Post by Swarm on Jun 3, 2007 9:12:51 GMT -5
lwpd said:
An interesting show last night. There was definite success in attaining a heavy Asian American presence at the show...but overall attendance was nowhere near what it needed to be to make the live event profitable. K-1 spared no expense when it came to production...an appearance fee for Dennis Rodman (why?) an appearance fee for the national anthem...cameos by flown in Japanese celebrities...an army of professional dancers and drummers...pyro and lighting...a professional DJ who seemed to know nothing about MMA. At the start of the PPV each of the featured Asian fighters (and _ONLY_ the Asian fighters) ran a dimly lit torch to the top of a mostly empty LA Coliseum. I can understand taping a targeted ethnic appeal spot for broadcast overseas before the show...but 'live' it just made the start of needlessly drag for about a half hour.
The card itself was fast paced. Shields seems back on the right track as he put on a clinic with BJJ 101. Morton came out full speed ahead amped up on adrenaline...before getting KTFO in his MMA debut. I give him credit for stepping up but this is not the NFL...time and again it's been proven that practical experience is much more important than elite level athleticism. He did a full stretcher job.
Manhoef/Sik was the fight of the night. MM is an explosive aggressive Muay Thai fighter...there's definitely money to be made with him. His ground skills however need improvement. Huge welts under Sik's eyes...major damage was done in defeat.
Sak/Royce...the only fight that received audible booing. They both showed up to get paid...in all honesty it's not worth watching. Neither man should be remembered for this and it's best never to speak of it again.
Brock looked impressive. Even after having to pass testing he still has a tremendous physical presence. He wasn't really challenged much here but for a debut he did score a strong double, passed to mount, controlled position and threw some powerful strikes for the tap out. He definitely wasn't a lay and pray guy and fought to finish. Huge potential and a strong debut.
Brock Lesnar vs Min Soo Kim
Bernard Ackah vs Johnnie Morton
Melvin Manhoef vs Yoon Dong Sik
Jake Shields vs Ido Pariente
