writingcombatfan

[writingcombatfan]

UFC Fight Night - Song vs. Gutierrez - 12/9/2023

Song Yadong continues his rise through the Bantamweight rankings.

Prelims

Talita Alencar def. Rayanne dos Santos

Strawweights face off against each other, with the undefeated Talita Alencar winning a split decision against Rayanne dos Santos. Talita is known for being a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion and drawing with Stephanie Luciano in September on Dana White's Contender Series.

The fight was overall decent, with both women having their moments.

Tatsuro Taira def. Carlos Hernandez

After a disputed victory at UFC 290, Taira gained a TKO victory over Carlos Hernandez. I've been following Taira's career since I first heard he was on the Blachowicz vs. Rakić card in May of last year after a friend of mine looked through the undercard. Taira instantly grew on me, and I have been watching his career ever since.

Taira won 55 seconds in the 2nd round, after a dominant first round where he showed off some of his world class grappling. After the fight, he called out Muhammad Mokaev, who is scheduled to fight Alex Perez in March.

Luana Santos def. Stephanie Egger

This fight mostly consisted of clinching and strikes against the cage, but Santos ended up winning by Unanimous Decision.

Steve Garcia Melquizael Costa

Costa is a very interesting fighter to me. He was 1-1 going in to this fight, but his fights are fun to watch and he is a great fighter. He debuted in the UFC on the Brazil card in January.

The first round had Costa battling for back control, and Garcia doing his best to neutralize Costa's grappling with defense, which costed Garcia the round. However, in the second round, Garcia brutally knocked out Costa in an extremely bloody finish.

Park Hyun-sung Shannon Ross

The second Flyweight fight on this card ended up impressing me.

Park competed in the Road to UFC developmental series to sign the best talent in Asia, and won his UFC debut in February. Meanwhile, Ross has lost his DWCS appearance and his first 2 UFC appearances.

The first round was a competitive striking affair, with both men landing impressive shots and Park hurting Ross pretty badly, with the round ended on the ground. Park threatened submission after submission, taking the round.

The second round kicked off with Park hurting Ross pretty badly on the feet, to which Ross recovered to pretty well. However, Park was able to win via TKO. Really gutted for Shannon Ross, but this is an incredible victory for Hyun-sung.

Song Kenan Kevin Jousset

I really like seeing Song Kenan fight. I know Kenan for fighting Israel Adesanya earlier in his career and fighting Ian Garry at UFC 285. I do not know much of Kevin Jousset, but he won his UFC debut at UFC 293. More and more French prospects are being seen in the UFC, and I'm here for it.

For the first round, Jousset got the better of Kenan in the exchanges, which were mostly distance striking exchanges. Coming in to the second, Kenan wore more damage than Jousset and was able to put good pressure on Jousset, winning the second round on my scorecard. For the 3rd round, these guys gave it their all and fought to the very last. This fight delivered, with the victory going to Kevin Jousset.

Main Card

André Muniz def. Park Jun-yong

The Iron Turtle Jun-yong Park faces off against former #15 ranked contender André Muniz. Muniz won by a split decision victory. Very good back and forth, and Park had his moments. The only round that the judges came to a united conclusion on was the second round.

Tim Elliott def. Su Mudaerji

UFC Flyweight staple Tim Elliott won this fight via Submission in the first round. This was Su Mudaerji's first fight since his loss to Matt Schnell in a Fight of the Night on July of last year. Tim Elliott elevates his win streak to 2.

Nasrat Haqparast def. Jamie Mullarkey

These two fighters have spent a small amount of time in the UFC, and have already secured a main card spot. Nasrat knocked Jamie out in the first round.

Khalil Rountree Jr. def. Anthony Smith

Stepping in on short notice, former title challenger Anthony Smith takes on the aggressive and ruthless striker Khalil Rountree Jr. Khalil won the fight by knockout in vicious fashion in the 3rd round.

Song Yadong Chris Gutiérrez

Newcomer to the rankings, Chris Gutiérrez faces off with Song Yadong in the main event. 5 rounds of nonstop Bantamweight action. Song and Chris are both known for being exciting fighters to watch.

The first round was a showcase of how dominant Song can be when he's fresh in the fight, outpacing and outworking Chris. As the second round rolled around, he continued pressing Chris on the feet. Chris accidentally poked Song in the eye during this round and grabbed his glove during grappling later in the round.

At this point, Song is up two rounds on my scorecard. In rolls the third round, Song comes blazing in the first 30 seconds and slightly rocks Chris before poking him in the eye. The super high level and intense fights seem to have more fouls than lower level fights some times.

Literally swinging for the fences, Song pieced Chris up on the feet. Chris, on the other hand, had sneaky punches that seemed to have little effect on Song. Song scored a takedown in the final seconds, then they were sent back to their corners. Song has already won this fight if it goes to a decision.

The fourth round kicked off with a high pace, both men swinging at each other with full force. Song scores a takedown, and for a moment it seems like Chris was going for a triangle choke from bottom position, but Song quickly readjusted and continued to damage Chris from top position. Song succeeded in exhausting Chris and slowly wearing Chris down.

Some shots landed to the back of Chris' head, but referee Herb Dean decided to not step in and pause the action. Song is winning this fight, and Chris needs a finish.

As round five opens up, Chris makes a big mistake trying to take down Song, as he immediately ends up on bottom position gets controlled, essentially sabotaging himself and allowing Song to beat him 50-45.

This was not a competitive fight, and I'm curious as to why Chris would accept such a high ranked opponent at #15. Song continues to rack up impressive wins, adding Gutiérrez to a list alongside Ricky Simón, Chito Vera, and Marlon Moraes.

Final Rating

8/10

Watching this from beginning to end, I came out really satisfied. My favorite finishes were Nasrat Haqparast, Khalil Rountree, and Tatsuro Taira.

The prelims were solid for the most part, with a few fights being boring to me and not very fun to watch.

The main card was the best fight night main card I've seen live in a while, with the highlights being the co-main and main event.

I am really gutted for Song for not being able to perform in his home country of China. Dana White cited an emergency in China as the reason for the event's move back to Vegas.

[writingcombatfan]

12/8/23 SmackDown - CM Punk returns to SmackDown

Hell has already frozen over on RAW, and it's hard to think of the exact reason as to why CM Punk would be appearing on SmackDown.

The primary event focus is on Tribute to the Troops, WWE's SmackDown branded collaboration with the US Military.

The show kicked off with a performance of "God Bless America" by The War and Treaty.

JBL was then revealed to be on commentary for the episode of SmackDown. It makes sense since JBL's gimmick was being the most American man in the WWE during the attitude era.

Santos Escobar vs Dragon Lee

A rematch from their Survivor Series matchup, these two compete in a first round tournament bracket for a #1 contender's match against Logan Paul's US Championship.

The match was incredibly brutal and fun to watch. They matched in pace and energy in the ring and rolled with each other pretty well, which made the match even more satisfying. The deadbeat dad comments made about Rey Mysterio on commentary were hilarious, which made the viewing experience more enjoyable. The match ended in a victory for Santos Escobar, pinning Dragon Lee clean on the canvas. This match is an 8/10

Kevin Owens breaking his hand may end up being a work, as he is still scheduled to face Austin Theory and Grayson Waller.

We then got a preview for Dragon Lee vs Dominik Mysterio in the midcard of NXT Deadline, which I will also be doing an article on after the UFC card this Saturday.

Cody Rhodes then appeared on SmackDown to make a promo. His nickname has the word American in it, so it makes sense as to why he's here. The American Nightmare spoke praise on the US army service members in the arena and watching at home. Cody then previewed a video package on the history of Tribute to the Troops which included a John Cena interview and speech on the US army soldiers.

Cody then announced the US Army Drill Team.

Bobby Lashley vs Karrion Kross

Former US Army Sergeant Bobby Lashley makes an appearance at the Tribute to the Troops event, to face Karrion Kross. Bobby being cheered kinda felt weird because of his character playing the heel.

Immediately afterwards, Montez Ford was featured in a video package speaking as a marine corp veteran.

Karrion Kross is rarely seen on television, but has an incredibly entertaining entrance, with the lights and the entrance music. It is criminal that Karrion Kross is not used on TV as much.

Bobby Lashley ended up beating Karrion Kross and advancing in the US Championship tournament. 7/10 match.

CM Punk Segment

CM Punk then made his entrance to make his first promo on SmackDown in a long time. This is also not his first Tribute to the Troops appearance.

CM Punk basked in the CM Punk chants from the audience and made reference to the brand split, signing with RAW or SmackDown and running down the positives and negatives of being on either brand, makes reference to Cody Rhodes, teases entry to the Royal Rumble in 2024, criticizes and antagonizes Roman Reigns. When he referred to him as "people that aren't here" I thought he was talking about MJF, who has spoken about a bidding war of 2024.) CM Punk then made a dig at how he is the original Paul Heyman guy in wrestling.

The most shocking part of CM Punk's promo was when someone in the audience yelled Kevin Owens' name and CM Punk picked up on it.

"Someone said Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens, that'd be interesting, right? Can I tag with Kevin Owens? Maybe I can fight with Kevin Owens. Let's pump the breaks on that one just for a second. Kevin's a little bit prickly, and I mean to say is that him and I are probably too much alike. I don't know who would feel comfortable working with somebody who randomly just punches people in the face backstage. I mean, it's 2023 ladies and gentlemen, you just can't be doing stuff like that. That's insane."

Tony Khan reported that legally he could not speak on CM Punk's firing in AEW, and here CM Punk appears to be making reference to the events of the 2023 All In's backstage brawl. This is very interesting to see.

Punk then shoots on Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion over at RAW. Punk makes fun of how Seth is less of a breadwinner and less of a draw than his wife, Becky Lynch. Continuing on, he also said that all Seth had was a song that was over with the crowd

Punk wrapped it up by saying that he'd be on the next episode of RAW to announce where he'd be signing, which I will be covering. He then named the general managers Nick Aldis, Adam Pearce, and Shawn Michaels for a hint at appearing on NXT.

CM Punk walked around backstage and eventually stood outside of The Bloodline's locker room. CM Punk decided to step away from the door, then revealing Kevin Owens facing off with CM Punk, CM Punk then asked Kevin if he's seen Nick Aldis' locker room, to which Kevin Owens responds by brushing off the question.

Charlotte Flair vs Asuka

A match consisting of Charlotte Flair vs Asuka began to air, with some Damage CTRL shenanigans mixed in between this match. Bayley eventually assisted Asuka in her win against Charlotte, to which they celebrated. The match was pretty good, 7/10.

CM Punk was then featured in another backstage segment with Nick Aldis and then Cody Rhodes where everyone shook hands and conducted business as usual.

Randy Orton & LA Knight vs Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa

The show ended in a tag team match. The match was solid. The crowd was hyped up for Randy, and just as much for LA Knight. Solo and Jimmy both performed incredibly, but The Bloodline took the loss in this matchup with Orton pinning Jimmy after an RKO. I rate the match an 8/10

This episode of SmackDown was 2023 was incredible, but as far as Tribute to the Troops go, this is not one of the best ones.

Final Rating

8/10

[writingcombatfan]

King of Violence: Mike Perry

Tonight on BKFC, Mike Perry defeated Eddie Alvarez by corner stoppage after the 2nd round to earn himself the "King of Violence" Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship belt.

Initially, I knew Mike Perry from his tenure in the UFC. A very interesting character whom made me chuckle on more than one occasion.

"Platinum" Mike Perry started off his career by going 7-0 in his MMA career, and losing his only boxing match. Upon joining the UFC, he amassed 2 victories before suffering a loss to Alex Jouban. He would then go 2-2 in his next 4 fights before signing to fight Paul Felder at UFC 226.

Perry would go on to win the fight by split decision and would cement himself as a true entertainer and someone willing to leave pieces of himself in the ring.

The latter half of his UFC career consisted of 2 wins and 5 losses, with his contract expiring soon after.

Then, Mike found his home at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, shortened to BKFC.

Mike made quick work to dominate the BKFC, cementing himself as the promotion's top star after fighting Julian Lane, Michael Page, and Luke Rockhold throughout 2022 and 2023.

This leads us to BKFC 56, which Mike Perry would headline against Eddie Alvarez, former UFC Lightweight Champion.

Mike and Eddie tore each other apart, and BKFC proves to be one of the most violent and brutal sports on the planet. After a dominant first round, Eddie began to feel Mike's pressure in the second, and would end up not being able to make it to the third round.

The fight was an absolute vehicle wreck and anyone that's as sadistic as me and enjoys violence should watch this fight back. Both men delivered.

Forever the King of Violence, "Platinum" Mike Perry.

[writingcombatfan]

Kevin Owens Injury Update

Kevin Owens appeared to be injured on December 1st's edition of SmackDown.

The days of KO punching people he doesn't like might be over, as WWE gave the announcement of his injury via Twitter/X

Wrestlers getting injured isn't anything new, however this raises concerns on the future of Logan Paul's US Title #1 Contender Tournament. KO had picked up a victory on Grayson Waller during the December 1st SmackDown, and now his placement in the tournament is unknown.

WWE has been treating Kevin Owens very well, consistently giving him title opportunities with singles and tag titles. It will be interesting to see how SmackDown functions now without Kevin Owens.

[writingcombatfan]

UFC - Fight Night, Dariush vs Tsarukyan

December 2nd's edition of UFC Fight Night took place in the Moody Center at Austin, Texas and proved to me that if you miss the prelims, you may end up missing out on some good moments. In this post, I will be reviewing the main card, but I will gloss over some of the prelim fights.

Prelims

Veronica Hardy def. Jamey-Lyn Horth

The card was kicked off by a Women's 125 matchup that resulted in a split decision victory for Veronica Hardy. I missed this fight.

Jared Gooden def. Wellington Turman

Jared Gooden ended up scoring a 2nd round submission. Amazing comeback. I missed this fight as well.

Rodolfo Bellato def. Ihor Potieria

Ihor Potieria was dangerously close to finishing before he gassed out and was finished by Rodolfo Bellato in the 2nd round. I once again missed this fight.

Drakkar Klose def. Joe Solecki

This is when I began to regret tuning out, because this ended in a slam knockout by Drakkar Klose. Fight ended 1 minute and 41 seconds in to the first round.

Cody Brundage def. Zachary Reese

I tuned in when this fight began, and I was a little disappointed I didn't get to see the slam knockout in the last fight, but I was quickly elated when this became the first UFC event to have two slam knockouts. Cody Brundage won the fight by slamming Zachary Reese on the side of his head as he held on to an arm-bar.

Nobody learned from Rose Namajunas that there is risk in holding on to an arm bar while your opponent is standing. It's also odd how both slam knockouts were within 8 seconds of each other, because this fight ended 1 minute and 49 seconds in to the first round.

Miesha Tate def. Julia Avila

Miesha Tate proved once again that she is still a good fight for anyone in the Women's Bantamweight division by achieving a submission victory in the third round.

Main Card

Dustin Stoltzfus def. Punahele Soriano

Dustin Stoltzfus is the weirdest fighter in my eyes, because I was almost certain that he retired after getting knocked out by Abus Magomedov, but he came from out of nowhere and submitted his opponent in the 2nd round.

I'm hoping for a good career resurgence from Stoltzfus, but I am not 100% certain he'll make it far in Middleweight.

Joaquim Silva def. Clay Guida

This was a back and forth fight, with Joaquim Silva edging out a unanimous decision in an action packed 3 round affair.

Clay Guida has cemented his legacy in my eyes, and while he can still keep fighting I think retirement will be weighing in on him soon enough.

Sean Brady def. Kelvin Gasteleum

Honestly, I think 170 is good for Kelvin Gasteleum. Sean Brady beat him by submission in the 3rd round, but I still think that Kelvin can have much better success at 170 than 185.

Deiveson Figureido def. Rob Font

This fight showcased Deiveson's amazing power and how he has only strengthened after he moved up in weight from 125.

Deiveson will soon be entering the Bantamweight rankings, as Rob Font was ranked #8.

Jalin Turner def. Bobby Green

This fight proved that even though I feel like the UFC has the best referees, there is still a lot of work to be done to make the sport safer. Jalin Turner knocked out Bobby Green 2 minutes and 37 seconds in to the first round, but the referee forced Jalin Turner to continue to ground and pound Bobby Green, and had finally stopped the fight at 2 minutes and 49 seconds.

Kerry Hatley should not be allowed to referee any more fights. This is extremely dangerous officiating that should be dealt with accordingly.

Arman Tsarukyan def. Beneil Dariush

I had high hopes from Beneil going in to this fight, and pre-fight shenanigans made me despise Arman on a massive level. The hotel altercation with Bobby Green was extremely disappointing to me when I looked at what Arman was doing during fight week.

Unfortunately for me, Arman ended up knocking out Beneil in the 1st round with a knee and punches. The fight just barely surpassed 1 minute.

Overall, the main event did not disappoint and Arman has proved that he should be one of the next people in line to fight Islam Makhachev for the Lightweight championship.

Overall Rating

8.5/10

I really enjoyed this week's UFC event. Some serious stakes in the main event for a potential title opportunity, the two men in the co-main are always down to fight. The undercard was super entertaining.

UFC fans always eat good.

[writingcombatfan]

WWE - SmackDown 12/1/2023 Review

Tonight, I decided to tune in to the December 1st edition of SmackDown. My Friday had gone perfectly. After work, I had absolutely nothing to do except wait for 4 hours until Smackdown would come on.

From the beginning, we are already told that Randy Orton will be making an appearance on this week's SmackDown. The Viper is a free agent currently. His inclusion for tonight is a bidding war between RAW and SmackDown for his exclusivity.

Damage CTRL Segment:

WWE continues to remain creatively stagnant in their Damage CTRL related segments. The same old shit happened where Bianca Belair calls out Damage CTRL, they walk out and talk some shit, then Charlotte and Shotzi walk out and brawl with Damage CTRL. My problem with these segments is that it's become so repetitive that it feels like there are absolutely zero stakes involved since it's not Iyo putting her WWE Title on the line. Overall I rate the segment a 2/5, character work really shined here but there was nothing else. I know Bailey will be kicked out of the group soon enough.

Butch vs Bobby Lashley

Following being abandoned by his tag partner last week on SmackDown, Butch decides to indulge in a singles career, and was matched up with Bobby Lashley.

The match was solid, with the main highlight being the beautiful finish by Bobby Lashley spearing Butch and pinning him.

Overall, I rate the Butch vs Bobby Lashley match a 4/5. Served it's purpose.

Nick Aldis and Paul Heyman Segment

Fun fact about the British SmackDown General Manager, Nick Aldis was actually a wrestler that held the championship that Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Kevin Von Erich, and more had held throughout history. Nick Aldis held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for over 1000 days.

This fact fascinates me when I see how they're using Nick Aldis in the Bloodline related segments. Nick Aldis could 100% be the guy to beat Roman Reigns. Paul Heyman ends up knocking on Nick Aldis' office door and asks Nick why Randy Orton would be appearing on SmackDown that night. Nick Aldis then revealed that Randy Orton would be offered a contract to be exclusive to SmackDown, which would be very enticing to Randy Orton given his motivation to destroy The Bloodline.

Paul then asks Nick if Our Tribal Chief was made aware of this, and Nick Aldis proceeded to shut it down by delivering the message to Paul Heyman to then tell to Roman Reigns. Nick Aldis is getting increasingly territorial with SmackDown by competing with RAW and demanding dominance by his talent.

This segment is awesome for the ongoing Bloodline storyline. I rate this a 4.5/5.

Butch gets bullied by Pretty Deadly

This segment is utterly pointless and only serves to hammer in the fact that Butch was abandoned. 1/5.

Santos Escobar vs Joaquin Wilde

Santos Escobar continues to be one of the fastest rising heels in SmackDown history. Joaquin Wilde was matched up with him to attempt to defend the LWO's honor against Santos, but Santos actually beat Joaquin and proceeded to beat him up in the middle of the ring.

Match was a 3.5/5. Beatdown at the end added nothing except to continue to fuel the Santos Escobar heat.

Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce bidding war on Randy Orton

Adam Pearce had caught wind of Nick Aldis offering a SmackDown contract to Randy Orton tonight, and had prepared a counter-offer for Randy Orton in a segment later tonight.

This GM rivalry is incredible to me and I'm excited to see what it brings.

Logan Paul appears on SmackDown

Outside of WWE, Logan Paul is an asshole. However, inside of WWE, he is an incredibly pivotal heel in the United States title picture. Logan Paul boasts about his totally fair championship victory over Rey Mysterio, and he reveals that he spoke with Nick Aldis to introduce a tournament including the following wrestlers.

Santos Escobar

Bobby Lashley

Dragon Lee

Karrion Kross

Austin Theory

Grayson Waller

Kevin Owens

An NXT superstar that will be called up to the main roster.

This tournament has some supremely talented performers and sports entertainers, and we had the privilege of seeing a sneak peek over the rest of the tournament with a match against Kevin Owens and Grayson Waller.

Overall, I rate this segment a 4/5. Crowd really added to this segment and Logan has shockingly good promo skills.

Kevin Owens vs Grayson Waller

The KO vs Grayson Waller match ended up being a comedic pleasure to watch. There were many out of ring shenanigans with Austin Theory that really added to the match and helped gather my attention. Kevin Owens ended up beating Grayson.

Match was a 2.5/5. Not horrible. Not great.

CM Punk Segment

WWE played a video segment of reactions to CM Punk returning to WWE at Survivor Series. At the end of the video segment, it was revealed that CM Punk would be at next week's SmackDown. Pretty interesting to see if CM Punk and Paul Heyman will interact.

Kairi Sane vs Bianca Belair

Match was kinda boring. Bringing back Kairi Sane just to make her lose a lot is a bad booking decision. 1/5.

Randy Orton makes his Decision

WWE decided to book the equivalent of Lebron's The Decision. Randy Orton makes a great and uninterrupted entrance and at the end he even hit the pose.

Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce then get heated with each other and try to throw out their offers for Randy. Adam Pearce offered Randy the winner of Seth Rollins vs Jey Uso on RAW, and Nick Aldis offered Roman Reigns and The Bloodline.

At that point, Paul Heyman interrupted. He gave his whole schtick about how Randy was taken out by Our Tribal Chief, WWE Undisputed Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Paul declared there will be no RKO's that night and that Randy won't have time to make that decision because The Bloodline would stop him.

Solo walks out with Jimmy Uso, then Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce leave the ring. Nick and Adam have had a wrestling career so it doesn't make sense as to why the WWE has not used them for wrestling.

LA Knight runs out to make the save for Randy, and ends up brawling with Solo Sikoa, leaving Randy in the ring with Jimmy. Randy hits a DDT, and then a RKO.

Randy ends up signing with SmackDown, to the ire of Paul Heyman who was shouting "GO TO RAW!" Just like that, Randy Orton returns to Friday nights. At the end of the segment, Randy RKO's Nick Aldis and Paul Heyman calls Roman Reigns on his cellphone. 5/5

Final Rating

7/10

This episode of SmackDown truly shined in the story telling department, but really could have benefited from higher quality matches.

[writingcombatfan]

Initial Post

Welcome to the Writing Combat Fan page, where I will be posting about professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. On this page, you should expect reviews of pro wrestling or MMA shows, articles to invite discussion, and topics about the current state of pro wrestling and MMA.