Both Ray Mercer and Tommy Morrison will fight in MMA matches in June.

[TroubleMan]

http://mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3945&zoneid=3

http://www.touchgloves.com/news/2007/03/ray_mercer_vs_kimbo_slice.html


Tommy Morrison, as you might know, had to quit boxing because he tested positive for HIV. Apparently he's on the "Magic Johnson cocktail" now, which is supposed to suppress the virus enough so that it's almost non-existent when you test for it - but it's not a cure. Funny how the rich guys get the best stuff, and know exactly what works vs AIDS, while the poor are still getting experimental drugs.

Apparently Tommy is interested in MMA because he heard of Chuck Liddell's embarrassing interview. In case you missed it, Chuck Liddell did a TV interview, but he had pneumonia, was drugged up on Nyquil and prescription sleeping pills (Lunesta), and even fell asleep in the middle of the interview. He apparently had less than 3 hours sleep in the 24 hour period beforehand. Here's the interview:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=huKeNWggSPA
At first I thought he was doing a Marlon Brando imitation. Well, in his incoherent stupor he mentioned he'd like to fight Tommy Morrison. The Nevada State Athletic Commission was so concerned about the interview, that they immediately demanded that he come in and pass a drug test (which he passed). So now we have Tommy Morrison's raison d'etre for going into MMA.

Morrison's fight is pretty interesting. He's fighting on a Native American Reservation, so there won't be any interference from the state athletic commission - and no HIV test. However, to be fair to Morrison he was cleared to fight in West Virginia and has recently passed an HIV test in Arizona. The guy he's fighting will probably outweigh him by about 100lbs. I've never heard of his opponent (which is like H2OMan not knowing about a boxer), and he's not even listed on Sherdog's fight finder, which means his eight MMA matches were probably unsanctioned bouts. If I were Morrison, I'd cut myself before entering the ring - get a little blood flowing. This is one of the few fights where you'd rather not give your opponent a cut. I don't know if I'd want to roll with a guy on the ground if he was bleeding and was once HIV positive. Sure nothing would probably happen, but it sure might make you want to keep the fight standing up, which is Morrison's bread and butter.


Concerning Ray Mercer's fight....I'm kinda shaking my head at this one. If your not aware of Ray Mercer's short but disastrous stint in kickboxing, you should watch these two videos:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EXkcYul1LRo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SCXdXtLCt3A

Of course that was after Mercer's boxing retirement, and he was old and out of shape. Also, they threw him in against some top guys...and both guys who fight at a distance and kick a lot instead of boxing, so stylistically they set him up to lose. Now he's even older (46), and I can't speak as to whether he got back to shape or not.

Mercer's opponent, Kimbo Slice, will also be in his first MMA match. If you've never heard of Kimbo Slice, he's a huge guy who learned how to box in jail. He got out of jail and started street-fighting for money. He got financial backing from some rich internet porn maven, and they started filming them and releasing them on the internet. He's sort of an internet legend. However, all of his opponents (except for one) were guys with no real fighting experience and easily over-matched. His fights are all a distorted Marquess of Queensbury rules type fight - boxing only, with no wrestling, submissions, or kicking. The KO count is to 30 instead of 10, also. On his videos, he challenged all the MMA guys to come down and fight him (stand-up only). Well....one did. Sean Gannon, who is an MMA lower tier fighter (http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?FighterID=11962). Gannon actually got his shot in the UFC after that fight (some say because of it) and lost in the 1st Rd by TKO - to a guy who never won another UFC fight. It's interesting that now that Kimbo is getting somebody who can really box, that he's now going to fight him in match which will allow a ground game.

This is sort of a freak show match up, and I'm surprised that Ray Mercer will still be allowed to fight. 5-10 years ago Mercers KO's this guy quickly and brutally, and he still might. However, at 46 years old, you have to wonder why is he doing this? I still think Mercer will KO him in the first round, as long as Mercer is in somewhat of a decent athletic shape. As far as we know, neither man has a ground game, so this will probably be a boxing match.

Well, with the old boxers dusting off the gloves and trying some MMA....you gotta wonder who's next?
Larry Holmes maybe??? (pure speculation on my part)

[Wetzelbill]

1. ha! I know, I came in here to post all of Kimbo's fights and read this

post. I am curious to see what the hell Kimbo is going to do. I mean, if Ray is even halfway at himself he should take Kimbo out if they stay up on their feet, but if Kimbo learns some ground stuff he might be able to take Ray down and do some damage. Kimbo is always trying to take shots, like he tried to take Gannon down, and also "The Bouncer." But he shoots wrong. He more or less just reaches, doesn't pop his hips or anything. He's brutally strong though.

I'm thinking Morrison found himself a stiff just so he could test the waters. I don't even know who the guy is myself. So I would think if neither of us have heard of the guy, well then he must be from wayyy out of nowhere. This all has a freakshow element to it. It's weird.

But I am anxious to see Brock Lesnar's debut. He's fighting next month. Now there is a go who could be a force. He might be the most athletic heavyweight in MMA ever. Total animal.

[H2O Man]

2. Morrison

He had returned to the ring recently. It was sad. He was fighting a punching bag, and he was very tired after about one minute. He is going to do anything for a dollar, because he has no options in the boxing ring. "Freakshow" is exactly right.

Ray Mercer is another sad case of an old fighter with no career options other than being willing to subject himself to humiliation. He reminds me of a story I read as a boy, about a young man who found a snapping turtle at the side of the road. He was going to kill the turtle, until his father said that one should respect snapping turtles, and at least fight them in their own element, the muddy bottom of a pond. Ray is an old snapping turtle, disoriented at the side of a modern highway.

[TroubleMan]

4. "No career options other than being willing to subject himself to humiliation"

LOL....that about sums it up right there. However, if Mercer is in shape, he should be able to KO this guy...assuming that Slice wants to keep it standing, which would be Mercer's proverbial muddy bottom of the pond.

[TroubleMan]

3. Brock Lesnar is actually going to be a serious competitor

so that's a whole different thread. Also, the guy he's facing is legit, too. First of all, let me preface this with the fact that I hate professional wrestling. I was somewhat skeptical when I heard some guy from pro wrestling would be entering MMA, but then I looked at Lesnar's NCAA wrestling accomplishments....wow. He was a beast of a wrestler and was almost unstoppable in college. Also, he's huge and a naturally athletic guy. The guy he's facing is an excellent kickboxer and is one of the few opponents that Lesnar will face who will be much larger than him. Choi is going to have a huge reach and striking advantage. I didn't mention that one here because it's two legitimate contestants having a real fight. I'm looking forward to that one because it's two skilled athletes in their prime or just before their prime.

However, these other two fights....LOL....I might watch them for the same reason I have to look at a car wreck when I pass by. If Morrison keeps fighting, I'm interested as to what his opponent's reaction would be if there's a cut. Getting KO'd is one thing....the risk of getting HIV is a whole different kind of scary, even if the risk is minuscule.

[Ekirh]

5. Let me say I'm a pro wrestling fan . .

And his short time in WWE was fun . . . up until he decided he wanted to do other things "Cough NFL" . . . and then his mediocre run in NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling)

I never knew if Brock Lesnar would actually attempt MMA.. but now his date is getting nearer and he is taken it quite seriously. Heard a few interviews from him and he seems excited and ready. Should be an interesting ever.

[Wetzelbill]

9. one of my teammates on a cultural exchange trip to Bulgaria

wrestled with Lesnar at Minnesota. I called him one time, and I'm not sure, but I think it was Lesnar who answered the phone. It was before he was famous, of course.

Yeah, Lesnar is a great athlete. His power is freaking unbelievable. If I was Brock I'd be at this guys heels right off. A big kickboxer like that, why take a risk? Go in and take the guy down asap. Then work from there. Lesnar is a guy who could do some damage if he evolves with the game. He's probably not as good a wrestler as say Coleman was, but he's huge. And more powerful. Plus he's a better all around athlete than guys like say Coleman or Kerr. The guy is a physical specimen. He's smart too. Been training a lot of BJJ with Royce Gracie as well. He could be a definite force almost right away.

[Ekirh]

11. Lesnar is now without an opponent. . .

http://www.411mania.com/MMA/news/54874/Hong-Man-Choi-denied-fight-license.htm

[TroubleMan]

12. They're in the process of trying to get a 2nd opinion.

I wonder what the reason was. If he's out, watch them bring in some guy like Cabbage Correira, Tank Abbott, or Warpath Villareal - guys good enough to make a fight of it, but not good enough to win (at least not on short notice). They might even bring in Ron Waterman, which would be a competitive fight.

Also, it seems the whole event is in jeopardy because of licensing issues:
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=7629

I hope they get it together, because I was looking forward to watching it.

On edit....K-1 has an agreement with Elite XC, so here's Elite XC's list of fighters:

http://www.elitexc.com/fighter

The heavyweights are Ricco Rodriguez, Bo Cantrell, Cabbage, Antonio Silva, Tim Persey, and Jefferson Silva. I know there's no way they'll match him up with Ricco or Antonia Silva.

They also have an agreement with Cage Rage in England, but I don't think they'll pull a fighter from there.

[Ekirh]

6. Brock Lesnar I can see. .

Dana White said he and Kurt Angle have actually talked to each other (Although since Angle is doing TNA I doubt anything would actually happen) Angle doing MMA would be a train wreck waiting to happen . . especially with his health problems over the past time period.

But I don't ever see it happening so it's a moot point. Heck, I wish he took the time off from the ring WWE tried to suggest to him.

[TroubleMan]

7. Being an Olympic gold medal winning wrestler, Angle certainly once had the skill

to compete at the top levels of MMA. However he's old and injured now, and this late in life it's probably too late for him to compete at the top levels of an MMA match. Sure....he could do what Morrison is doing (facing an unknown guy to acclimate himself), but I think he's probably beyond that point of putting in all the hard work it would require. As far as I know, Angle has a lot of money, while Morrison needs the money.

Of course when he won the Olympics, there was no money in MMA and tons of money in pro wrestling, so I don't blame him (same for Lesnar). He could have done the real thing and made a pittance or get paid a lot to do the fake stuff. With his neck injury, it really was a no-brainer - why risk the injury in a real competition for little money, when you can put on a staged wrestling match and get paid 10-20 times more. I'm sure if he had went into MMA much earlier he would have resembled a larger Matt Hughes and had a great career. He beat Mark Coleman in wrestling, and Coleman went on to have a good MMA career.

[Wetzelbill]

8. Coleman, Couture, Kerr etc

Angle practically retired Coleman and Kerr from freestyle wrestling. Dominant guy. Not very big either, he's just an unreal athlete. Gifted in ways I can't even describe. Like his balance and positioning. It's freakish. He's one of the most explosive athletes I have ever seen too. In short distance bursts that guy is still blindingly quick. He is such a better wrestler than anybody who has ever been in MMA it's unbelievable. (except for Kevin Jackson, but that was in the earlier days) like Randy and Mark Coleman are probably the best wrestlers to ever go into MMA, and Kurt would probably technical fall both of them. Even to this day, injury or not.

His problem though is health. Just as you said. If his neck was healthy, who knows how good the guy could be, but it's not. Just on his wrestling ability alone though, he'd be able to take guys down like nothing. So it would be interesting to see what he could do other than that. That's a pretty dominant skill to have though.

[Ekirh]

10. He actually said no to pro wrestling

The first time it was offered.. he considered a few years later . . . was told he would have to work his way up this time around.. did just that.. and wouldn't you know it.. he succeeded quite well in the WWF(E) . . . hell he was one of my favs to watch from 2003 to the time he was released. I'm glad I got to see him at a wrestling event live before he left.

Angle is well off money wise, but he doesn't want to stop wrestling (Which is why he went to TNA instead of taking time off) and he seems to be enjoying it. I don't think he'll ever do any MMA and it's just talk. but the fact he and Dana White actually have had communication just peaked me and all.

Note: I had no idea he and Coleman ever had a go with each other. Thanks for that bit of info.

[TroubleMan]

13. LOL...They changed the rules of the Morrison fight an hour before the fight.

The original "modified rules" were no ground work. The fight wouldn't be allowed to go on the ground. Then an hour before the fight, they came to Stover (Morrison's opponent) and told him that they wouldn't allow elbows, knees, or kicks either.

So basically they fought a boxing match with 4 oz gloves in a cage, so Morrison won via 1st round KO. Also, Stover almost backed out when on a Sherdog radio interview the host of the show informed him that the fight was an unsanctioned fight and that Morrison wasn't tested for anything before the fight. Stover's promoter told him the opposite. What a joke.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=7845

http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=2899457