Cro Cop vs. Emelianenko: The Rematch

Just when you thought you'd seen the last of Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and Aleksander Emelianenko, Eastern European MMA promotion: Legend MMA have gone booked the pair for a rematch.

The two originally faced off 9 years ago back at PRIDE: Final Conflict where Emelianenko fell victim, in the first-round, to the very head kick that 'Cro Cop' was renowned for back in his prime. The win set Filipovic up for a superfight against Aleksander's older brother (and at one time arguably the best heavyweight MMA fighter of all-time) Fedor Emelianenko. 

Fast forward 9 years to 2013 and we find ourselves facing the very real booking of a rematch between two heavyweights who are arguably pushing to keep the curtains open on careers that should have essentially closed a long time ago. My reasoning behind my last statement is that, neither fighters have attained the level of success that they found once upon a time in the 'PRIDE FC' organisation in Japan. Aleks Emelianenko is coming off a fight against perennial pushover Bob Sapp and Cro Cop has returned to kickboxing following a very disappointing stint in the UFC where he was (at one stage) trying to comeback from three back-to-back(-to-back lol) KO losses. 

BLACKZILLA's TIP: I don't think history will repeat itself, Mirko Cro Cop has looked sluggish and slow lately, and i very highly question the ability of his chin's ability to defend against the hands of the younger Emelianenko whilst wearing 4-pound MMA gloves. Emelianenko by KO.

Rampage Signs With Bellator

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's time with the Ultimate Fighting Championships has officially come to an end. After three straight losses (to UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Ryan Bader and Glover Texeira, respectively), it didn't look like the UFC figureheads were too keen on extending his contract with them, not that Rampage hadn't been actively looking for a way out in recent years anyways. 

Many marked this as the end of his professional MMA career which had seen him become an extremely famous celebrity in Japan through his days fighting in Pride Fighting Championships before moving on to fight in the World Fighting Alliance and the UFC.

In a move that surprised most of the MMA world, Rampage Jackson signed with Bellator (seen as currently the best MMA promotion in the world, second only to the UFC). It is unsure when he will make his debut for the promotion, however he enters the organisation with a 32-11 record and is rumoured to have signed a contract similar to 'King Mo' Lawal who's contract allows him to make regular appearances on the Total Non-stop Action (TNA) wrestling programme.

I'm not yet sold on whether or not this is a good idea for the former UFC Light-Heavyweight champ, but either way i guess this'll lead most definitely in an interesting direction for him career-wise.

Until next time,

Peace!

Barnett Set To Make Return To Octagon

Former UFC champion and 'Strikeforce' veteran Josh 'The Warmaster' Barnett is set to make his return to the octagon at UFC164. 'The Warmaster' is back and this time he's sporting a 32-6 record. Winning 9 of his last 10 fights, the only loss came to up-and-coming UFC heavyweight and fellow 'Strikeforce' veteran Daniel Cormier (when they last fought in the now-defunct promotion). 

Cormier has only had one fight in the UFC and in his debut he beat Barnett's upcoming opponent, Former two-time UFC Champion Frank Mir via Unanimous Decision, imposing the superior grappling skill he's been known for since his before his Olympic wrestling days. 

Since Barnett's last stint in the octagon (his last fight being his victory over Randy Couture to secure the UFC Heavyweight title), he's fought in the Pride FC, Sengoku, Affliction, Dream, Impact FC and Strikeforce promotions claiming a mostly successful 14-5  record in his time outside the UFC.

Barnett looks to make a successful return to the octagon against Mir with the latter desperately looking to get back in the 'win' column after losing his last two fights to former champion Junior Dos Santos and former Strikeforce champion Daniel Cormier.

BLACKZILLA's TIP: As much as i like Frank Mir, i think Barnett takes this, either by 1st Round KO/TKO  or by Unanimous Decision and with this loss, i think Frank will seriously consider calling it a career.

On another completely unrelated topic, I should probably go to sleep, it's 3:51am and i have a 16 hour shift at work that starts in just over 3 hours.

So on that note...
Until next time,
Peace!