This isn't up on the main site yet, but I already wrote the article, and at the stroke of midnight (on whatever timezone the main page runs on... which I think is Central for some unknown reason) it'll pop up there. But for now, here's the pre-published edition of the Bodega. Consider yourselves lucky.
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The bodega is going to serve as something of a weekend preview today, so we're actually going to show you not one, but two fights relating to the huge slate of MMA going on over the next 2 days.
The major cards going on this weekend (outside of the finale for the weakest season of The Ultimate Fighter since the inception of the show) come from all corners of the world. On Thursday, M-1 put on their Selection Finals card, featuring a slew of Russian prospects as well as PRIDE Veteran Ibragim Magomedov (of Cro Cop liver kick fame). Tachi Palace Fights put on their second re-branded show, which features the likes of UFC vets Professor X and Diego Saraiva, PRIDE vet Cyrille 'The Snake' Diabate and previous Bodega featuree, Ulysses Gomez.
On Friday, Alberta based promotion MFC puts on a card headlined by Thales Leites and Dean Lister, Ring of Fire in Denver has a card stocked with UFC vets (headlined by Mike Nickels and Vinny Magalhaes), and Rage in the Cage puts on RITC 138, with Joe Riggs set to get his daily dose of aluminum. Check which fighter and fight from a busy Friday night we have in store for you, after the vertical body elevation.
So instead of showing you a fight of one of the guys you already know all about, I decided to show you a solid scrap between Middleweight prospect Bryan Baker and UFC vet Rory Singer. Baker has an upcoming fight at MFC 23 against Art Santore. He is also one of those guys you'll soon see in a major MMA promotion (although MFC is becoming quite the promotion these days, it's not quite on the level of the UFCs and Strikeforces of the world). It was actually surprising to me that the UFC didn't roll Baker over into their MW division when they disposed of the WEC's higher weight classes. Aside from needing a new nickname, 'The Beast' currently has a 10-1 record, with his only loss coming to FightLockdown's sixth ranked MW in the world, Chael Sonnen. His last 2 victories have been over UFC veterans in Singer and Matt Horwich, showing that while he may not be an elite talent quite yet, he definitely has the ability to compete at a very high level. Bryan's solid wrestling and power would be a welcome addition to any MW division, and if the UFC doesn't want to pick him up, I'm sure Strikeforce would be pleased to continue to bolster their MW division.
Our second course of today's meal comes to prepare you for Saturday's action, which includes another Alberta card (TFC 9), a British card (Ultimate Challenge UK), XFO 34 from Illinois, and Pancrase Changing Tour 6 (which actually happens on Sunday, but it's in Japan so we'll do the time warp and pretend it's Saturday as well). What to choose, what to choose?
As much as I'd like to show Neil Grove (the Ultimate Challenge UK HW Champion) helicoptering Martin Thompson, we'll keep the bodega Canadian today and go with Ryan Ford vs. Pete Spratt from MFC 15. A couple things to watch for in this fight: 1) Our very own Tony having his company ToeZup (www.ToeZup.com) repped by Pete Spratt, 2) A couple blatant examples of why Herb Dean is not the best ref in MMA today, and 3) A finish that would make Matt Hughes smile and Frank Trigg weep. Enjoy!
Ford's style is really better suited to a cage rather than a ring, but he's undeniably a powerful and explosive fighter at 170. Even though he's been exposed a little bit in his two fights with Pat Healy, I still have an undeniable urge to see Ryan Ford vs. Tyron Woodley in what would undoubtedly be a match that is so athletically explosive and explosively athletic that the world may not survive. There would be slams and reversals galore, and it would be interesting to see how each guy handles someone close to his athletic talents.
I hope everyone enjoys this weekend's fights, and be sure to head over to the forums to dicuss all the action inside and outside of the Octagon.
Discussion?
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Supporting the recent entrance music of Joseph Benavidez and Taisuke Okuno
Brad's Friday Fight Bodega - Double Dose
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