Contributor: Daniel Galvan
(The Daily Haymaker is a daily series that takes a look back and covers the news, fights being made, and all the other insanity revolving around combat sports. The Haymaker’s purpose is to keep you up to date with the ever changing combat sports world and also provide thought-provoking [hopefully] analysis from yours truly.)
The News
1. Zane Simon of BloodyElbow.com does a fantastic job tracking UFC signings and releases, and he reported yesterday that Matt Hamill, Nandor Guelmino, and David Mitchell have all been removed from the UFC’s website. That development indicates that all three of those fighters have been let go by the organization.
The 37 year-old Hamill is the biggest name of the three by a large margin. His career took off on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter because of the success he attained on the show in spite off his hearing disability. Hamill’s fifteen fight UFC career saw “The Hammer” score a high-light reel head kick KO over Mark Munoz, a decision victory against Tito Ortiz, and even a DQ win over Jon Jones [the only blemish on the Light Heavyweight Champion’s record]. After losing to Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133, Hamill announced his retirement from the sport, but he returned last September in lackluster fashion, getting the decision verdict against Roger Hollett. That win was followed by a real disappointing loss against Thiago Silva in early October that appears to have spelled the conclusion of his UFC career.
Also 37, Nador Guelmino was brought into the UFC as a result of the company’s absorption of Strikeforce. The Austrian fighter was knocked out in his promotional debut at UFC 165 against Polish heavyweight Daniel Omielanczuk. Before that, Guelmino was submitted in his Strikeforce debut by Josh Barnett.
And that leaves welterweight David Mitchell, whose five fight UFC stint actually spans a bit over three years. Mitchell went 1-4 in the company, with a victory over Simeon Thoreson that is sandwiched between losses to Yan Cabral and Mike Pierce and to Paulo Thiago and T.J. Waldburger.
2. A developing story that likely won’t have any clarity for some time is that Invicta FC matchmaker Janet Martin has been released by the Women’s MMA promotion. Rumors of the news were confirmed by Shannon Knapp on the WMMAJam podcast and Invicta FC Champion Carla Esparza on her Facebook account. From what I can gather, Martin’s dismissal was related to something she did that was detrimental to the company. It appears that Invicta is on a bumpy track right now, and as someone who thoroughly enjoys watching the promotion, I hope that it is able to get through this rough patch.
3. Top Light Middleweight boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has announced his 2014 schedule, which will looks to be busy with three expected dates. Alvarez is slated to box on March 8th, July 20th, and November 22nd.
4. Robert Drysdale has not been medically cleared for his UFC 167 fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission because of elevated an T/E ratio. This is a story to monitor as we get closer to the event.
5. Karo Parisyan is injured and out of his Bellator 106 fight against Cristiano Souza. Souza will now face Alejandro Garcia.
Fights Made
Legend 2 – November 8th
Heavyweight Bout
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (28-10-2, 1 NC) vs Alexey Oleinik (47-9-1)
Background: Following his second UFC run that saw him go 4-3, Cro Cop “retired” and then returned to beat an overmatched Shinichi Suzukawa in December last year. Originally scheduled to face Aleksander Emelianenko, Cro Cop will now face Alexey Oleinik. Oleinik is one of the better Russian heavyweights in MMA today. He’s on a eight fight win streak highlighted by submission victories. over Tony Lopez, Jeff Monson, and Dion Staring.
Excitement Level: 7 out of 10. The level is this high just because I’m excited to see Mirko Cro Cop once again, and there’s a little piece in me that wants to see him head kick KO someone one last time. A win over Oleinik would be impressive for the 39 year-old PRIDE and UFC veteran. This fight will tell us how much Cro Cop has left in the tank.
Bellator 107 – November 15th
Lightweight Bout
Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (10-5) vs James Edson Berto (17-10-1)
Background: After an expected loss to Eddie Alvarez, Freire lost unexpectedly to Derek Anderson at Bellator 98. Pitbull is looking to get back on track against a game James Edson Berto. Berto, a former fighter under the Elite XC banner, looked fantastic in his Bellator debut, heel hooking Bruno Carvalho.
Excitement Level: 5 out of 10. Both of the Pitbull brothers always bring it when it comes to fight quality. A lot is also on the line for Freire. A loss to Berto would drastically hurt Freire’s stock.
PXC 41 – November 9th.
PXC Flyweight Championship
Ale Cali (5-1) vs Louis Smolka (4-0)
Background: PXC has done a tremendous job of harvesting quality MMA prospects, and yet another example of that is their flyweight champion, Ale Cali. Cali fights at a frenetic pace and is always a treat to watch. Riding a five fight win streak, Cali is a few more victories away from being a prime candidate to be signed by the UFC. His opponent, Louis Smolka, is looking to steal his spotlight as the top flyweight prospect in the organization. Smolka has gone 3-0 in PXC, submitting all of his opponents.
Excitement Level: 8 out of 10. There’s a lot on the line in this fight, and this championship contest promises to be exciting. This is the number one fight that I’m looking forward to on November 9th.
Legacy FC 27
Light Heavyweight Bout
Paul Buentello (33-15) vs Isaac Villanueva (7-7)
Background: The former UFC title challenger Paul Buentello is looking to successfully continue his renaissance in the Light Heavyweight division. Buentello has won his last four fights, finishing three of them with strikes. Villanueva is looking to get out of a three fight loss rut that has sent his record into .500 territory.
Excitement: 2 out of 10. It’s just hard for me to get excited for a .500 fighter, and a 39 year-old Paul Buentello. With that being said, Buentello tends to bring it when it comes to exciting slugfests.
Must Reads
1. Jack Slack of Bleacher Report was in attendance for UFC Fight Night 30, and he did a tremendous job breaking down several significant moments from the several of the bouts on the card. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/16hbFyz
2. MMAFighting’s Chuck Mindenhall is going to be putting out a series of pieces for the next 20 days examining each of the UFC’s first twenty years. He wrote a tremendous introduction piece. This is a real must read for any MMA fan. Read it here: http://bit.ly/1bv9g2X
Must Watch
1. Here’s the video of Mayhem Miller’s altercation with Uriah Hall: http://bit.ly/1iqzwhs
My Insane Sports Parlay of the Day: First, let me revisit the previous day’s parlay. I missed on the Seahawks (-13) because you know, I figured that the top defense in the league would destroy a team LED BY KELLEN CLEMENS. I also missed on the Cardinals money line and the New York Rangers +1 1/2, but hey, I got the Sabres +1 1/2 right! Going 1-4 is absolutely miserable and probably a sign that I should have stopped doing this yesterday, but screw the man, here’s my parlay for today.
Miami Heat ( -4 1/2), Lakers (+9 1/2), Flyers (+1 1/2), and the Cardinals money line [I apologize in advance to Cardinals fans].
That’ll do it for today’s Haymaker. Thanks for reading, and I’ll leave you with a quote from Diego Sanchez.
“YES!”
-Dan can be reached at [email protected] or @danielgal.
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