brashleyholland Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="RingofHonorGuard" data-cite="RingofHonorGuard" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Chael Sonnen's apparently in a heap of trouble now... and it's not just steroids that are biting him his time. He's apparently facing up to 20 years in prison for money laundering unless he cooperates with authorities and gives up some helpful information on the others involved.<p> </p><p> Tough year for the ® so far... and it just started. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> It seems like hardly anywhere picked it up yesterday, but almost as soon as this story broke, Yahoo Sports squashed the whole "20 years in prison" thing. More places have it up today, but it's still lost in all the "OMG HE'S GOING TO JAIL 4EVA!!!!" </p><p> </p><p> Looks like he's pulled a Jon Jones and snitched...2 years probation and a slap on the wrist to the tune of $10,000. Sorted. </p><p> </p><p> Also looks like he'll be facing Akiyama at UFC 128, which all but seals the deal on me hopping the pond for that card.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 He's not going to get 20 years... the legal system is notoriously jless stringent when it comes to handing these sentences. At most, he's probably getting 5 years if does this stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="ampulator" data-cite="ampulator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>He's not going to get 20 years... the legal system is notoriously jless stringent when it comes to handing these sentences.<strong> At most, he's probably getting 5 years if does this stupid.</strong></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Again, he's not getting jail time. </p><p> </p><p> 2 years probation, $10,000 fine and giving up his realtor licence. That's the Government's own recommendation after he agreed to snitch, sorry, co-operate as a witness against other parties involved.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I know that. But I'm saying, if he does something stupid, he wil, at best, get that amount. He's got to be careful not to do anything more stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shape Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="brashleyholland" data-cite="brashleyholland" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Looks like he's pulled a Jon Jones and snitched...2 years probation and a slap on the wrist to the tune of $10,000. Sorted. <p> </p><p> Also looks like he'll be facing Akiyama at UFC 128, which all but seals the deal on me hopping the pond for that card.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> So has Jones been in a similar situation before? I thought he was squeeky clean, lol.</p><p> </p><p> And the Akiyama fight is a good one, that card really is shaping up. Could easily be FOTN again, even if Sexyama loses surely they can't release him after the entertainment he's brought so far xD</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Shape" data-cite="The Shape" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>So has Jones been in a similar situation before? I thought he was squeeky clean, lol.<p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Lol, nothing like the same situation, he's just a snitch <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> It stemmed from an interview he did with Sherdog a while back...</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><em>"I've always been a person who tries to do the right thing in life, for the most part. I'm no angel, but I was always the kid who snitched on the kids who had pot. I don't want to offend the pot smokers out there, but I was kind of just a snitch. I was just down for people doing the right thing. My parents kind of raised me to be a good guy. I've always been down for the good side, I guess."</em></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ...needless to say, the pot-addled online MMA community weren't best pleased <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffanka Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>Chael Sonnen is a whirlwind of entertainment. Pre-pubescent, former WCW Power Plant trainee, republican criminal who abuses steroids, lies and launders money.</p><p> </p><p> It's amazing.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Shape" data-cite="The Shape" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>So has Jones been in a similar situation before? I thought he was squeeky clean, lol.<p> </p><p> And the Akiyama fight is a good one, that card really is shaping up. Could easily be FOTN again, even if Sexyama loses surely they can't release him after the entertainment he's brought so far xD</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Jones snitched on kids who smoked pot in high school. He seems to be kind of a geek but he's got weird monkey limbs and elbows people really hard in the head so I'm willing to look past it.</p><p> </p><p> Also regarding Meltzer and Edgar - Maynard 3; he allegedly got the info from Kevin Iole who's a writer for Yahoo I think. I know fully well he doesn't know MMA at all, in his latest podcast he said that Japanese fighters shouldn't be ranked with the rest because apparently Japanese MMA is about getting over (his exact words) and not winning.</p><p> </p><p> Which is hilarious and dumb for many reasons but the thing I wondered was if it retroactively included Pride. Turns out Nogueira wasn't that good after all.</p><p> </p><p> Also Akiyama's huge in Korea and Korea's a market the UFC want bad. Stun Gun's up there as well (which is why he's getting paid a lot, easy opponents and main cards spots despite his relatively tepid style) but Akiyama's easily the biggest MMA star in Korea now that Choi has been exposed as a joke and stopped fighting.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shape Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>Ah right, cheers.</p><p> </p><p> Just got wonder what happened to the Wanderlei fight and who he's getting instead.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Self Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>I love Chael Sonnen so much. </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="RingofHonorGuard" data-cite="RingofHonorGuard" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Really? I thought Guida/Gomi was awesome. Sure, it could have been more of a war like Sanchez/Guida was... But the fact is Guida is learning. While he might have looked like Donkey Kong jumping around and using erratic head movement, it was enough to throw Gomi off. That didn't stop me from enjoying the one punch knockout winging punches that Gomi nearly landed time and again. That in itself made for an exciting fight, PLUS... Guida actually FINISHED a guy that wasn't a can. I too wanted Gomi to win. But I think you're being a little too hard on this fight just because it wasn't balls-to-the-wall rock'em'sock'em.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I could admire Clay's whole bide-your-time counter-striking style, with all that unnerving movement, as an effective way to win fights, but I found it boring to watch. I can't change that. If I'm bored, I'm bored. Good for Clay for winning, but he and Gomi moved into my "dislike" pile after this fight.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>Sooooo.....</p><p> </p><p> Fedor vs Silva and Kharitonov vs Arlovski on Feb 12th. </p><p> </p><p> Then Alistair Overeem vs Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers sometime in March. </p><p> </p><p> Wow, where to begin. Firstly, if all the fights in this tourney go off as planned, I'll eat my hat. And all of your hats. </p><p> </p><p> Secondly, one would assume that they have assurances on Barnett's ability to compete (wherever they're planning on having him fight) while he still lacks a licence in Cali. However with this being Strikeforce, I wouldn't bet on it. Do they have assurances from Overeem that he won't run off to K-1 midway through the year? What if he takes a kickboxing fight and gets hurt? What will they do when Fedor's crew decide they want to renegotiate again halfway through the year? </p><p> </p><p> I hate to be a sceptic, but Coker and Co have given me far to many reasons to be that way over the past few years.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I have the same thoughts, brashley. I love the idea of this tournament, but I cannot see it working. Fedor and Overeem are in opposite brackets, and the obvious hope is that they each win out, creating the super-fight they can hype. Even if that does happen, will that fight actually come together? Injuries, "other engagements", etc, make me think it won't. I have high hopes but low expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justtxyank Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>Fedor is going to win his first fight and then sit out again ruining the tournament.</p><p> </p><p> If he doesn't do that, Overeem only has two fights left on his contract and I do not believe he will resign with Strikeforce. </p><p> </p><p> This is a beautiful tournament that I would love to see go off, but I don't buy it either. I've learned from counting on Fedor over the last few years. If Strikeforce wants to get him for each fight if he keeps winning they will be paying out the nose.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shape Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>I'm surprised Overeem is fighting Werdum in the first round. Means likely no Fedor/Werdum rematch and also surely Werdum has much more claim to be seeded or whatever than Arlovski etc. Shrug, I just hope to see Overeem in the UFC soon, seems he'll want to stick with Japan for a while though.</p><p> </p><p> Also is the winner HW champ? Or could overeem lose and still have the belt lol?</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffanka Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>I'm assuming Strikeforce are fully aware that this tournament will crash and burn so the biggest match up they have is happening in the quarter finals. If Overeem - Werdum 2 happens I'll be happy.</p><p> </p><p> By the way, the brackets are set up with Fedor/Silva and Overeem/Werdum on one side with Sergei/Arlovski and Rogers/Barnett on the other. So if the semi finals actually happen we'll see Overeem and Fedor fight.</p><p> </p><p> Not sure on the other bracket, I think Barnett's going to fight Arlovski in the semi finals but basically every person on that side has looked bad to awful recently.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKenwyne Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 <p>Bracket is here via Bloody Elbow: <a href="http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/1/4/1913476/alistair-overeem-vs-fabricio-werdum-set-for-strikeforce-heavyweight" rel="external nofollow">http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/1/4/1913476/alistair-overeem-vs-fabricio-werdum-set-for-strikeforce-heavyweight</a></p><p> </p><p> So it turns out that Fedor-Overeem would be a semi final fight. I guess they're hoping Fedor won't be a knob about negotiations and will tool Overeem double quick so they don't have to worry about negotiating a new contract mid tourney.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tag01 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Love this tournament, I'm beyond excited. But I fear it will go the route of the super six in boxing and wind up with holdups, replacements, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shape Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 So now Chael's "contract has been frozen," anyone know what exactly this will entail? Fight with Sexyama no more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Love this tournament, I'm beyond excited. But I fear it will go the route of the super six in boxing and wind up with holdups, replacements, etc. I think the bracket says a lot here, and Strikeforce would have done much better to have had an 'open bracket', at least until the semi's were set. The main thing the bracket says to me is that they had no hope whatsoever of getting a Fedor/Overeem final with the men on opposite ends of the bracket. IMO they would have done themselves a service by leaving the high-risk guys like Fedor, Barnett and Overeem out of the tourney, replacing them with young guns like Lavar Johnson, Daniel Cormier and Shane Del Rosario. If they were really so hell-bent on getting a Reem/Fedor fight done, work to get it done in the summer with the winner facing the GP winner in early 2012. Why anyone would put any eggs in the Josh Barnett for a tournament in the US, I'll never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 So now Chael's "contract has been frozen," anyone know what exactly this will entail? Fight with Sexyama no more? Looks that way unfortunately. Even though Sonnen will be essentially walking out of the courtroom scott-free, he'll still be a convicted felon - not exactly the image the UFC wants for the high-end of it's roster, even if it is a white-collar crime. To me, it looks like the UFC's way of saying "go and get your s**t together, then give us a call", rather than cutting him or giving him a fight; both of which would be bad moves for various reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I think the bracket says a lot here, and Strikeforce would have done much better to have had an 'open bracket', at least until the semi's were set. The main thing the bracket says to me is that they had no hope whatsoever of getting a Fedor/Overeem final with the men on opposite ends of the bracket. IMO they would have done themselves a service by leaving the high-risk guys like Fedor, Barnett and Overeem out of the tourney, replacing them with young guns like Lavar Johnson, Daniel Cormier and Shane Del Rosario. If they were really so hell-bent on getting a Reem/Fedor fight done, work to get it done in the summer with the winner facing the GP winner in early 2012. Why anyone would put any eggs in the Josh Barnett for a tournament in the US, I'll never know. I'm thinking SF really wanted to make an impact with this. Its easily the biggest tournament since the Pride days, and bigger than many of the Pride GPs. You could make an arguement for every guy in this tournament to be in the top 25 heavyweights. A weak arguement for a few - I'm looking at you, Arlovski - but still. Its the most logical reason they went for "names", for the most part. I do agree that they're taking some serious risks here. Which is why I'm just not convinced its going to play out that well. If contract situations were more solidified, I might be less concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoNdOn Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I'm thinking SF really wanted to make an impact with this. Its easily the biggest tournament since the Pride days, and bigger than many of the Pride GPs. You could make an arguement for every guy in this tournament to be in the top 25 heavyweights. A weak arguement for a few - I'm looking at you, Arlovski - but still. Its the most logical reason they went for "names", for the most part. I do agree that they're taking some serious risks here. Which is why I'm just not convinced its going to play out that well. If contract situations were more solidified, I might be less concerned. Remember, the Heavyweight division isn't the deepest. Arlovski is easily in the top 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shape Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Thing is thinking about it's less of an actual tournament and more just a way to structure what they'd be doing anyway. Werdum getting the title shot, Fedor presumably next, then whoever is after that will have earnt it with a couple of fights won. So the tournament in and of itself seems kind of irrelevant, but its a means to an end I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brashleyholland Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Shape" data-cite="The Shape" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Thing is thinking about it's less of an actual tournament and more just a way to structure what they'd be doing anyway. Werdum getting the title shot, Fedor presumably next, then whoever is after that will have earnt it with a couple of fights won. So the tournament in and of itself seems kind of irrelevant, but its a means to an end I guess.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Exactly. So given that, and as a promoter who is already seen as 'second rate' by the vast, vast majority of the MMA fanbase, why set yourself up for a fall by calling it a tournament? </p><p> </p><p> If Strikeforce had announced Fedor vs Silva with Arlovski vs Kharitonov on the undercard for February, then followed it up by announcing a Reem/Werdum title bout with Barnett vs Rogers underneath in March, people would have probably been falling all over themselves to praise Coker and Co. Then they could pick the most desirable match-ups from the four winners with no time scale pressure, ditto for the 'final'.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampulator Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Bigpapa42" data-cite="Bigpapa42" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I'm thinking SF really wanted to make an impact with this. Its easily the biggest tournament since the Pride days, and bigger than many of the Pride GPs. You could make an arguement for every guy in this tournament to be in the top 25 heavyweights. A weak arguement for a few - I'm looking at you, Arlovski - but still. Its the most logical reason they went for "names", for the most part. <p> </p><p> I do agree that they're taking some serious risks here. Which is why I'm just not convinced its going to play out that well. If contract situations were more solidified, I might be less concerned.</p></div></blockquote><p> The problem with Arlovski is his damn chin. He's a good striker, but a striker without a a chin is... well, an exciting loser. I hate to say that, but it's true.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffanka Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 <p>This isn't really all that different from Joe Silva's UFC booking. If you have a contingent of fighters and you put the winners against the winners you're inevitably going to end up with some kind of grand prix structure, though in the UFC's case they were smart enough not to announce any match ups beforehand.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="ampulator" data-cite="ampulator" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The problem with Arlovski is his damn chin. He's a good striker, but a striker without a a chin is... well, an exciting loser. I hate to say that, but it's true.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> He was outboxed by the eighth wonder of the world. Part of that is due to how terrified he is of getting hit post-KO losses and he can be an effective striker against lower level fighters because he hits -hard- but anyone with decent punching technique takes him to school.</p><p> </p><p> I'm actually kind of excited about his fight with Sergei. Sergei got knocked out by Heart Jaideep's awful awful boxing technique so he's clearly no longer indestructible. It's kind of a fight to see whose career is at all salvageable.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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