's clear that people see every single round differently, and that each round could have gone either way. I guess it's just weird that all the judges just happened to give Machida the fight, while the rest of the world seems to disagree.

UFC 104 Commentary

Tonight was UFC 104 and I was able to catch all of the televised fights, which was an impressive 9 out of 11 fights in the event! The UFC has been airing some of the preliminary bouts for free on Spike TV, which I think is great. The names aren't as big as in the main card, but these are fighters who are trying to work their way up the UFC ladder to eventually land in the main card. At the same time, they are in danger of getting dropped from the UFC entirely if they lose or don't entertain - so the fights they deliver tend to be quite good.

Anyway, here are my thoughts on tonight's event to the best of my recollections. Keep in mind that I don't know much about some of these fighters, so I may make some statements that seem inaccurate, naïve, or ridiculous to the more seasoned MMA fan.

*****

Stefan "The Skyscraper" Struve vs. Chase Gormley

This was a rather weird but entertaining fight with a spectacular finish. After the bout gets taken to the ground early on, the fighters end up not once but twice in a position where each of them has a hold on the other's leg. More skilled submission artists may have been able to finish it there - the first time around Struve gets what looks like a pretty good a heel hook on Gormley, but this somehow fails. Then Gormley attempts a toe hold, which Struve easily gets out of. The second time, both guys look tired and awkwardly do nothing, but then Struve gets into a good position, gets some good shots in, then rolls beautifully into a triangle choke.

Struve defeats Gormley by submission (triangle choke, Round 1, 4:04)

*****

Yushin "Thunder" Okami vs. Chael Sonnen

I don't know much about Yushin Okami other than that he was the last person to "beat" the UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (Silva got disqualified for using an illegal kick that also knocked Okami out ice cold. Why an upkick to the face of an opponent who has a knee or a hand on the ground is illegal is puzzling to me.) and that he had been on a bit of a roll in the UFC, going 7-1 and arguably being a top 3 middleweight. Chael Sonnen I know is also up there, so why this fight was not only put in the undercard but also not televised on the Spike broadcast baffled me - until I read on Tony's blog that Okami has a reputation for being a boring fighter. Anyway, this fight was eventually aired in between fights during the main event, and let me tell you that Tony's description was 100% correct.

Okami plays a very careful game throughout, oftentimes backing up and looking to counter punch. Sonnen also fights without too much aggression, but outclasses Okami the entire time. Sonnen is able to grab a hold of Okami's back multiple times, where he is able to land knees to the leg at will, as well as employ one of the most dreaded moves in MMA - stomping on their toes. Just kidding. Really though, I think this may be the first time I've seen someone try to stomp on their opponent's toes in MMA. But then again, Anderson Silva punched Thales Leites in the thigh in UFC 97, so hey, anything can happen. Anyway, Sonnen gets a clear decision victory after 15 minutes of non-action.

Sonnen defeats Okami by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

*****

Antoni Hardonk vs. Patrick "HD" Barry

This fight was actually the fifth of the night, but was the first one to air on the TV broadcast. The fight wasn't exactly electrifying, but it was a great way to start off the night, and ultimately won the "Fight of the Night" honor. Hardonk basically controlled the beginning first round with some devastating leg kicks. It was clear that these were doing some real damage to Barry's knees, as he continually had to switch stance. I was waiting for Barry to just collapse kind of like Dan Severn did in his pathetic showing against Pedro Rizzo in UFC 27. But somehow Barry survived and was able to actually control the latter half of the round.

In the second round, Hardonk looked either a bit winded and disoriented, and Barry seemed to really find his range and rhythm, getting more confident with his punches. At one point, Barry was able to knock Hardonk down three times in succession - though in all three cases, Hardonk went down because he was always caught while in an awkward position and then lost balance. Eventually Barry landed a huge right hook that knocked Hardonk down, then sealed the deal with two beastly punches. After the second punch, Barry knew the fight was over and spared Hardonk's head further damage.

Barry defeats Hardonk by TKO (strikes, Round 2, 2:30)

*****

Ryan "Darth" Bader vs. Eric "Red" Schafer

This was a pretty solid matchup between the wrestling specialist Ryan Bader and the BJJ specialist Eric Schafer. It was clear that neither one of them wanted to take the fight to the ground, which can often be the case with wrestling vs. BJJ matchups, and so we basically got a 15 minute boxing match. Bader came out strong and laid the smackdown on Schafer in the first round, and the fight was pretty close to being sealed there. Schafer's chin held up though, and he had a great recovery after that brutal beating.

Bader seemed like he was going for a knockout blow with every thrown punch and was thus playing a risky game. I had a gut feeling that a revitalized Schafer would catch him with a big counter punch in round 2, but neither that nor the knockout Bader was looking for happened. Instead, round 2 was a rather even boxing match. In the third round, again I had the feeling that Bader's overcommitting to his attacks would get him in trouble, but Schafer was never able to capitalize. Instead, Bader was able to land some pretty solid punches - enough to win the round - then take Schafer down and wait out the rest of the bout by getting a good position and playing it safe. The fight ends with an odd score, where one judge scored the fight 29-26 (presumably 10-8, 9-10, 10-8).

Bader defeats Schafer by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-26, 30-27)

*****

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida

Call me crazy, but I will say it now. "Rumble" Johnson is going to be UFC champion someday. Johnson has a couple of losses in his UFC career (one of which is controversial - some argue he should have gotten a DQ victory) that are keeping him from fighting the elite welterweights to get a shot at Georges St-Pierre and the UFC title. But after delivering knockout after knockout in convincing fashion, I am convinced that this guy has as good a shot as anybody at beating the seemingly invincible GSP.

This fight plays out a lot like Rumble's fight against Tommy Speer, with Johnson basically using his incredible speed, power, and reach (78" wingspan in the 170 lb division!), to basically dance around Yoshida and land some big punches in the face while also receiving minimal damage at the same time. Eventually the inevitable happens and Johnson lands a big right cross that knocks the lights out of Yoshida.

Ever since Matt Hughes's "decline," I've been searching for a new favorite welterweight - someone who could take down that certain GSP who defeated my boy Matt Hughes twice in a row. Anthony Johnson had been on my radar, and tonight's display just sealed the deal (though at the same time I am also excited to see Matt Hughes re-sign with the UFC!). From what I have seen so far, Rumble has displayed some pretty sound groundwork from the top as well as solid takedown defense in addition to his impeccable striking and athleticism. His next fight should probably be against an elite-level welterweight (unless he needs to move up to middleweight) and will be a real test. Can't wait!

Johnson defeats Yoshida by KO (Round 1, 0:41)

*****

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson vs. Spencer "The King" Fisher

I don't have much to say about this fight, as it was overall not too exciting. Round 1 was close for the most part, with both fighters exchanging blows and spending a lot of time clinched or on the ground in inaction. Joe Daddy opened up a cut above Fisher's eye, though this didn't turn out to be nearly as much of an issue for Fisher and his vision as it could have. In the second round, Stevenson took Fisher down, then was able to pin down Fisher's arms using a crucifix mount from side control. From here Stevenson rains down elbows onto his defenseless opponent's head for a TKO victory.

Stevenson defeats Fisher by TKO (elbows, Round 2, 4:03)

*****

Gleison Tibau vs. Josh "The Dentist" Neer

Interestingly, this fight was both entertaining and boring, and both satisfying and unsatisfying. Throughout a full three rounds, Tibau takes down Neer basically at will, and these are not just regular takedowns - they're power slams. If the floor were less cushiony, we may be talking broken ribs here. It seemed like Neer wasn't even making any effort to defend the takedowns. But as far as I remember, Neer was basically able to get into butterfly guard without too much difficulty after every single takedown, then take the fight back to the feet, and Tibau wasn't able to do anything from the top position.

I was waiting for Neer to unleash a flurry of strikes on Tibau to try to win the game on the feet, but it never happened. A few solid strikes should have balanced out the takedowns on the scorecards. But instead, Tibau is the clear winner of all three rounds because of his hard takedowns and because of Neer's inability to do much damage to his opponent while standing.

Tibau defeats Neer by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

*****

Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell

This was a great fight for Cain Velasquez and not much of a fight at all for Ben "Punching Bag" Rothwell. For essentially the entirety of a round and change, Velasquez was taking down Rothwell, getting into good positions, and hailing down undefended punches. Rothwell was lucky to get out of the first round and didn't survive long during the first minute of round two, where he sustained the same beating.

This victory solidifies Velasquez's status as a top heavyweight, and there's a good chance he'll be matched up against the winner of Lesnar-Carwin, though I am curious to see how he'd do against someone like Mir or Nogueira. After the Cheick Kongo fight, there were some questions about Velasquez: his ability to finish the fight (through powerful strikes or submissions) and his chin. Here Velasquez proved that he has finishing ability to complement his outstanding, outstanding wrestling, but honestly tonight's fight lasted a lot longer than it should have. And after not trying any submissions tonight nor being threatened on the feet, there are still some unresolved questions - so I still haven't quite yet jumped on the Cain Velasquez bandwagon. Go Minotauro!

Velasquez defeats Rothwell by TKO (punches, Round 2, 0:58)

*****

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

The main event of the evening, a 5-round fight for the light heavyweight title that ended with a result that was controversial and surprising for even the winner himself. The fight was one of the most tactical battles I've ever seen in MMA, and was quite refreshing to see. Machida used his usual tactical karate style, making all of his shots count. However, while Machida is renowned for rarely being hit, it seems like Rua had him figured out and was landing clean hits all throughout. Oftentimes, both fighters landed clean hits at the same time, which wasn't something you'd see often in a Machida fight. Rua avoided chasing after Machida - something which caused the downfall of basically every Machida opponent to date - and played a game based on timing, range, and accuracy. Essentially, Rua became Machida #2, except with a Muay Thai stance instead of a karate stance. Both fighters were landing some pretty brutal kicks and then getting right out of the way, very much in the Machida style.

Every round was really close. First round could have gone either way. Second round was fairly even too, but I say Shogun takes it after getting in a clinch and landing a good series of knees to the leg. Third round was very close - I give it to Machida after a good flurry of powerful punches. Fourth round, seems like Rua is starting to land more strikes than Machida, so I give the round to him. Fifth round was also really close, could have gone either way like the first.

In the end, all three judges score the fight 48-47 for Machida, which puzzles basically everybody and makes a rematch all but imminent. I would have scored the fight 48-47 for Shogun, and it seems like most MMA writers seemed to also score the fight either 48-47 or 49-46 for Shogun, so why not a single judge thought he won the fight is a little weird. Are they using a different scoring system from the rest of the world? Anyway, even though this is disappointing for Rua, this fight shows that 1) Machida can be beaten and probably no longer can be called the #4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world (after Silva, GSP, and Fedor - he probably falls below the likes of Penn and Mike Brown now), and that 2) Rua is back in his PRIDE form and has what it takes to be the light heavyweight champio

Next for Machida might be a rematch with the winner of Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva, or perhaps even against Quinton Jackson if he ends up coming back to the UFC. It might even be an immediate rematch with Shogun if Shogun can beat a quality opponent in his next fight! It will be interesting to see what Lyoto's next opponent does after having seen this fight.

Machida defeats Rua by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

*****

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with UFC 104. At the very least, it is a big improvement over UFC 103. Unfortunately the main event wasn't filled with fireworks like Couture vs. Nogueira, but I don't think anybody really expected it to be. Instead, we got a really great technical battle. There weren't really any memorable fights tonight, but with just a few exceptions the action was pretty solid, and the good televised fights from the undercards was a nice bonus.

The next major MMA event is Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers on November 7, where the arguable #1 heavyweight in the world Fedor Emelianenko makes his debut on Strikeforce. A Fedor loss would be devastating for Strikeforce, and I hope this happens, as Fedor really should have signed with the more respectable UFC. Also on the card is a fight for the Strikeforce middleweight championship between Jake Shields and one of my favorite fighters to watch, Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

Then on November 14, the same night as the Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto fight, is UFC 105, where the main event is Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera. There are no huge superstar vs. superstar matchups, but that's not so much of a problem. The UFC has good matchmaking and can always deliver an exciting card without having to rely on big names (like UFC Fight Nights).

Horror Movies to Watch: Part 4 of 4

Horror Movies to Watch

Part IV: The Excessive

*****

One could argue that this horror sub-genre is the main stylistic source for more modern horror movies, particularly the increasingly ubiquitous "gornos," which are known for being repulsive through the mutilation of the human body. This kind of gore on its own is not my cup of tea; I don't go to movies with the intention of throwing up. Now the term "excessive" is very broad so I will try to elaborate with this: I use "excessive" not as a synonym for "gory," but rather as a stylistic description for the following films. These movies are at times really scary, and at others quite funny - which points out the fine line between horror and comedy - but overall they're all awesome.

*****

The Exorcist

Dir. William Friedkin (1973)

The Exorcist is one of the most famous horror movies of all time, and for a good reason. The memorable (rather grotesque) images are one thing, but the way in which it's brilliantly directed is what sets the movie apart from others. The film's eerie atmosphere, the way in which it constantly keeps us horrified, and the way in which it is actually believable despite its intrinsic unrealism - these aspects are among the many things that make The Exorcist so great.

*****

Carrie

Dir. Brian De Palma (1976)

Based on a Stephen King novel, Carrie tells the story of a girl who is constantly picked on, but then discovers that she has telekinetic powers. To top off a great movie, one particular scene alone - when Carrie's classmates push her past her breaking point - makes Carrie a more than worthwhile watch. The ensuing massacre is one of the best cinematic displays of badassery. Ever.

*****

Suspiria

Dir. Dario Argento (1977)

Blood looks so much crazier in Technicolor. Combine the rich, stylized imagery with a creepy electronic soundtrack that you'll eventually be humming along to, as well as a story filled with the paranormal and the freaky - and you have Suspiria. It's not as scary as it is crazy... well, actually if I could describe this movie in one word, it would be CRAAAAZY, and we'll leave it at that.

*****

The Evil Dead

Dir. Sam Raimi (1981)

This is the first installment in a trilogy of films that started up Sam Raimi's career (he would go on to make the Spiderman movies) and now have a status as cult classics. The first movie is in my opinion the best, starting off as an honestly scary movie, before drifting off into an all-out zombie gorefest - and this kind of gore is awesome gore. The sequels, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, are more fun than scary or awesome, but are worth a watch as well.

*****

Videodrome

Dir. David Cronenberg (1983)

David Cronenberg's movies have become a bit less weird as of late, though the raw violence that makes his movies so easily identifiable is still there. Anyway, Videodrome, one of his earlier classics, is so weird that I cannot possibly describe it. The story revolves around a TV program that induces hallucinations, which results in things like the protagonist Max's torso turning into a VCR, his hands into guns, etc. Basically, people see this TV program and insanity ensues.

*****

I hope you have enjoyed this series of recommendations and blurbs, and that more importantly, you might want to go find these movies to watch for the Halloween season!

Horror Movies to Watch: Part 3 of 4

Horror Movies to Watch

Part III: The Psychological

*****

We now venture into the realm of the thrilling, the intense, the psychologically jarring. What do I mean by psychological? I mean more than one thing when referring to these psychological horror movies. In some cases, the movies can be driven by characters in strange, often obsessive and violent psychological states, and in others, the movies simply mess with your mind. In this series, however, I make sure to note the distinction between a thriller and a horror movie; while the following five movies are all in their respective ways thrilling, they all also have the ability to freeze us in horror, sort of in a Hannibal Lecter kind of way.

*****

Peeping Tom

Dir. Michael Powell (1960)

This masterpiece, released just a month before the immortal Psycho, is often compared to the latter film because of the way both films portrayed psychopathic killers like never before. Here we have a man who videotapes prostitutes as he murders them. Powell, already famous for his unique style of storytelling, creates an intriguing look into a serial killer's psychology as he continues his murderous run and flees from the police.

*****

Psycho

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

Psycho is of course famous for the "shower scene," where the supposed "heroine" is killed off just a third of the way through in a scene that initially shocked the world but is now so well known that to us it's no surprise at all. We learn that the real "main character" is Norman Bates, a real psycho killer who is one of the most intriguing and chilling characters in movie history.

*****

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Dir. Robert Aldrich (1962)

Here's a movie that has a solid plot but is mostly carried by incredibly brilliant acting. In Baby Jane, we follow the story of two sisters. One is a famous actress but now a paraplegic after an "accident." The other is a Vaudeville has-been, is jealous of her sister's success, and then proceeds to torture her sister for most of the film. This movie is perhaps lesser known than some other horror classics, but it is a must-see.

*****

Don't Look Now

Dir. Nicolas Roeg (1973)

Does the image of a girl in a bright red raincoat sound familiar? It's so well-known, but not many have heard of this movie, where it originates. Anyway, here's a mind trip where we follow a couple whose daughter has recently died. The wife is drawn to some strange psychic sisters while the husband chases what seems to be his dead child. This all builds up to a crazy conclusion.

*****

Jacob's Ladder

Dir. Adrian Lyne (1990)

This may fall more under the category of thriller and definitely does give you a huge adrenaline rush, but it is certainly quite freaky as well. The film revolves largely around the testing of a drug that creates hallucinations and increases aggression - in a Vietnam War setting. Appropriately, the feel of the film is quite hallucinogenic and definitely very intense. While the other movies listed here are carried more by acting, Jacob's Ladder is carried by its visual effects, which are intense but not gratuitous.

*****

Stay tuned for the final installment

of this series, Part IV: The Excessive