The question of who is wrestling Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania has apparently whittled down a couple of the biggest names.
Steve Austin on Twitter said, “You can take my name off the rumor mill as a Brock Lesnar opponent at WrestleMania 32. Bullshit reporting.”
With Lesnar vs. Undertaker no longer one of the scheduled main events at WrestleMania, the question became who would be the new opponents for both at Texas Stadium next year.
Austin had said a few months ago that it wasn’t going to happen. He would likely have been the biggest drawing potential opponent, but hasn’t wrestled in 11 1/2 years and has given no indication he was going to ever wrestle again. His doing a podcast with Lesnar on 10/19 fueled some speculation, but he appears to have shut the door on it again.
Sources close to the situation have also told us that Dwayne Johnson is currently not scheduled to be wrestling Lesnar on the show.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back tonight and we’ve got a lot to talk about! We’ll kick it off with a site update (0:00), then Granny appears with her latest Facebook gig, the supposed most embarrassing thing that ever happened to her Gang Members (3:00), then full reviews of Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind from Mind Games, Retro Raw from 19 years ago this week, and NXT (26:00). A fun show as always so check it out~!
Members can now access all the latest audio shows and the new issue of the Observer. HERE
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Toronto (John Cena vs. Seth Rollins; Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens), ROH in California, PA (Briscoes vs. Young Bucks, Roderick Strong vs. Michael Elgin, Matt Taven & Michael Bennett vs. Kenny King & Rhett Titus non-title, Moose & Ray Rowe & Hanson vs. Jay Lethal & Donovan Dijak & J Diesel, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Takaaki Watanabe & Will Ferrara; ACH vs. Caprice Coleman) and NXT in Largo, FL at Dave Meltzer
Our only weekend poll will be for New Japan’s Destruction in Kobe show.
New Japan World Pro Wrestling Returns at 8 p.m. Eastern (one hour early) on AXS TV
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata for IC title
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto for Never title
Lion Fight Muay Thai kickboxing at 9 p.m. Eastern on AXS TV
Bellator tonight at 9 p.m. from the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, TX
Vinicius Queiroz vs. Ewerton Teixeira
Henry Corrales vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
Joey Beltran vs. Kendall Grove
Joe Warren vs. L.C. Davis
We are looking for reports on Saturday’s WWE shows in Rochester, NY (John Cena vs Seth Rollins; Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens) and Cleveland (Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt; Randy Orton vs. Sheamus), ROH in Lockport, NY (Jay Lethal vs. Stevie Richards non-title, Adam Cole vs. ACH vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Briscoes, Young Bucks vs. War Machine, Roderick Strong vs. Takaaki Watanabe, Kenny King & Rhett Titus vs. Donovan Dijak & J Diesel, Caprice Coleman vs. Pepper Parks and Veda Scott vs. Sumie Sakai.
UFC from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Saturday
FS 2 at 8 p.m.
Shinsho Anzai vs. Roger Zapata
Kajan Johnson vs. Naoyuki Kotani
Nick Hein vs. Yusuke Kasyua
Keita Nakamura vs. Li Jingliang
FS 1 at 10 p.m.
Katsunori Kikuno vs. Diego Brandao
Mizuto Hirota vs. Teruto Ishihara in the finals of the Road to Japan tournament
Takeya Mizugaki vs. George Roop
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Chico Camus
Gegard Mousasi vs. Uriah Hall
Josh Barnett vs. Roy Nelson
New Japan Destruction in Kobe airs live at 3 a.m. Eastern Sunday morning at midnight Pacific (Saturday night) on New Japan World
Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu vs. Jay White & David Finlay
Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan & Juice Robinson
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Matt Sydal vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Kenny Omega
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. A.J. Styles & Tama Tonga & Cody Hall
Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. Alex Shelley & Kushida for IWGP jr. tag titles
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale for the Tokyo Dome title shot
Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the IC title
Sunday has WWE in Syracuse, NY (John Cena vs. Seth Rollins; Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens) and Erie PA (Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt; Randy Orton vs. Sheamus).
Shooto Brazil live on UFC Fight Pass Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern time
Raw will be live from Buffalo on Monday night. Even though Brock Lesnar is headlining both the MSG special the following Saturday and the next PPV, at this point he is not advertised for the show. That would make sense to change but we haven’t heard that it is.
Smackdown will be taped in Albany, NY. No John Cena or Randy Orton scheduled for Albany.
Our lead story covers the Sting injury, the Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar Hell in a Cell match and the interesting back story and questions it brings up, lots of long-term looking at where WWE is headed as well as full coverage of the Night of Champions show. We also cover the second season news for Lucha Underground, the Atlantis vs. La Sombra mask vs. mask match, Akira Hokuto’s announcement about her breast cancer, Bellator’s Dynamite show and what went right and wrong, New Japan’s Destruction in Okayama, ROH’s All-Star Extravaganza, the Pro Wrestling NOAH angle where they tease the end of the company, USADA responds to Thomas Hauser, Josh Gross’ story on the Vitor Belfort drug test and why it’s not nearly as simple as people are making it out to be, AAA’s next major show and record low ratings.
Rates are:
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else
Our lead story covers the WWE weekend, notably the Sting injury and Undertaker-Lesnar announcement.
We go through the injury, including Sting’s interview comments after the fact and his description of Seth Rollins and the injury, as well as his current thoughts on if he will wrestle again. We also talk about what he does and doesn’t know, what he’s said publicly about the injury, why the match wasn’t stopped, and what we can learn from it.
We also look at how the Lesnar vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match changes WrestleMania, and look at those potential changes. We look at the different directions they can go with the key talent for next year’s show. We also look at the rest of Hell in a Cell as far as what is on the books and what name isn’t listed yet in the top matches. We look at the problem in the arena at the end of Night of Champions.
We’ve got complete Night of Champions coverage, with records, business, poll results, match-by-match coverage and star ratings.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major stories of the past 11 years you are most interested in and we’ll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We’ve got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue.
Click here for the most requested Wrestling Observer back issues.
FRIDAY’S NEWS UPDATE
–Again, want to apologize for all the web site problems which are being fixed right now. Members can now access all the latest audio shows and the new issue of the Observer. HERE
–Expect some angles at Sunday’s New Japan PPV show since they have to set up the undercard for another PPV on 10/12 at Sumo Hall, King of Pro Wrestling, which is the company’s biggest event of the fall season. That’s the show where Kazuchika Okada defends the IWGP title against A.J. Styles.
–Dustin & Cody Runnels will be presenting the trophies on Wednesday to the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Tournament
–WWE has told us for the 10/3 Madison Square Garden show, the entire card will air live on the Network. It won’t be like the Sumo Hall show where the first half hour was cut off. So even though they are only pushing Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show and the New Day vs. Dudleys, all the matches will be airing. As noted before, the New Day vs. Dudleys is not just a house show match but being pushed because there will be a storyline direction that will then lead to Hell in a Cell in Los Angeles three weeks later.
–Judge Joseph Matika put bail on Tammy Sytch at $2,000 today at her hearing after being brought in by police after missing three court appearances. She has another hearing on 10/7 regarding two other DUI cases not related to the case she was arrested for today.
–We don’t have much for today in the international title histories other than a note that on this day in 1981, Fishman beat Perro Aguayo to win the WWF light heavyweight title in Los Angeles, which was an NWA territory although they did work closely with WWF and book talent to New Japan.
–Tyron Woodley, from the infamous Ferguson, MO suburb of St. Louis, threw out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals game last night and did a pregame interview on the broadcast. Woodley faces Johny Hendricks on the 10/3 UFC show in Houston. During the game, the announcers were raving about what a great talker and nice guy he is. Woodley said he was a lot more nervous throwing out the first pitch than he is going into the Octagon. (thanks to Irvin Muchnick)
–WWE.com and the WWE Network received several honors this past week by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. The WWE app earned gold awards for Mobile Apps/Sites, Entertainment and Mobile Apps/Sites in Sports (I thought they weren’t sports), and three silver awards for Media Streaming, Best Streaming Video and Integrated Mobile Experience. The WWE network won eight Silver Awards for Best Web site, Best Features and Video Channels and Network Categories as well as Visual Appeal. There were a number of other awards including WrestleMania 30 with silver medals for Excellence in Entertainment Social Media and Sports Social Media.
–Steve Beverly, a name some older newsletter and hotline fans will remember, noted to us that the college broadcasting class he teaches that does a Noon newscast, had Dave Brown as the guest yesterday. The usual newscast was scrapped and the show was a 30 minute interview with Brown. If the show gets posted, we will provide links. Most of the show was about his career as a weatherman, his working against drunk drivers and his retirement plans, but the interview did touch on pro wrestling and Lance Russell, and he talked about how Lance Russell first approached him to take the wrestling commentary job in 1967. I’ve always told people what a great guy Dave Brown is. He was only supposed to stay for the interview and he stayed another 75 minutes with the class giving kids individual career advice.
–Beverly also noted that on 10/24 in Jackson they are having a Lance Russell night. It’s a card that will be headlined by a Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk match, in Funk’s first match in a long time and I’d say maybe his last, but I’ve thought maybe his last so many times that I’m not allowed to think it even if it may be true.
–Superstars of Wrestling on 10/9 in West Palm Beach at the Armory featuring Matt Hardy vs. PJ Black and Wes Brisco vs. Matt Riddle, plus Ethan Carter III appears. There will also be a 6 p.m. meet and greet with Hardy, Carter III and Riddle.
–Drew Galloway will be back in Evolve on the 11/6 and 11//7 shows in Florida.
–Evolve announced this card for 10/17 at La Boom in Woodside, Queens, NY for an iPPV
Timothy Thatcher & T.J. Perkins vs. Trent Baretta & Rocky Romero
Drew Gulak vs. Trevor Lee – winner faces Thatcher for the title the next night
Antony Nese vs. Andrew Everett vs. Matt Cage vs. Peter Kassa
Tracy Williams vs. Willie Mack
Matt Riddle vs. Jonathan Gresham
–Lucha Underground sent out a release that Shawn Hernandez has been released from his contract. That’s been apparent since he showed up on TNA television and they got into the fight which ended up costing TNA indirectly its entire Beatdown Clan, since MVP was fired since he was the guy who recruited Hernandez, who had a valid Lucha Underground deal in place. Hernandez was the replacement for Samoa Joe, who left since TNA could no longer afford to give him the kind of contract he’d had over the past several years. Since the, Kenny King just quit to go to ROH and Low Ki also left not related to any of this.
–Metro Pro Wrestling on 10/10 in Kansas City at the Turner Rec Center. There will be a Jim Cornette Q&A at 4:30 p.m. before the show. The show will be a TV taping for Time warner Cable SportsChannel.
–Paragon Pro Wrestling announced its TV will be moving from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. Eastern and Pacific on Pop TV starting a week from tomorrow.
–An obscure French MMA fighter named Sylvain Potard, who has a 7-5 record, has become relatively famous in the past few days. He did a totally naked photo shoot for a calender called “Les Dieux du Stade” a tradition where male sports stars, usually rugby players, do art nude shoots and it’s a big deal to both women and the gay community. Potard in particular became the talk of the day on social media first, and then it broke throughout France mainstream media and he was on several talk shows. (thanks to Tony Bouin)
–A wake for Jersey All Pro Wrestling promoter Frank Iadevaia takes place on Sunday at the Carmona-Bolen Funeral Home from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
–All Japan’s Oudou tournament finals are tomorrow at Korakuen Hall. the semifinals have Akebono vs. Shuji Ishkawa of Union, and Jun Akiyama vs. Yuji Hino of K-Dojo. The winners meet in the finals that will be the main event of the show.
–Pro Wrestling Phoenix on Saturday in Council Bluffs, IA at the National Guard Armory.
–The Fight Network in Canada will be doing the prelims for tomorrow’s UFC show from 8-10 p.m. The main card will air on TSN5.
Daily fantasy has taken over the sports world as you consistently see commercials for DraftKings and FanDuel all over your sports channels and sporting events. It has become a huge industry, and the UFC joined in earlier this year when they became a part of DraftKings. With nine months of events in the past, the UFC is here to stay on DraftKings, and there is some money to be made for those willing to participate.
While they do not have the number of games for play as the NFL or the MLB, DraftKings MMA still has plenty of fun to offer. With that being said, starting this week with UFC Fight Night 75, we will be taking a look at ways you could potentially earn some money, if you are willing to take the risk, and perhaps earn some big money.
Let’s start with the basic rules for those who may be unfamiliar with how Draft Kings MMA works. Every fighter on the card is assigned a salary. They are generally coordinated with the current betting odds at the times the salaries are set. A huge favorite will have a large salary while a big underdog will not cost you as much. It involves a lot of risk and taking chances on fighters you may not be sure will actually win. You have a salary cap of $50,000, and your team is limited to five fighters. Generally speaking, depending on the salaries, you are usually able to fit two or three favorites onto your roster, but you will always have to take on two or three betting line underdogs.
The scoring system runs as follows: you get 0.5 points for a significant strike, 1 point for position advancement on the ground, 2 points for a takedown and a reversal/sweep on the ground, and 3 points for a knockdown. You also get points on how the fight ends. You earn 100 points for a first-round win, 75 points for a second-round win, 50 points for a third-round win, 40 points for a fourth-round and a fifth-round win, and 25 points for a decision win. With that system, you should be looking at filling your roster with fighters you expect to win early with a finish.
Every week, beginning with this week, we are going to give you a rundown of who I see as being studs to score you points, some value plays, and then some fighters I am going to avoid. Then, I will be joined by WrestlingObserver.com contributor Paul Fontaine, and occasional Bryan & Vinny show crasher PeachMachine as we give your our lineups that we will be using to make money as well as our thoughts into why exactly we went with the five fighters we did.
STUDS:
Diego Brandao ($10,600)
Diego Brandao has the sixth-highest salary on the UFC Fight Night 75 card, and he has perhaps the best chance to score a finish when he takes on Katsunori Kikuno. Kikuno has lost two of his four UFC bouts, and both of those losses have come by knockout in the first round. Brandao is a violent and dangerous fighter, and his only UFC losses have come to top featherweights. Kikuno has a weird style with the karate background, and Brandao can mentally implode at times. Brandao is coming off a big stoppage win over Jimy Hettes, and he is a finisher, having won 15 of his 19 bouts by finish. Finishes score you the big points, and with Kikuno’s suspect chin and Brandao’s aggressive nature, he has the chance to score you some big points.
Takeya Mizugaki ($10,500)
Takeya Mizugaki is coming into Saturday night’s fight card on a two-fight losing streak, but he gets a favorable match-up against George Roop in his home country of Japan. Mizugaki is on a win streak when fighting in Japan, and is looking to bounce back in a big way. He is a big betting favorite over Roop, which should bode well for his chances. He can score points on a lot of takedowns, and his ground game is well above Roop. Roop has been stopped by strikes in his last three losses, and while Mizugaki isn’t known as a big finisher, he can finish a weak opponent. Roop is a weak opponent. On a card where there might not be a lot of finishes, you should look for someone who has the chance to score the biggest going the distance. Mizugaki is that guy.
VALUE PLAYS:
Roy Nelson ($8,600)
I’m actually a little surprised that Roy Nelson is available at his modest price. I was thinking about whether or not to put him as a value play as his recent record isn’t all that good. Then again, all seven of his wins in the UFC have come by knockout, and he gets an opponent in Josh Barnett who is coming off a near two-year layoff. Barnett was finished in his last fight, and finished quickly by Travis Browne. You know that Nelson is going to be looking for the knockout, and while Barnett can avoid punches quite well, the right hand from Nelson is a difference maker. If you are stacking your team with overwhelming favorites, perhaps taking a flyer on Nelson scoring a finish could make the difference in winning.
Yusuke Kasuya ($8,500)
Yusuke Kasuya is an underdog and a value pick as he is making his UFC debut against a tough foe in Nick Hein. Kasuya has won nine fights in his career, all by stoppage, with seven finishes in the first round. Simply put, from a fantasy perspective, he gets the job done. However, Hein will give him a challenge. Hein has some good wrestling and his striking is improving, and he is well-rounded. Kasuya has a solid grappling and ground game, and if he can score a takedown, he is one who quickly looks for guard passes in looking for a submission. It is a risky play, but a very valuable one should you be looking for an underdog to hit big.
AVOID:
Gegard Mousasi ($11,300)
Gegard Mousasi has the highest salary of the twenty fighters on the card, and he is the biggest betting favorite. He is fighting Uriah Hall, a tough opponent, but one who is taking the fight on short notice. Mousasi can be an enigma. He can finish you fast, but he can also drag fights to the later rounds and squeak out an uneventful decision where not much happens. You can’t really know whether to trust him putting up big points from a fantasy point-of-view. He may score you takedown points, but Hall has good takedown defense. Hall is the kind of opponent that will make Mousasi’s striking attack more methodical over a constant barrage. You don’t quite know what to get from Mousasi in this fight, so I would avoid him. He could put up big points, but at the salary he’s at with the opponent he has, I’m not taking the risk. I do see him winning the fight though.
Katsunori Kikuno ($8,800)
I don’t expect Katsunori Kikuno to get the win over Diego Brandao. He leaves too many openings, has a suspect chin, and his striking skills have seemed to diminish with each UFC bout. He doesn’t have the same head movement, and his head is going to be a target for Brandao. I love Brandao as my top stud on this card, as noted above, which makes Kikuno the one fighter I’m staying away from. He is cheap, and Brandao can get in a wild brawl and lose his head, and Kikuno could definitely capitalize. I still see Brandao getting an early finish.
OUR LINEUPS —
RYAN FREDERICK: Kajan Johnson ($10,700), Diego Brandao ($10,600), Takeya Mizugaki ($10,500), Roy Nelson ($8,600), Yusuke Kasuya ($8,500)
I like Brandao, Mizugaki, Nelson and Kasuya for all of the reasons I stated above. I see Brandao and Mizugaki scoring finish wins early, and Kasuya being an underrated pick. Nelson has the big right hand that can end any fight. I also like Kajan Johnson against Naoyuki Kotani. Kotani is 0-4 in the UFC, and he has been finished in his last three Octagon appearances, and Johnson has scored 16 of his 20 professional wins by stoppage.
PAUL FONTAINE: Gegard Mousasi ($11,300), Diego Brandao ($10,600), Takeya Mizugaki ($10,500), Teruto Ishihara ($9,000). Roy Nelson ($8,600)
I like Nelson as the underdog here and I think he’s good value. Barnett has his foot in too many waters these days and Nelson’s power cannot be overlooked. Mizugaki is a finisher and even though he’s a favorite, there are bonus points for finishes with Draft Kings. Same goes for Diego Brandao. Brandao in particular is facing someone that has suffered two first round knockouts in recent fights. Ishihara is more a bet against his opponent Mizuto Hirota, who has two UFC fights on his resume and lost them both. Ishihara is also 10 years younger. Mousasi is the most expensive pick but I have room for him and feel quite confident he’ll finish the overmatched Uriah Hall in quick order.
PEACH MACHINE: Kyoji Horiguchi (11,000), Roy Nelson (8,600), Yusuke Kasuya (8,500), Kajan Johnson (10,700), Li Jingliang (10,300)
Horiguchi is my lock. I had the pleasure of training with Horiguchi in Guam. He’s a masher. I picked him to beat DJ, and even though he got decimated, he was beaten by the best. Look for him to finish early. KO’s score big points. I picked Nelson ecause I have no faith in Barnett. Bad KO’s change a man, and his last fight was a bad KO. His future is in BJJ. Another KO win for big points. I saw Kasuya decimate Frank Camacho, a monster BJJ Brown Belt, in the PXC in Guam in his last fight. Frank is a monster brown belt at jits and he was subbed by Kasuya. I’m taking him by sub. Johnson trains at Tristar. Anyone under GSP has a good shot anytime he steps in the cage… Except for Francis Carmont coming off a 5 hour delay against Phil Davis. Jingliang is my sleeper pick. This will be a good match so I’m hoping for some high points due to a lot of strikes being thrown, if not the win. My remaining salary is $900. I’ll wager all my extra money on the main event not going five rounds.
After a three-week break, which in this day-and-age is a long break, the Octagon returns on Saturday night as the UFC makes its now annual trip to Japan for UFC Fight Night 75 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday night, with preliminary action taking place on FOX Sports 2.
The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the UFC’s heavyweight division as veterans Josh Barnett and Roy Nelson square off following a coaching stint on the UFC Fight Pass exclusive television show, UFC: Road To Japan. The finals of that reality event will also take place on the card as Mizuto Hirota meets Teruto Ishihara. In the co-main event of the evening, former Strikeforce and DREAM champion Gegard Mousasi takes on Uriah Hall, who steps in as an injury replacement for the toughest bout of his career. The rest of the card will be filled with Japanese fighters. Let’s take a closer look at the night’s action and find five storylines to keep an eye on as we head into Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 75 event.
1. Who has more left to give in their career: Josh Barnett or Roy Nelson?
Josh Barnett and Roy Nelson meet in the main event of Saturday’s event, and it is an interesting time in both men’s careers as they head into their headline bout. They coached eight fighters during UFC: Road To Japan in the lead-up to this event, and now they meet in a fight where both could be fighting for their UFC futures. It’s not to say either man will be cut due to the depth issues in the UFC’s heavyweight division, but Barnett is 37-years old and Nelson is 39-years old, and their best days are likely behind them. Barnett also hasn’t fought in over a year-and-a-half as he was last seen in the Octagon eating elbows from Travis Browne in a 60-second loss at UFC 168 in December 2013. Nelson has lost four of his last five fights, and he hasn’t looked all that competitive in those losses. His only win in over two years was a knockout win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who recently retired.
Barnett has had a lot of success in his career in Japan, and returning to action there may be quite the confidence boost for him. His time away should have gotten him healthy, but it will be interesting to see if he suffers from any form of rust. His only losses since 2006 have come to Browne and Daniel Cormier, so it’s not like he has been getting blown away by lesser fighters. Meanwhile, Nelson has only fought once in Japan, and it came one year ago when he was knocked out by Mark Hunt. It was the only time in Nelson’s career he has truly been knocked out, and it came at the hands of one of the hardest hitters in the sport. It is hard to envision a repeat of that on Saturday night.
All of Nelson’s wins in the UFC have come by knockout and he will be looking to do the same for Barnett. It has seemed for the longest time that Nelson has given up on following a gameplan in looking to headhunt. He either gets the knockout or he struggles mightily and doesn’t look good. Barnett has good wrestling and good submissions and a style to make Nelson look bad if Nelson can’t land the big right hand. Barnett will probably look to drag the fight out, but he will also want to test the chin of Nelson to see if there is anything left there. It’s heavyweights and anything can happen, but this fight has the chance to be a long, drawn-out and not neccessarily exciting fight. I like Barnett to get the win in this one as I see him having more to give at this stage in his career.
2. Can Uriah Hall score the upset win over Gegard Mousasi?
Gegard Mousasi is one a decent roll in the UFC’s middleweight division, scoring wins in his last two fights. His only UFC losses have come to Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo Souza, and he is currently ranked sixth in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He is on the cusp of title contention, but has yet to beat a top-five ranked opponent. He was to face Roan Carneiro at this event, but with Carneiro being forced out due to injury, Uriah Hall stepped in to take a huge opportunity. It is going from a ranked opponent to an unranked opponent for Mousasi, but this is probably a more dangerous fight for him due to the striking prowess of Hall. Hall has solid kickboxing skills and is a violent opponent if he can connect. He fought recently, scoring a first-round TKO win over Oluwale Bamgbose on August 8 in Nashville. Stepping in on short notice will receive some good faith from the UFC brass, but he has a tough test.
Mousasi tends to, at times, fight below his skill level. He is highly talented and a legitmate contender to be a title challenger in the near future. He can have a boring and plodding style, but it is effective. Hall sometimes comes up mentally short, and he tends to fight below his skill set. Fighting Mousasi can be extremely frustrating, and it will likely get in the head of Hall. Mousasi may look to take the fight to the mat, and Hall would prefer to keep the fight on the feet. For all of Hall’s flashy kickboxing skills, Mousasi is a better overall striker. This is definitely Mousasi’s fight to lose. I don’t see Hall being able to score the upset, but funnier things have happened in the UFC. However, Mousasi will take this fight the distance and score an uneventful decision win.
3. Can Kyoji Horiguchi and Takeya Mizugaki rebound in their home country?
Kyoji Horiguchi and Takeya Mizugaki are the only Japanese fighters ranked in the top ten of their divisions, and both have fought for championships during their time under the Zuffa banner. Horiguchi is coming off a loss to Demetrious Johnson when he challenged for the UFC Flyweight Championship at UFC 186 in April. Mizugaki challeged for the WEC Bantamweight Championship in his Zuffa debut, losing a decision to Miguel Torres in April 2009 in one of the best fights in WEC history. Mizugaki is looking to bounce back from two straight losses to Dominick Cruz and Aljamain Sterling that ended his five-fight win streak.
Horiguchi will take on Chico Camus, who is looking to bounce back from a loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 188 in June. Camus was looking to get into title contention after an impressive flyweight debut win over Brad Pickett, and he will be looking to improve on his record of just three wins in seven UFC bouts. Mizugaki will be taking on long-time UFC and WEC veteran George Roop, who returns after being out of the Octagon since a first-round knockout loss to Rob Font at UFC 175 in July 2014. Roop is just 4-5 since returning to the UFC following the WEC merger, and he could very well be fighting for his UFC future. The same could be said for Camus, so Horiguchi and Mizugaki will need to be impressive in front of their home country fans.
4. Katsunori Kikuno and Diego Brandao both have title aspirations. Who takes a step forward?
Admittedly, this fourth storyline was originally written about Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto, who was scheduled to compete on this card against Matt Hobar. However, both Yamamoto and Hobar fell victim to the injury bug, and the bout was scrapped from the card. The featured preliminary bout between Katsunori Kikuno and Diego Brandao was moved to the main card, and it takes this spot on our preview. Brandao is a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, but he has had mixed success, sporting a 5-3 record in the Octagon, but those losses have come to Darren Elkins, Dustin Poirier and current interim champion Conor McGregor, all tough opponents. He won his last bout by stopping Jimy Hettes at the end of the first round in April.
Kikuno is just 2-2 in the UFC and is coming into the fight off a first-round knockout loss to Kevin Souza in March. He has talked lately about his big aspirations of being champion, but it is entirely possible that he is fighting for his UFC career in this bout. Both of his losses have come by knockout in the first round, but he did score an impressive submission win over Sam Sicilia in Japan last September. Both men are far away from title contention, but should be able to put together a nice little scrap on Saturday night. Brandao has a penchant for being violent, and Kikuno does have the suspect chin. I expect to see Brandao getting his hand raised and taking a step forward in the 145-pound division.
5. What else on the card is there to look forward to?
With this being a fight night event in Japan, the card is filled with Japanese fighters. In fact, nine of the eleven total bouts feature Japanese fighters. The fight card also features the finals of the “UFC: Road To Japan” when featherweights Mizuto Hirota and Teruto Ishihara meet. Hirota has fought in the UFC twice before, losing both bouts, but he returns on the heels of a three-fight win streak. Ishihara will grace the Octagon for the first time, and both of his career losses have come to fighters who have UFC experience.
In preliminary action, Keita Nakamura makes his return to the UFC on short notice when he fights Li Jingliang. A pair of lightweight bouts take place as Germany’s Nick Hein takes on the debuting Yusuke Kasuya, and Naoyuki Kotani takes on Kajan Johnson. All four of those bouts take place on FOX Sports 2. In the lone bout on UFC Fight Pass, Shinsho Anzai takes on Roger Zapata, who will be making his UFC debut after competing on season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Full UFC Fight Night 75 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
Heavyweights: (#8) Josh Barnett vs. (#11) Roy Nelson Betting Odds: Barnett (-260), Nelson (+220) Prediction: Barnett by decision
Middleweights: (#6) Gegard Mousasi vs. Uriah Hall Betting Odds: Mousasi (-450), Hall (+360) Prediction: Mousasi by decision
Flyweights: (#7) Kyoji Horiguchi vs. (#13) Chico Camus Betting Odds: Horiguchi (-365), Camus (+255) Prediction: Horiguchi by decision
Bantamweights: (#8) Takeya Mizugaki vs. George Roop Betting Odds: Mizugaki (-245), Roop (+175) Prediction: Mizugaki by submission in round 2
Featherweights: Katsunori Kikuno vs. Diego Brandao Betting Odds: Kikuno (+170), Brandao (-230) Prediction: Brandao by knockout in round 1
UFC: Road To Japan Featherweight Finals: Mizuto Hirota vs. Teruto Ishihara Betting Odds: Hirota (-245), Ishihara (+175) Prediction: Hirota by submission in round 1
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 2- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Welterweights: Keita Nakamura vs. Li Jingliang Betting Odds: Nakamura (+170), Jingliang (-230) Prediction: Jingliang by knockout in round 2
Lightweights: Nick Hein vs. Yusuke Kasuya Betting Odds: Hein (-280), Kasuya (+200) Prediction: Hein by decision
Lightweights: Naoyuki Kotani vs. Kajan Johnson Betting Odds: Kotani (+190), Johnson (-270) Prediction: Johnson by submission in round 3
Welterweights: Shinsho Anzai vs. Roger Zapata Betting Odds: Anzai (-130), Zapata (-110) Prediction: Zapata by decision
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Barely one week after the “blow-off” of the TNA vs. Global Force Wrestling feud on television, TNA has announced a new match for the Bound for Glory PPV on October 4th in Concord, NC, as Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards will defend the TNA Tag Team Championship against Trevor Lee & Brian Myers, who are billed as GFW wrestlers.
The teams wrestled twice on television at the last set of tapings, with Lee & Myers scoring a fluke title win, but then dropping them back before the blow-off Lethal Lockdown match that aired on 9/16.
The two organizations seem to be maintaining an alliance, which behind-the-scenes is described as cordial but uneasy, because they both have reason right now to benefit from working with the other.
Bound for Glory also features:
– Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong for the TNA Knockouts Title
– Tigre Uno defending the X-Division Title in an Ultimate X match
– Ethan Carter III vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA World Heavyweight Title
– Bobby Roode vs. Lashley vs. the TNA King of the Mountain Championship
Kansas City, Kansas: – Cowboy Bob Ellis and Thor Hagen beat Bob Geigel and Wild Bill Longson by dq, 2 falls to 1
1963
Columbus, Georgia: – Marco Polo defeated Joe McCarthy to win the Southeastern Heavyweight Title
1964
Atlanta, Georgia: – Don Fargo defeated Sputnik Monroe in a no DQ-no timelimit match to win the Georgia Heavyweight title
1970
Atlanta, Georgia: – Bobby Shane and Doug Gilbert defeated The Assassins to win the Georgia Tag Team Titles
1971
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Nick Bockwinkel beat Billy Robinson – Dr X no contest Ray Stevens – Vivian Vachon beat Kay Noble – Don Muraco beat Butcher Vachon – Sailor Art Thomas beat Jack Bence
1973
Atlanta, Georgia: – The Missouri Mauler defeated Ray Candy to win the Georgia Heavyweight Title
1977
Mexico City, Mexico: – El Canek defeated Lou Thesz to win the UWA World Heavyweight Title.
Louisville, Kentucky: – Jimmy Valiant won a tournament to become the first AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion
1978
Augusta, Georgia: – Thunderbolt Patterson defeated King Kong Mosca to win the Georgia Heavyweight Title
Memphis, Tennessee: – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Jimmy Valiant – Jerry Lawler beat Jos Leduc – Nelson Royal beat Bill Dundee – Tommy Gilbert beat Frankie Laine
1979
Macon, Georgia: – Killer Karl Kox defeated Tommy Rich in a one night tournament to win the Macon Title
1983
Atlanta, Georgia: – Brett Wayne defeated Larry Zbyzsko to win the National Heavyweight Title
St. Paul, Minnesota: – Brad Rheingans drew AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel – Handicap Match: Hulk Hogan beat Mr. Saito & David Shults dq – Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell & Rick Martel beat Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan – Blackjack Lanza beat Bobby Heenan COR – Buck Zumhofe beat Steve Regal – Steve O drew Bill White
1985
Atlanta, Georgia: – Terry Taylor defeated Black Bart to win the NWA National Heavyweight Title
Seattle, Washington: – NWA Champion Ric Flair drew Billy Jack Haynes – Sgt. Slaughter beat Karl Steiner – AWA Tag Team Champions Road Warriors beat Ivan Koloff & Khrusher Khrushev – Jesse Barr drew Bruiser Brody – Bobby Jaggers beat Rip Oliver
1986
Seattle, Washington: – Road Warriors beat Bruiser Brody & Rip Oliver dq – AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel double count out Curt Hennig
1987
Detroit, Michigan: – Ronnie Garvin defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA World Title
1990
Nagoya, Japan: – Katsuji Ueda defeated Jimmy Backlund (Jimmy Del Rey) to become the AWA World Light-Heavyweight Champion
1999
Memphis, Tennessee: – Steve Bradley defeated Vic Grimes to win the Memphis Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title
Charlotte, North Carolina: – Gary Steele defeated Naoya Ogawa and Brian Anthony to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title
2010
Rahway, New Jersey: – Jay Lethal defeated The Amazing Red to win the X-Division championship
WWE Hall-of-Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch was arrested on Wednesday for missing three different court dates.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted her not appearing for court dates on 7/29 and 8/21, as well as missing an arraignment on 9/3, all stemming from several charges on 5/30 in Palmerton, PA.
News of her arrest was reported Friday morning by TMZ Sports. Sytch was arrested on charges of a DUI, driving with a suspended license and careless driving. She also faces two other DUI charges in June that this is not related to. She is currently in custody and has a hearing Friday when a bail amount will be set.
Sytch, better known as Sunny, has had a long track record of issues and remains the only person ever under contract that WWE will no longer send to rehab if a request is made.
