Home Categories Fights Brad's Friday Fight Bodega - Kaufman vs Helsel & Weekend Preview
Brad's Friday Fight Bodega - Kaufman vs Helsel & Weekend Preview
Written by Brad Taschuk   
Friday, 26 February 2010 11:31
In my years of watching MMA, I'm not sure I've ever seen a busier weekend than this upcoming one.  Sure, there have been bigger and better cards situated on the same weekend, but in terms of the sheer volume of quality shows, I don't think anything comes close to what is taking place over the next couple of days (we'll include last night as part of the weekend too).  As is always the case with MMA, the action is spread out over the globe, and the usual stomping grounds are all present (Japan, Brazil, US and Canada), as well as the most criticized promotion in the sport (no, not the UFC) once again showing a dedication to regional MMA that is beyond reproach.  Step inside the Bodega for a quick rundown of the laundry list of fights happening this weekend.

Since I have a whole lot of MMA to tackle, I'm going to stay simple and work in chronological order.  Yeah, it's boring but there's a reason time was invented in the first place, and it's to let me know when MMA is going on.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Thursday

Last night in Brasilia, Bitetti Combat 6 happened, with a card that once again showed why the namesake promotion of the epic Don Frye beatdown recipient is the premier organization running out of Brazil these days (no offense to Jungle Fight).  Even though Jeff Monson once again didn't appear on the card for a scheduled bout against Glover Teixeira (who was beating Sokoudjou before it was fashionable), the card was still stellar.  As so many cards are, it featured a couple of ex-UFC employees, but not as is usually the case of "this guy couldn't cut it in the UFC, so we're going to piggyback his name", but by two fighters who are still quite capable of competing in the Octagon - or any other major promotion that might be paying attention.  Thales Leites and FLD friend Danillo Villefort both were expedious in their victories, with neither fight going past the 3 minute mark.  The aforementioned Teixeira also won his fight in the second due to the towel being thrown in.  The other notable results were Villefort's 19 year-old brother, Yuri picking up a UD and improving to 5-0; a man who now has more years in the fight game than actual fights, Cristiano Marcello winning by armbar in the first; and 'Buscape' shockingly losing by kneebar to Francisco Drinaldo (which instantly puts him on the radar of most hardcore fans).

The biggest story to come out of this card was not in the fights themselves, but the absence of a scheduled Paulo Filho from the weigh-ins prior to the fight.  He cited personal reasons for the absence, and thus begins the rollercoaster that is Filho's life once again.



Friday

Tonight there are four cards worthy of mention.

World Championship Fighting 9 caters to the Northeastern crowd, and features ex-WEC fighter Mike Campbell in the main event, as well as a host of unbeaten prospects, who we will wait until much further notice before writing about.

MFC 24 is going to continue representing Canada, as the best promotion north of the border (even though just by virtue of having Carlos Newton on their roster, W-1 comes in as a close second).  Yves Edwards - who hardly gets any credit for the stellar job he did along with Hermes Franca and Josh Thomson in keeping the UFC's LW division alive during the late UFC 40's events - faces off against Derrick Noble.  That's really the only overly notable fight on the card, which likely means that MFC is dialing back the budget just a little bit after bringing us some fantastic (and very likely, budget breaking) cards over the past few months.

M-1 Global starts it's next... season (??) with the Eastern European portion of their selection process.  While no names would jump out at anyone but the most hardcore of fans, I feel it necessary to point out whenever M-1 has a card that isn't a co-promotion where fans can cry that they're trying to rob some other promotion blind.  For the record, that is quite often, and as I said earlier, M-1's dedication to regional MMA is quite admirable, and one of the qualities that often goes overlooked when examining them.

Finally, the biggest of the cards this weekend is Strikeforce Challengers 6.  The headliner shows Strikeforce continuing to tighten it's grasp on Women's MMA, crowning their first ever 135 pound champion in a match between Takayo Hashi and Sarah Kaufman, who will be featured below.  Also on the card is highly touted Middleweight prospect Luke Rockhold taking on a very tough Paul Bradley, and Trevor Prangley going up against the second best French export to the MMA scene, Karl Amoussou.  Going back to Kaufman and the 135 title for a minute, the 145 division has been the only one to really get any attention in North America, but if you haven't noticed, that division is extremely short on competitors (Erin Toughill being the only one left).  135 is a much more competitive division, simply because it draws from a larger group of women, and what holds true in males also holds true in females, the smaller the competitor, the more skilled.  Kaufman is an excellent example of this; unlike most female fighters she actually throws straight punches, and her first reaction when her opponent closes the distance on her is not to grab an awkward schoolyard headlock but instead to work a solid collar tie or muay thai plum.  Kaufman has only recently stepped up her level of competition, so it's hard to say where she ranks among the top 135ers in the world, however if you take a look at her fight with Molly Helsel, you'll see just how thoroughly she dominated some of the mid-level fighters of the division.


Saturday night features just as much action as Friday, with four more cards worth paying attention to (and I use that concept loosely).

First is Jungle Fight 16, which is far more prospect heavy than the Bitetti Combat series.  Featherweight Renan Barao - who recently signed with Bellator - was scheduled for this card, although whether that fight occurs with his Bellator signing remains to be seen.  Other prospects include Ivan 'Pitbull' Iberico against Rodrigo Damm - which is a much more difficult fight for Damm than most would expect - and Geronimo 'Mondragon' dos Santos (who makes Cheick Kongo look like a little girl).  Rodrigo's sister, Carina Damm is also scheduled to fight unbeaten Aline Serio.  Barao, Iberico and dos Santos are all fighters to watch moving forward.

Back up to Canada, Mixed Fighting League is putting on their second card, with perennial fan favorite David Loiseau in the main event.  Former Hockey enforcer Steve Bosse, undefeated Tom Murphy and prospect Derek Gauthier - who some expected big things out of prior to his loss to the forgettable Tyler Jackson last month - are all also on the card.  However, no stars shine brighter on this card than Marvin 'The Beastman' Eastman, who is going to put Steve Bosse in serious danger of being feinted to death in their fight.

Shooto's Rookie Tournament is also taking place this weekend, and while none of the names are familiar to MMA fans right now, certainly one or two will be known by the end of the tournament. Matrix Fights in Philadelphia has one fight worth noting, which is the second venture into MMA for former NCAA Heavyweight champion Cole Konrad.  Finally, for some comedy, those of you around Austin area can check out Anthony Macias still trying to hold onto what remains of his MMA career at King of Kombat 8.



This weekend's slate is so full that it even carries over to Sunday, where DEEP 46 features Riki Fukuda against legendary can Hiromitsu Kanehara, with Fukuda sporting a five-fight winning streak including his upset of Murilo Rua last year.

All in all, a very busy weekend is on tap for MMA fans, with fights holding meaning for the present as well as tons of prospects trying to stake their claim to being part of the sport's future.