Sorry about the delay everyone. It's been a long and eventful week. But believe me, I never once forgot my duty as the worst MMA blogger in the world. I know you've all been anxiously waiting at the edge of your seats, so you can all relax now. I'm back.
Well, since it's been almost a week, I've decided to make this somewhat of a double post. I'll do my usual predictions as well as my first ever movie review! Are you excited yet? You don't have to tell me, I can feel it from here. If you're wondering what movie I'll be reviewing, I'll tell you. It's The Smurfs! No.... I'm just kidding. Of course it's going to be Warrior. What other movie would a guy who writes a blog about Mixed Martial Arts review?
A little bit of warning is in order before your read this review. I'm somewhat of a jaded elitist when it comes to movies and film making. Ask anyone that knows me and they'll tell you that I'm a pretty harsh critic. I honestly can't even remember the last movie I saw in theaters that I left not feeling like I was just conned out of $30+. Now that you know my secret, you can decide if you want to continue reading. Theres no shame in just skipping to the predictions and bypassing the movie review all together. I won't judge you, I promise.
Warrior (Spoiler Free)
I honestly went in to this movie trying to keep the most open mind possible. I did my homework before buying tickets and everything. Rotten tomatoes was giving it an 82% approval rating, so I was optimistic about how I would feel when the movie was over. So I drove to the movies with my girlfriend, trooper that she is, and bought us some tickets. No popcorn tonight kids, just coffee and water. We sat through the previews, which were intense to say the least, and finally the main attraction began. Don't worry, Im not planning to give you a play by play or anything like that. I wont spoil the ending or go in to too much detail. Anything I tell you could be easily picked up from just watching the trailer (available above). I've divided my thoughts about the movie in to three sections that I like to call: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
1. This is hands down the best movie ever made that features MMA as a sport. (although the competition is not very stiff)
2. Nick Nolte's performance was intense and believable.
3. It showed that MMA fighters can come from all walks of life.
4. Cameos by actual MMA fighters, Nate Marquardt and Anthony Johnson.
5. Tom Hardy did a fantastic job. It really felt like he could whoop my ass.
The Bad
1. Over stylized fight scenes. Some of the scenes looked like something out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
2. Joel Edgerton (Brandon Conlon) was lukewarm at best. It felt like his expressions were just different variations of the same emotion.
3. The whole premise of the movie is incredibly unbelievable. Especially the reason behind why both brothers compete in the tournament.
4. The stereotypical high school kids. I thought I was watching an episode of Saved by the Bell at one point.
5. Kurt Angle as the Fedor like character "Koba." It was almost painful to watch.
The Ugly
1. I don't know of any athletic commission that would sanction a one day, 16 man tournament. Especially in Atlantic City.
2. WWE style power bombs? Really? They could have at least made it look believable.
3. Using Josh Rosenthal (an actual MMA referee) to be the referee in the movie. If he ever reffed a fight in real life like he did in Warrior, he'd be fired.
4. The way Brandon Conlon gets beat up for the majority of the fight and then pulls a submission out of his ass. Speaking of which, the technique he uses to perform said submissions is atrocious. They couldn't have hired one legitimate BJJ consultant?
5. The training montages. Why would a fighter who's about to compete in a major tournament spar without any protective gear on? At one point they go full contact in training. Its just ridiculous as far as I'm concerned.
6. Fighters with nicknames like "White Lightning." Seriously?
All in all it wasn't a terrible movie. It is definitely leagues above its predecessors and is a better MMA movie than any that I've seen in the past. It still, however, paints Mixed Martial Arts as a sport in a somewhat negative light. There's a ways to go before MMA is accurately and fairly portrayed in a film. I understand that this is Hollywood, and everything is slightly exaggerated, but there's no need to exaggerate quite so much. MMA is an exciting sport in real life, so there's no reason to push the boundaries. I also think that a little more research needs to be done by the film makers before they try to write characters that will be believable MMA fighters.
As an MMA fan I give this film a C-. Mildly entertaining at times, but could have been a lot better.
As a jaded film goer, it gets a solid C+. Wait until it comes out on video.
Now lets move on to topics I actually know a little something about. Sorry if the movie review was less than entertaining, but I thought I'd give it a shot.
UFN 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger
This is starting to be looked at as the forgotten UFC card. Ultimate Fight Night 25 feels like it was hastily put together and hasn't really been promoted very well. Maybe Dana White and the rest of the UFC have been so preoccupied with the Fox deal and other endeavors that they forgot that this card was coming up. I don't think I've seen one real commercial promoting any of these fights. Now that I think about it, I don't even remember seeing a trailer for UFN 25. It's a shame too because so much could have been done for the city of New Orleans had a little more attention been payed to this event. The good things is that this is yet another free event and one of the last to be broadcast on Spike. Since I'm never one to complain about free MMA, I'm just as excited for this as I am for any other card.
Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald
It's the return of Alan Belcher! For those of you that don't know, Belcher has been out of commission for more than a year after suffering a detached retina while training for his fight with Demian Maia. You may last remember Belcher giving Patrick Cote a beat down and then calling out Anderson Silva. I appreciate the gamesmanship Alan, but lets be serious. Neither Belcher nor his terrible Johnny Cash tattoo are on the same level as Anderson Silva. Jason MacDonald is a journeyman of sorts and a BJJ blackbelt. This will be his 13th fight in the UFC and he's been up and down and up and down, always losing to top competition. This has all the potential in the world to be a great fight. The return of Belcher adds some much need depth to the Middleweight division and MacDonald should be a stern test for him. At one point, Belcher was considered a viable contender and if he can put a couple of impressive wins together he may just get his shot at the title. Ring rust might be factor for Belcher as he's been out of the octagon for more than a year and was even forced to stop training all together at one point. This fight will give us a good indication as to the status of Belcher's recovery. Assuming he's in good shape, this should be a fairly one sided affair. Belcher has a very underrated ground game and his stand up is much better than MacDonald's. So, assuming the Jason MacDonald hasn't learned any new tricks since we last saw him, Belcher should take this one.
Prediction: Belcher by 2nd Rd TKO
Eric Koch vs. Jonathan Brookins
So we finally get to see the guy who won the Ultimate Fighter Season 12 fight in the UFC. Brookins won the show nine months ago and has yet to make his octagon debut. Although he won the show as a lightweight, he will be making his featherweight debut in the UFC. Featherweight is actually his preferred weight class and its where he had spent the majority of his time prior to TUF 12. Fun fact, Brookins once fought Jose Aldo in the WEC. It wasn't even a close fight and Aldo buzzed right through him, but he still fought him. Dropping to featherweight permanently is a great idea for Brookins as the lightweight division has a long list of contenders ready to make their mark. Brookins will be facing Eric Koch, a WEC transplant who has looked impressive in his last few fights. Koch is currently on a three fight win streak and this will be his second fight in the UFC. Koch's only career loss came at the hands of wrestling dynamo Chad Mendes.
This may actually be the most evenly matched fight of the entire card. Both Brookins and Koch bring a lot of skills to the table and I'm actually very curious to see how this one is going to play out. If Brookins can muscle Koch to the ground and use his wrestling to keep control, then it will be a very long night for Koch. Koch has much better stand up than Brookins though and could very easily end this fight or use his athleticism to pepper Brookins with punches from the outside. I honestly don't know how much Brookins has improved since his stint on TUF but based one what I saw, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He looked tough on the show and I"m willing to back him in this fight based solely on what I saw there. Koch has unlimited potential though and being that he's only 22, the sky is the limit. Since it is very rare that a TUF winner loses in his octagon debut after the show, I'm gonna have to go with Brookins on this one.
Prediction: Brookins by Unanimous Decision.
Court McGee vs. Dongi Yang
I have to be honest with you. I had to look up Dongi Yang and watch his fights on Youtube. Prior to this booking I'd never heard of him. Apparently, this is actually his third fight in the UFC. Go figure! You may know Court McGee as the winner of TUF 11 and the first guy to ever win The Ultimate Fighter as a wildcard. He's also one of the few remaining high level Mixed Martial Artists out there who train at The Pit under the tutelage of John Hackleman.
Based on the little I've seen of Dongi Yang, it seems like he's a pretty solid Middleweight. He has good takedowns and a decent enough ground game. Court McGee, however, has shown us time and time again that there's no quit in him. Just when you think the guy is outmatched, he does something that no one was expecting. I think the power comes from that magnificent beard of his. I'm going to base this pick on two very important factors considering I don't know much about Yang. Asian fighters have had a very hard time fighting overseas and have not been very successful in the UFC as a whole. Two, the UFC matchmakers tend to favor TUF winners in their match ups and will usually give them beatable opponents until they start to become contenders. I think Court McGee pulls this one out but using his wrestling to take down The Ox (Yang's nickname) and pound him out.
Prediction: Court McGee by 3rd Round TKO
Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger
The battle of the Jakes. I have to commend Jake Shields for still going through with this fight. His father passed away three weeks ago and he never once considered pulling out. It must be tough to prepare yourself for a fight after going through such an emotionally difficult time.
Jake Shields is coming off a very disappointing loss to Georges St. Pierre. I was pulling for him in that fight and I still believe that he has all the tools to beat GSP. He just came in with a flawed game plan. Even so, he was still able to take GSP the distance and was the first fighter to hurt him in a very long time. If Shields had used the skills he excels at instead of standing and trading with GSP, he may very well have won that fight. Ellenberger is coming off a big KO of Sean Pierson and is being touted as one of the rising stars in the Welterweight division. His wrestling is very good and his standup is improving at a methodical pace.
Lets cut to the chase! Although Ellenberger is a very well rounded and talented fighter, Jake Shields is a master at bringing the fight to his world. His blend of Catch Wrestling and BJJ (which he calls American Jiu-Jitsu) is second to only to Josh Barnett. A lot of people will point to his lack of finishes in recent years, but this is because he has only fought elite level competition. I don't think Ellenberger has a shot at out grappling Shields which makes his only chance a quick knockout. Being the Jake Shields once took a full power H-Bomb from Dan Henderson right to the chin, and still came back to win the fight, I don't think Ellenberger has the strength to knock him out. Ellenberger has also shown that a high level BJJ practitioner can give him problems. Watch his fight with Carlos Eduardo Rocha and tell me I'm not right.
I see Jakes Shields using his Wrestling and BJJ skills to frustrate Ellenberger in to making a mistake. Shields will then pounce and finally finish a fight. He will then dedicate his much deserved win to his father.
Prediction: Jakes Shields by Rd 2 Submission.
Sorry again for taking so long in between posts. I promise I'll try to keep it more consistent from here on out.
As always, feel free to leave any comments about anything.
I'm planning on making some pretty exciting improvements so keep tuning in and you won't be disappointed. There's a lot of original content coming your way.
As always, follow me on twitter @TheGuardFighter.
Come back tomorrow for my post fight reactions.
PEACE!
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