2007 – Year of the UPSET

2007 turned out to be the year of the upset in the world of MMA.  Here is the List of the Top 10 BIGGEST upsets in all of MMA in 2007.

10.  Fedor Emelianenko(revered as the worlds top ranked HW) having only one fight ALL year.

9.  Rameau Sokodju over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

8.  Cheick Kongo over Mirko Filipovic

7.  Gabriel Gonzaga over Mirko Filipovic

6.  Rameau Sokoudjou over Ricardo Arona

5.  Keith Jardine over Chuck Liddell/ Matt Serra over George St. Pierre

4.  The leading organization in Japan, PRIDE FC was purchased by the UFC

3.  Forrest Griffin over Mauricio Rua Shogun

2.  Multiple fighters including LW UFC Champ Sean Sherk testing positive for steriods

1.  Renato Sobral continuing to choke David Heath after the referee stoppage.

Kimbo Slice

It is very clear that if you step into battle with Kimbo Slice, don’t expect it to last long if you are not prepared to deal with a BEAST.  Step back and take a look at this guy and realize he’s a legitimate street fighter, now getting proper MMA training from an elite trainer, Bas Rutten!  If Kimbo keeps training with Bas, look out because guys like Bo Cantrell are going to continue to be mere bumps on the road along Kimbo’s way to the top.  But can a guy like Kimbo ever make it to the top or will he just be a KO specialist that will never beat A-List fighters?

 It took Kimbo all of 19 seconds to blast Cantrell, a seasoned MMA veteran into LaLaLand in his EliteXC debut(Dana you fell asleep on this one).  I would like to see Kimbo battle Tank Abbott in an epic battle of Street Fighters in a sanctioned MMA bout.  There is no doubt Kimbo has the RAW power, and the mind set to be one of the best.  The question is just how much of the battle does power and menatlity count?  Fighting is at LEAST 50% mental, and if it’s one thing Kimbo has, it’s the mental edge over most opponents.  If he continues to train and improve his all around game, nothing is going to get in his way to the top.  Don’t believe me, just youtube some of his past fights and sleep tight.  WAR Kimbo!!! 

The Farm Boy

Tommy Speer was dominant.  Apparently, eating lots of corn (what do they grow in Minnesota) helps you own people.  Koppenhaver fought hard but his only chance was the choke early on.  When he couldn’t follow through on that it was over.  I can’t wait to see Speer fight again. 

By the way, didn’t anyone notice how much Serra liked saying “War Machine”, or “War” or “Machine”?  It was getting ridiculous.  I couldn’t tell if he just like saying it or whether he was making fun of Koppenhaver.