Wednesday, May 26, 2010

More TMNT

Splinter sketch

Monday, May 24, 2010

French Dog Guy

On Sunday, in Montreal, I saw this French homeless dude with 6 dogs harnessed to him. I had my hands full and I couldn't take a picture so I took a mental picture & sketched this later that day. It was so funny, he was yelling at them in French & they were all excited and pulling him in different directions

Friday, May 21, 2010

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Ninja Turtle Ink sketch

I used to draw a ton of Ninja Turtles & lately I've been feeling the TMNT itch

Saturday, May 15, 2010

STRIKEFORCE : Heavy Artillery

STRIKEFORCE : Heavy Artillery, May 15, 2010, Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri I am really digging this card. I usually don't have much to say about most Strikeforce cards, finding them usually lopsided, but I love the Heavy Artillery card that features great matchups and a lot of live underdogs.

Heavyweight Champion ALISTAIR OVEREEM VS. BRETT ROGERS - I like this fight a lot. While, Overeem is the better technical striker I think Rogers is more durable. I think Rogers will get a takedown, ground & pound for a TKO stoppage in the first round.
ANTONIO 'BIGFOOT' SILVA VS. ANDREI 'the PITBULL' ARLOVSKI - Arlovski has a notoriously weak chin, so I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Bigfoot can land a big shot to put him out, but I think Andrei gets it done. Arlovski is a much better striker and if he can avoid a big shot early, Silva should slow and the Pitbull will him him hard for a TKO stoppage in the third round.
JOEY VILLASENOR VS. RONALDO "JACARE" SOUZA - This is a great match up of 2 solid middleweights. I feel like Jacare is the better athlete and will use his throws, takedowns, & one of the world's best Jiu Jitsu games for a submission, rd. 2.

KEVIN RANDLEMAN VS. ROGER GRACIE - Randleman is pretty shot & should probably hang it up. Roger has probably the best BJJ of all the active Gracie's & is one of the best grappler's in the world, gi or no-gi. Roger is gonna tear a limb off Randleman. Gracie by submission, rd. 1.

RAFAEL "FEIJAO" CAVALCANTE VS. ANTWAIN BRITT - I feel like we're looking at an upset here. Feijao tends to be lazy & at times, seems not to take MMA as serious as he should. I'm hoping to see a good little battle here, but I think Britt's power will make the difference in this one. Britt by KO, rd. 1.
LYLE 'FANCY PANTS' BEERBOHM VS. VITOR 'SHAOLIN' RIBEIRO - I'm a little pissed off that we won't see this fight. These are 2 important fighters for the company & the winner should be on his way to a shot at the title. Shaolin is one of the best lightweights on Strikeforce's roster & Beerbohm is a serious prospect. I'll take Beerbohm to get top position and stay out of submission trouble for a dominant decision victory.




Friday, May 14, 2010

UFC 113: Machida/Shogun 2 in Montreal RECAP

Results & Thoughts

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Lyoto Machida via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 3:35

Wow! It was definitely weird seeing Machida get knocked out.

In January 2009, I was very excited to see Shogun get revenge on Mark Coleman and blow his doors off. After watching Rua tire out as quickly as Coleman, I never thought I would see him fight for and win the title. He looked terrible. I underestimated him & I have to give it to Shogun, he fuckin brought it.

I've rewatched this first round quite a few times and it is amazing.

In their first meeting, I thought Machida won on the first 3 rounds and Shogun the last 2.
This time around I figured Shogun would want to take it out of the judges hands and he would throw more punches, leaving himself more open to counters by Machida, and that would be his undoing. He did just that, but he brought an even better gameplan to continually pressure Lyoto and not give him time to 'reset' which led to the KO of the karate fighter.

This fight made me realize that Shogun has not only an iron beard but nothing seems to hurt him at all. He doesn't even mark up. In this fight and their first, Lyoto hit him with some great counter strikes that were good enough to stop Rashad Evans & Thiago Silva, but Shogun wasn't even fazed by them. Right before Shogun connects with the big, ugly right hook that leads to the end of the fight, Lyoto hits him with the same big knee that dropped Tito Ortiz and Shogun didn't even notice. I knew that Shogun had never been knocked out but I'm realizing after this fight that he seems to be some sort of superman. It's no wonder Machida broke his hand punching him in the face.

I don't want to be another one to announce the 'Shogun Era' (because we all know how long Rogan's 'Machida Era' lasted) but I don't know who in the UFC can beat him.
Looking at Shogun's track record, I don't know if his cardio problems are solved. I think the way to beat him will be to get takedowns, stay out of submission trouble and take him into deep water.

It was announced that the winner of Rampage/Rashad Evans will get the title shot and I don't see either of those 2 beating Shogun.

If it's Rashad, he will most likely get knocked out by Shogun. Ever since he knocked out Chuck Liddell he seems to think he is some sort of super-striker and he will get hurt by Rua. Even if Rashad did try to use his collegiate experience, I've never been impressed with his wrestling. He doesn't have a big double leg shot, he seems to always push his opponent into the fence and try for a single, meanwhile tiring himself out.

If its Rampage who gets the title shot, I think it would go much the same way as Rampage/Shogun 1, or even worse for Rampage.

Little Nog could impress in the UFC and have a shot in a rematch with Shogun but I don't see him getting it done.

The only light heavyweight I see right now having the wrestling to tire Shogun out over 5 rounds is Strikeforce Champion, 'King Mo' Lawal, but even he's not ready yet for Shogun's power and BJJ chops.
A Shogun vs Anderson Silva fight would be incredible but I don't see it happening for a long while.

I know we're gonna hear a lot of people talk that the 'Machida puzzle' has been solved and now anyone can beat him but I really doubt that's true. If you watch that first round, Machida would've stopped a lot of people with those shots.
I think ultimately we'll see Machida/Shogun 3. Machida is better than every light heavyweight that isn't Shogun and he will win his way back to the title. And, as a Machida fan it sucks to say but I don't think Lyoto can beat Shogun unless he brings something really different.


Josh Koscheck def. Paul Daley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Shenanigans aside, this was a solid performance by Koscheck. I'm hapy to see that Koscheck is realizing the stakes involved in these fights and fighting smart. While I don't care for 'the Ultimate Fighter' TV show, I think the Koscheck/GSP title fight will be great. Koscheck has really improved a ton since TUF season 1 and, out of all the welterweights in the UFC, I think he has the best chance to beat St.Pierre.

Jeremy Stephens def. Sam Stout via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)

This was a great fight. I picked Stout to win hoping that I was wrong, and it was nice to see Stephens improve his game while beating the hell out of my least favorite fighter from London, Ontario. I almost got into a couple fights while cheering for Stephens. The crowd loved the Canadian. Ha.

Matt Mitrione def. Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 4:24
This was a decent 2 rounds from 2 guys that shouldn't be fighting in the UFC. I'm actually surprised that Dana White would immediately announce that they are cutting Kimbo. He is a huge moneymaker. I find it hard to believe how crazy the fans go for Kimbo. If guys like Chris Leben and Stephan Bonnar stay on the roster, why would they get rid of Kimbo, who is a much bigger draw than both those guys combined? I imagine we'll see Kimbo in Japan soon enough, fighting Bob Sapp or Minowaman.

Alan Belcher def. Patrick Cote via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 3:25

Cote looked pretty slow coming off a year and a half layoff. I guess Dana is right, 'Ringrust is real'. Belcher looked good and he can call out Anderson Silva as much as he wants in an attempt to get a title shot but he doesn't stand a chance. I mean, Belcher got outstruck by a tired Akiyama. Silva would put Belcher in a wheelchair, but I'll give him points for trying.

Joe Doerksen def. Tom Lawlor via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 2:10

Tom Lawlor is very entertaining but he should focus more on fighting than his next gimmick. I thought it was hilarious when he dressed as Dan Severn for the weigh-in's and even better when he came out to the James Brown/Apollo Creed entrance from Rocky 4, complete with the American flag jacket and top hat and choreographed moves. Lawlor almost finished Doerksen in the first and gassed pretty hard in the second leading to 'El Dirte' submitting him. Lawlor also gassed in his last fight against Aaron Simpson, which also cost him the fight. Lawlor needs to improve his cardio and his striking technique. He is a decent middleweight with good power in his striking and great mma fundamentals, he just needs to fix that gas tank. Doerksen won't last long in the UFC & I doubt they will cut the entertaining Lawlor but after another loss I would expect him to be gone.

Marcus Davis def. Jonathan Goulet via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 1:23

It seems everyone knew this was coming. Goulet is a better mix martial artist than Davis but there until they can cure a glass chin, guys like Goulet, Kendall Grove & Arlovski are gonna keep getting knocked out.

Johny Hendricks def. T.J. Grant via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)

I scored it a 28-28 draw. Grant was definitely getting the better of the striking and Hendricks didn't do anything with his takedowns until the third and Grant lost a point for the second low blow.

Joey Beltran def. Tim Hague via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)

I'm really happy that the judges got it right. The way this fight played out made me think it was gonna be a split decision in favor of Hague. Beltran out boxed Hague very easily. Hague was so gassed going into third round, I think he shot for takedowns just to rest. I've never seen anyone get into full mount so desperately and then just sit there gulping for air. Beltran seems to be an out of shape 205'er and if he isn't going to cut down in weight he should think about putting on some muscle to get power behind those punches. He has a decent jab and throws in combination, that can take you very far in the heavyweight division.

Mike Guymon def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

This was one of the best fights of the night. Both Yoshida and Guymon showed nice grappling chops with a lot of escapes, sweeps, and reversals. Yoshida could definitely fight smarter in the future. It was really nice to see Guymon breakdown into tears from getting his Joe Rogan interview considering this is a guy that tried to kill himself last summer.

John Salter def. Jason MacDonald via TKO (injury) - Round 1, 2:42

An unfortunate ending to a nice matchup. I hope MacDonald has a good recovery.

Friday, May 7, 2010

UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2 !!!!!!!

UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun II, May 08, 2010, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

I'm actually in the process of packing and doing last minute things before I head to Montreal to watch live, so I will keep this as brief as possible.


UFC Light-Heavyweight Champ Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - I loved the first fight. I did not love the controversy that followed. I thought Lyoto won the first 3 rounds and faded toward the end, & I did not think that Shogun did enough to win the belt. I really don't know what to expect this time around. Nobody expected Shogun to bring a conservative gameplan last time so who knows what he has in store for this one. At the same time, Machida has never had to go back to the drawing board and come up with something different. I feel like Shogun will want to open up a bit more and Machida will get more chances to counter. I am sticking with my boy Lyoto to win a more decisive decision this time around.

Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck - Kos can tend to get caught up in a stand up wars (like against Paulo Thiago & Thiago Alves) when it is not in his best interest. Against Semtex, it certainly is not in his best interest. I think Josh is becoming a smarter fighter, & will do enough to set up some takedown and it should be all over for Daley after that. That being said, I would not be super surprised if Kos gets caught on the feet & KO'd hard. I'll take Koscheck by submission, round 1, & to be the next guy in line to lose to GSP.


Jeremy Stephens vs. Sam Stout - This should be a stand up war & I think Stout is the better striker. He has a hell of a chin & should be able to take a lot of Stephens power while dishing out big shots of his own. I do not like Stout & I hope Stephens smashes him good but I have to pick Stout by decision. Probably fight of the night.

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. Matt Mitrione - I'd like to see Kimbo win this but I think Mitrione has shown that he has a better chin. I hope it's quick because if it ain't, it's gonna be hard to watch. Mitrione by TKO, rd. 1.

Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote - Belcher is a favorite but Cote is gonna win. I'm not sure what he'll look like after a big big layoff (last fight Oct 2008), but Cote has an iron beard & better striking than Belcher. I doubt it hits the ground. Cote by TKO, round 3.

Joe Doerksen vs. Tom Lawlor - Filthy Tom is gonna put a beating on Doerksen. Lawlor by submission, round 2.

Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet - Goulet has such a glass chin, it's hard to see Davis not knocking him out. Davis by TKO, round 1.

T.J. Grant vs. Johny Hendricks - I love this match up. Both great prospects but I think Hendricks gets it done. I see Johnny staying in Grants very active guard, doing some passing & beating him up. If he can stay out of submission trouble Johnny Hendricks should get a decision victory over the Nova Scotian.

Joey Beltran vs. Tim Hague - Beltran by TKO, rd. 2.

Mike Guymon vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida - Yoshida by decision.


Jason MacDonald vs. John Salter - Jason 'the Athlete' MacDonald by submission, rd. 3

Saturday, May 1, 2010

El Tormento!!!!


I did this sketch of Deryk Ouseley's great lucha libre character El Tormento. go check out Deryk's other stuff, he's pretty awesome.