By Ron 'The Yacman' Yacovetti
MMA Commentator - Call to Arms MMA
(www.calltoarmsfights.com)

The newest and upcoming season of the UFC and Spike TV hit, The Ultimate Fighter, what most consider the catalyst for MMA's success as a widespread phenomena, is every bit the big deal that Dana White said it would be.

Not only are two of the sports premier light-heavyweights coaching, referring to two former champions of the division, Rashad 'Sugar' Evans and Quinton 'Rampage Jackson, but it also includes the most watched fighter (per one solitary event) in all of MMA, Kimbo Slice.

Dana White, the UFC president admits the show should be intriguing to watch, taking into account many of his rants and derogatory remarks about slice, when he sailed under the EliteXC flag.

This season, originally slated to be heavyweights and middle-weights will now be solely heavyweights. Anyone wondering why still? I thought not.

One would hope, and when I say one, I mainly mean the UFC and Spike, that Kimbo fights well and lasts a while. It would be an understatement to say it would simply add fuel to the show's fire. I will be a lot more like nitrous oxide.

Well, it is safe to assume any MMA fan will be tuning in to this season, present company included. The show already has action, suspense and drama. Now it's been amped up to drama comparable to "The Days of our lives."

The UFC continues to make what is potentially old, new again. The show, much like successful dramas such as "Law and Order" uses the same formula every season. The content itself is what needs to remain interesting and top-notch, if you expect to grow your audience or even sustain a sizable one.

This is a brilliant move by the UFC, considering their position prior to signing Slice. Having mocked him so much, Dana is now in a win-win situation with fans and skeptics alike.

If Kimbo wins or goes far, he gave him a shot and helped bring him to the next level in the most dominant MMA promotion, bar none. If Slice gets whipped like egg-beaters at a diner around breakfast, then the UFC president solidifies himself as Dana Whitestradamus, having predicted the street brawler being devoured in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

So kudos Mr. White. Kudos UFC. The only way to have set the show up for even higher ratings would've been to book Eminem against Bruno the Supermodel (Sascha Baron Cohen).

-Yacman
www.yacandjshow.com

By Ron ‘The Yacman’ Yacovetti –Commentator for Call to Arms MMA
www.calltoarmsfights.com

On June 6, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri at Scottrade Center, Strikeforce will host another solid MMA fight card that promises fireworks as usual.

One bout, however, could generate more hype, action and an exciting finish worthy of stealing the show. That fight, in my opinion is ‘The New York Bad Ass’, Phil Baroni versus Joe ‘Diesel’ Riggs.

If you break this fight down from the roots on up, it is already a great match up on paper. Both men have a body of work that qualifies them as experienced. Both have fought in the UFC, in addition to various other promotions, since embarking upon their MMA careers.

Both Baroni and Riggs have fought successfully, many times, at a weight that is heavier than the 170 lb. contest they are about to do.

It is also very difficult to peer at the records of both Riggs and Baroni and say who has fought the bigger names, holds the bigger wins, as both of them can make a case in those categories. Riggs lost to Diego Sanchez, yet holds a win over a younger Nick Diaz.

Phil Baroni’s record shows a loss to the likes of Frank Shamrock but also a KO win over Ryo Chonan, the last man to legitimately defeat Anderson Silva (Yushin Okami holds a DQ win over Silva shortly after).

So if being seasoned isn’t a major factor in this fight, and age really isn’t either, then what is?

STYLES, SUBTLE DISTINCTIONS AND INTANGIBLES:

The New York Bad Ass and Diesel Riggs are both also solid wrestlers, boxers and comfortable on the ground, so no major advantage for anyone there. Baroni is a two-time All American collegiate wrestler, while Riggs has mirrored this achievement in his pre-MMA career.

In Baroni's initial years as a fighter, he had seven kickboxing matches and ten amateur boxing matches. He won every single one of those seventeen fights by knockout.

Is the need to split hairs to find an edge becoming apparent now?

There is no question that Phil Baroni and Joe Riggs are not taking easy fights or dodging a legitimate challenge. This is going to be a fight. Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields may be pressured more by trying to follow this fight, than by each other.

One key difference coming into this welterweight showdown is momentum. Riggs is fifty-fifty in his last 4 fights, with two wins and two losses. Phil Baroni is on a three fight win streak since descending from the middleweight division.

Riggs and Baroni can both claim to be KO artists at the level of a cage-fighting Picasso. Over his career, Riggs has fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight and Welterweight divisions.

Taking this into account, one can easily think that Riggs will not be overly disheartened by Baroni’s power, having fought as high as Heavyweight. This notion could not be more wrong.

I have had a long conversation or two with Frank Shamrock, my friend and a fighter I respect greatly, about Baroni’s move down to welterweight and how hard he hit at middleweight.

In a nutshell, Shamrock said Baroni hit like a freight train at 185 lbs. and upon hearing Phil would be fighting at 170 lbs., instantly knew the KO ratio Baroni touts would increase. So far, by the way, Baroni has added a KO and TKO in his three bouts at welterweight.

So, while Riggs has been in with the big men, Baroni’s punching power can quickly render that fact irrelevant.

One style point that Riggs brings that is uncommon yet not rare, is being a right-handed fighter who has been schooled to box as a south-paw. His lead left is his power shot and he delivers it with bad intentions.

In his most recent win over Luke Stewart at Strikeforce “Destruction”, Riggs used that very weapon to dispose of Stewart in the second round.

THE BULLSEYE CHIN:

When two heavy handed men go at it in the cage, chances are both chins will be tested somewhat, regardless of who wins the fight. Baroni may hold the advantage here. One thing that makes a one-punch power fighter even more dangerous is when he can walk through your power, if he must, in order to deliver his.

You can expect Phil Baroni to take a shot and not crumble. Riggs’ best shot with strikes is attrition.

THE SUBMISSION GAME:

13 of Joe ‘Diesel’ Riggs’ 29 wins are by submission. ‘The New York Bad Ass’ Phil Baroni has just 2 submissions in his 13 wins. It would seem this is more than a slight edge for Riggs, with his chances of tapping Baroni being much higher than being tapped by Baroni. This is another very deceptive statistic.

Phil Baroni has only tapped out once in his entire career as an MMA fighter. Let me repeat that. Baroni has only tapped out once, “eva.” In 2005, at UFC 51, Pete Sell was able to execute a guillotine choke on Baroni, in the third round of their fight.

Even when Phil was in a rear naked choke against Frank Shamrock in 2007, he did not and would not tap. His loss was ruled a TKO (technical submission). He is that tough.

Joe Riggs is a smart fighter without question, which means if he can secure a submission on Baroni, he will. But it also means he won’t enter this match expecting to tap Phil.

I am very excited to see this match. Riggs and Baroni are fighters, not runners or survivors or lay and pray guys. It is very likely that the judges cage-side will be about as necessary as a lifeguard at a Jacuzzi.

This fight will finish, not just end. If it does go to a decision, every single ticket holder will have received their money’s worth on this fight alone.

PERSONALITY:

Joe Riggs and Phil Baroni are two guys who may never have crossed paths with shyness. I know firsthand with Baroni. I have been fortunate enough to interview Phil a few times and each time he let the fans and me know what he was thinking, what he didn’t care to share and what a dumb question that was, that I just asked.

That is the reality show element that any fan based sport needs. Riggs and especially Baroni, are characters, real complex characters.

Love him or hate him, and most are on one side or the other on this, Phil Baroni is a master showman. It does not matter if you do call yourself a fan of Baroni or if you mock him in private. You know his name and his persona. The New York Bad Ass is a known brand name, and that is masterful marketing.

Shamrock versus Baroni was one of the best hyped fights in MMA. The trash talk started over a year and a few failed attempts to make the fight, earlier. It continued until the match was over.

If Baroni can continue to rack up more wins than losses, he can write his own ticket, champion or not. People will flock to see him smash or get smashed, period. That is the best case scenario for a fighter, putting asses in the seats for whatever reason.

Just like the Howard Stern movie, where people who hated him and people who loved him, all listened non-stop just to see what he would say next, ratings don’t discern emotions, they only show numbers.

When a known brand name talks smack, shows up and produces KO’s, takes punishment and keeps coming, that brand should stay in demand.

Watch Phil Baroni's first step into the welterweight division at Cage Rage: http://dailymotion.virgilio.it/video/x63zrp_cage-rage-27-phil-baroni-vs-scott-j_sport

-YACMAN

By Ron 'The Yacman' Yacovetti

• Waking Dream - "Nightmare" was the original term for the state later known as waking dream
• night·mare (ntmâr) n. - An event or experience that is intensely distressing.
  

So please allow me to begin with the hack lines that I must clear off of my case like years worth of dust, before I make my point about this fight.

"Did Canseco lose a bet?"
"Did a Temp Agency get Jose that gig?"
"Battered Up!"

Ok, now I feel a little better.

Wow!! I cannot even believe I saw that fight. A sighting of Bigfoot himself, seated in my recliner chair, watching "Harry and the Henderson's" would shock me less than that did.

When did MMA become American Idol? Was it open cage night at the Dream Club? It truly boggles my mind. Exactly how does a guy who is just a tough guy, yet has no MMA training, get to walk in at one of the sport's most celebrated venues like that?

Jose Canseco entered the ring with a baseball bat, or as I like to call it, his calling card of relevance. He is an amazing athlete. I had the chance to interview him before and I know he has about twenty years of Tae Kwon Do training under his belt. But it does not and should not come with a free pass into a professional fight.

Not to mention, Canseco does this after he was knocked out in a boxing match against former NFL great, Vai Sikahema.

The ring walk starts it out bad, no question. Then he enters the ring and is wearing what looks to be his pajamas. At least put on MMA shorts, board shorts or even the tight St. Pierre style shorts. The clown theme continued.

Then Jose, a very big man for sure, stands face to face with the behemoth Choi, who looked like the Green Giant of vegetable fame, next to him.

The fight begins and immediately I begin to realize that it may have been better if Jose had kept that bat with him.

What happened next had me thinking that either Dana White passed out from laughter watching this, or he's vacated the planet. No way he would fail to vlog about this!

Canseco circled Choi, slipping inside in spurts, launching a big right hand in the manner which Mighty Mo had when he knocked Hong Man Choi out. Jose however, did not connect clean more than once and clearly does not have the power Mighty Mo does, in one clean shot.

The get in and out quick dance continued, as Jose Canseco used side kicks, front kicks and a few Tae Kwon Do techniques rarely used in MMA. The impact was comparable to that of a fly hitting your windshield at 70 mph.

The big rig that was Choi, kept on a' coming, while Jose Canseco kept on running away.

Finally, Choi connects and send Jose Canseco to the canvas. From this point forward, Canseco turtles up in a quasi-fetal position, showing no desire or ability to defend himself or fight on the ground. He knew the fights can go to the ground in MMA, didn't he?

He seemed to have quit on contact. Choi did what a seasoned professional would do, he pounced in for the finish. Jose Canseco was more than accommodating and surrendered on the spot.

I understand that an American celebrity is also big news in Japan, but this was taking it too far. MMA remains at odds with mainstream America and conventional sports journalists who see it as a barbaric, tough man contest. This fight does everything to bolster that perspective.

I must also say, that to me, anyone who took issue with EliteXC and their touting of Kimbo Slice as a top heavyweight, is a complete hypocrite to not lash out at this bout as well. At least Kimbo tried and trained with a legend like Bas Rutten.

DREAM is doing amazing things. Their branding, their fights, their fighters and the production is reminiscent of the stuff that made PRIDE Fighting Championships a fan favorite. MMA needs DREAM to keep it strong and blossoming.

I am also aware that many of the folks who run DREAM were with PRIDE too. That's a big plus in my opinion. But man, if anyone felt EliteXC may have damaged MMA with its run at the business, then this fight alone should be viewed as a tsunami of mass miscalculation.

I remain a fan of DREAM. I remain a fan of HDNet but the next time someone decides to book a Jose Canseco MMA bout, I don't want it in high definition. I just want a highly defining answer to one question...Why?

- Yacman

Cage-side Commentator for Call to Arms MMA
(www.calltoarmsfights.com)
Correspondent for InsideFights.com; TheBleacherReport.com; TheYacmanSez.blogspot.com
Co-host of MMA with Yac & J
(www.yacandjshow.com)

Watch the fight yourself at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtyULXOZMOk

For Immediate Release


Ontario/Los Angeles, CA--May 11, 2009—Eight months after the downfall of the MMA Promotion, EliteXC, Ron ‘The Yacman’ Yacovetti, the face of the company’s social networking site, ProElite.com, has signed on as a cage-side commentator for the new Mixed Martial Arts Promotion, Clean Kill “Call to Arms I.” The promotion starts Saturday, May 16th.

This fledgling promotion, the product of a partnership between CleanKillClothing.com and The Luminous Group, will air on both the Spanish television network Univision, as well as online at www.fight5.com as an exclusive MMA, internet Pay-Per-View (PPV) Event.

What: Call to Arms I
When: May 16, 2009, 5:00pm
Where: Citizens Business Bank Arena; 4000 E. Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, California 91764

The Yacman says his years working for ProElite.com helped prepare him for Call to Arms I by giving him priceless opportunities to interview numerous MMA fighters, develop relationships within the community and do fight commentary for the King of the Cage and Korean MMA Promotion, Spirit MC (Spirit Martial Challenge).

“I'm so excited and I can't wait for May 16th,” says The Yacman. “This fight card is stacked. There will be no shortage of action to call. I'm confident that Call to Arms I will generate a lot of interest in Call to Arms II and III and beyond. This is how you make a first impression count.”

Ron Yacovetti, better known by his nickname ‘The Yacman’, has remained heavily involved in the MMA Community since the fall of EliteXC, writing articles for TheBleacherReport.com, The Yacman Sez Blog and ProElite.com. He has also been regularly covering MMA events in the Southern California area for his web series MMA with Yac & J, a comedic slant on MMA News which uses humor to keep the sport positive as it grows more mainstream.

The Clean Kill “Call to Arms” promotion is slated for three shows in 2009, starting May 16th with subsequent events to be held in August and November of the same year. Ron ‘The Yacman’ Yacovetti is on board to call the action live, cage-side, as well as conduct the post-fight interviews with the winners, inside the hexagon-shaped cage.

Headliner: Vladimir "The Janitor"Matyushenko vs Jason "The Punisher" Lambert

Featuring: Brian Warren vsTiki Ghosn; Daniel PudervsJeff Ford; Georgi Karakhanyan vsAlbert Rios; Joe Camacho vsKaren Darabedyan; Jay Silva vsReggie Orr; Jaime Fletcher vsMatt Major; ChadGeorge vsKevin Dunsmor; Toby Grear vsSaad Awad; Sevak Magakian vsHaroldLucambio; Joe Cronin vs Brett Cooper; Francisco Rivera vs Johnny Gomez

By Ron 'The Yacman' Yacovetti - www.mogulus.com/wmma

 

When word spread that Nick Diaz, fresh off of beating MMA legend Frank Shamrock, is now calling out a boxing legend, Roy Jones Jr., I first wondered if Diaz would call out Lance Armstrong, considering he has competed in triathlons too.

There's no question Diaz displayed top notch boxing abilities in his one-sided victory over Frank Shamrock.

I too was taken aback by that. And in the same maiden voyage production for Strikeforce on Showtime, Benji Radach, in one writer’s opinion, displayed even better and more slick boxing skills in his instantaneous loss to Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith. But can Nick Diaz hang with the likes of Roy Jones?

Jones has been inconsistent in his last four or so bouts. He’s beaten contenders he was expected to have trouble with or lose to, yet shows almost no killer instinct or offense when he soars up the ranks again, facing an “A” level guy like Joe Calzaghe.

A match with Diaz would be hard to peg on the Jones motivation scale. Let’s be honest, in the back end of Roy’s career, a lack of motivation has him as aggressive and violent as Gandhi.

In the prime of Roy Jones’ career, any mixed martial artist would be so outclassed in a boxing match that the viewing audience would wonder: Why? Why do this? His athletic ability ranks amongst the best all time in boxing. Period. This, by the way, a belief I share with The Fight Professor himself, Stephen Quadros.

That said, Roy Jones Jr. is not in his prime and is tricky to predict when he fights.

The real danger here is Jones still possesses the lightning quick hand speed, he still hits extremely hard (hard enough to have stopped a 235 lb. Ruiz in his tracks) and he can fight ten or twelve rounds without gassing.

We also know, Diaz can likely finish an entire boxing match with plenty of fuel in the tank, but what we don't know is, can Diaz take punches from a guy like Jones? It is safe to assume he has not yet, despite his boxing experiences and cage fighting career.

In a fight like this, I tend to believe that the sport of origin will win. In other words, if Jones vs, Diaz happens in a cage, Diaz wins…if it happens in a boxing ring as a boxing match, Jones wins.

It’s kind of that simple.

Diaz won’t be able to pull out an Oma-plata or dish out leg kicks against Jones. He will be left throwing hands with one of the most precise strikers of all time. Even an aged Jones will stupefy the best MMA fighter in a pugilistic battle.

The one thing I found intriguing about a Roy Jones versus Anderson Silva fight is that Silva, in MMA, displays the type of dominance and athletic superiority that Jones did in boxing. So the best of both world colliding is somewhat of an attention grabbing concept.

While Nick Diaz is amazing, tough and an elite level warrior, I almost feel a match against Jones is like hearing that my father-in-law laid out a championship golf challenge to Tiger Woods. It just seems out of reach.

Let us not forget that despite how amazing Nick looked against Shamrock, he was outboxed big time when he fought a KJ Noons for the EliteXC lightweight title.

So it’s difficult to imagine Noons picking him apart with fluid punch combinations and even an aged Jones being unable to do the same damage or worse to Diaz.

Do I feel this can hurt MMA if Jones destroys Diaz? No.

I think that fear is what kept Dana White and the UFC from allowing Anderson to fight Roy and in that case I do see their point. Silva is synonymous with the best of MMA, so watching the ambassador for the sport get wrecked in another combat sport "could" give artificial leverage to the boxing purists, who feel cage-fighters aren’t skilled like boxers.

One thing is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Nick Diaz is a true fighter. Anyone that would even consider fighting Roy Jones truly is an ‘any place, anytime’ kind of fighter.

With Strikeforce open to co-promotion and HBO Boxing not as in bed with Jones, as once they had been in his prime, we just may see Nick Diaz take on Roy Jones Jr. in what will hopefully be two talented fighters putting on one hell of a show.

 

 

By Ron ‘The Yacman’ Yacovetti

Writer for TheBleacherReport.com - YacmanSez.Blogspot.com

With the recent launch of MMA 2.0 by Strikeforce, a few things come to mind…

Will MMA 2.0 be able to run smoothly for the long term without needing a boatload of patches along the way like EliteXC (And yeah, I’m also talking to you Windows Vista).

And, as it is about to present its second event SHO MMA, it is difficult not to notice that Strikeforce on Showtime did not receive the same harsh and mixed reviews EliteXC did when it started out with what I assume we should call MMA 1.0.

Coker and crew had already touted one of the best rosters in MMA, prior to acquiring EliteXC fighters. But now with Shields, Lawler, Diaz, Carano and more, it appears they’ve not left a stone unturned. Or have they left 12.1 stone unturned entirely?

For those like me who need to look online for weight conversion, 12.1 stone is the equivalent of 170 lbs. And that amount expressed in a British unit of measure like Stone, equals a welterweight mixed martial artist who hails from across the pond in England. But I’m not talking about an up and comer or over the hill veteran. I’m more specifically talking about a banger from Nottingham, with a record of 20-8-2 who fights as explosive as his nickname…Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley.

Anyone who has seen Paul Daley fight has witnessed the same things; regardless of the individual experience they had watching whatever fights they saw.

§ Paul Daley does not gas. Conditioning is always superb, so you better beat him to beat him. Don’t expect him to fade in the later rounds.

§ Paul Daley has KO potential in as many ways as a precision striker should.

In one of his ShoXC bouts, Daley scored a KO over Sammy Morgan. Many cage-side watched the knockout and commented on it saying “Hey, did you see that punch he dropped Morgan with?” I replied to that saying, “…it wasn’t a punch. It was a one-two combination that dropped Morgan with an elbow.” The shot was so seamless it appeared to be a punch. It was Muay Thai at its finest. Paul can finish anyone in his division in a flash if they stand up with him long enough. Jake Shields, who is a master on the ground, also knew this and made sure not to allow Paul to work on his feet too long.

So if Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley is a well-conditioned, exciting and dynamic striker who is consistently getting better on the ground, why wouldn’t Strikeforce have him in the mix? The reason is not yet clear and remains difficult to say. Scott Coker, CEO of Strikeforce consciously chose not to sign Murillo ‘Ninja’ Rua, brother of Pride and UFC star Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, and many argue Ninja Rua is a very exciting fighter.

It just seems odd that a promotion with roots in kickboxing, would miss a major league talent like Daley who is steeped in stand up skill and has done quite well in the world of MMA.

Regardless of how many top welterweights Strikeforce does possess. Paul Daley would only enhance that pack by being on the roster. And Paul has held world titles, which means garnering another is a high likelihood for him again. Plus, even as a contender at 170 lbs. no one will rise to a title shot undeservingly as long as Daley is in the way. His presence will ensure that the top of the class IS the top of the class, including him.

Perhaps this note of advice will reach Strikeforce and Mr. Coker and we will see Paul Daley imported to our soil once again, giving everything he has to the promotion who signs him and the fans who sure love watching him.

-YACMAN

www.mogulus.com/wmma (WMMA-TV)

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