Moosin: Gods of Martial Arts
This is a weird fight, and obviously not the best one to show someone who isn't familiar with MMA. It will be a sloppy fight, and most likely very short. We have 5-time "Met-RX World's Strongest Man" champion and record holder, Mariusz Pudzianowski, fighting against the lazy veteran in Tim Sylvia (ex-UFC). While it can be considered a 'circus fight' or 'freak show', even as an MMA purist, I'm highly interested in this fight.
I'm not going to lie, it could be because I'm a fan of Pudzianowski and his past accomplishments in the "World's Strongest Man". I know a lot of my readers have stopped on ESPN one late night and been truly impressed by these guys pulling firetrucks, buses, throwing kegs 10 feet in the air over their head's, lifting two cars off the ground at a time, etc...Well, Pudzianowski was the best ever at that, and he's still only 33 years old. Now the true question is, how does it transfer to MMA, and is there value in the line?
Pudzianowski's training for MMA is obviously very different than his strength training, as you can easily see from the difference in his physique compared to 4-5 years ago. However, I'd have to think if he was able to make himself the best in strongman competitions, he can harbor that into MMA. He still has the best nutritionists in the world at his disposal, so that's a big plus. This fight may be a little early for Mariusz, since he's only started training in 2009, and Sylvia has fought top talent. We're talking the likes of Fedor, Nogueira, Vera, Mir, Arlovski, etc...4 out of 5 of those fighters he lost against, however. Not to mention, his only win since 2007 was against Jason Riley. Anywhere near top talent? Nope.
Now lets take a quick look at Sylvia's training...He fights for a good camp with the legendary Pat Miletich, so one would think he would be up for this fight. Based on the weigh-in results, and commentary from the Sylvia camp, this is not exactly the case. Sylvia weighed in at 305. What does this tell me? I question where his head was at in his fight prep. According to his Twitter, he lost 25lbs for this fight. So he was walking around at 330? That's 65lbs heavier than what a traditional UFC Heavyweight would be, and what he weighed in at the last time he defended his title. If he cared to be the best fighter he could be, he would still be at that weight, not flabby and 305lbs.
This fight seems to me that these two fighter's careers are going in opposite directions. Pudzianowski, who was also once imprisoned for assault (he beat up a mob boss), is trying to make a name for himself in the MMA world, and Sylvia is content fighting these type of fights against under-experienced opponents. With that said, you have to find value in +200 (Bookmaker.com).
Another fighter with extreme value, IMO, but not with as much chance of winning as Pudzianowski, is Roxanne Modaffreri (+500). The only girl to beat Larosa was Jennifer Howe, who's only two losses came at the hands of Roxanne Modafferi. Interesting.
If you've enjoyed this article, or any of my past articles, please donate to a friend of mine's rehabilitation fund, it would mean a lot to us both. She was a fighter for KOTC, and had a very bright career ahead of her before a freak accident hurt her ability to even walk, nevermind fight. All donations will go towards her physical therapy and rehabilitation costs. http://twinportsmma.com/teslahdonationfund.htm
This is a weird fight, and obviously not the best one to show someone who isn't familiar with MMA. It will be a sloppy fight, and most likely very short. We have 5-time "Met-RX World's Strongest Man" champion and record holder, Mariusz Pudzianowski, fighting against the lazy veteran in Tim Sylvia (ex-UFC). While it can be considered a 'circus fight' or 'freak show', even as an MMA purist, I'm highly interested in this fight.
I'm not going to lie, it could be because I'm a fan of Pudzianowski and his past accomplishments in the "World's Strongest Man". I know a lot of my readers have stopped on ESPN one late night and been truly impressed by these guys pulling firetrucks, buses, throwing kegs 10 feet in the air over their head's, lifting two cars off the ground at a time, etc...Well, Pudzianowski was the best ever at that, and he's still only 33 years old. Now the true question is, how does it transfer to MMA, and is there value in the line?
Pudzianowski's training for MMA is obviously very different than his strength training, as you can easily see from the difference in his physique compared to 4-5 years ago. However, I'd have to think if he was able to make himself the best in strongman competitions, he can harbor that into MMA. He still has the best nutritionists in the world at his disposal, so that's a big plus. This fight may be a little early for Mariusz, since he's only started training in 2009, and Sylvia has fought top talent. We're talking the likes of Fedor, Nogueira, Vera, Mir, Arlovski, etc...4 out of 5 of those fighters he lost against, however. Not to mention, his only win since 2007 was against Jason Riley. Anywhere near top talent? Nope.
Now lets take a quick look at Sylvia's training...He fights for a good camp with the legendary Pat Miletich, so one would think he would be up for this fight. Based on the weigh-in results, and commentary from the Sylvia camp, this is not exactly the case. Sylvia weighed in at 305. What does this tell me? I question where his head was at in his fight prep. According to his Twitter, he lost 25lbs for this fight. So he was walking around at 330? That's 65lbs heavier than what a traditional UFC Heavyweight would be, and what he weighed in at the last time he defended his title. If he cared to be the best fighter he could be, he would still be at that weight, not flabby and 305lbs.
This fight seems to me that these two fighter's careers are going in opposite directions. Pudzianowski, who was also once imprisoned for assault (he beat up a mob boss), is trying to make a name for himself in the MMA world, and Sylvia is content fighting these type of fights against under-experienced opponents. With that said, you have to find value in +200 (Bookmaker.com).
Another fighter with extreme value, IMO, but not with as much chance of winning as Pudzianowski, is Roxanne Modaffreri (+500). The only girl to beat Larosa was Jennifer Howe, who's only two losses came at the hands of Roxanne Modafferi. Interesting.
If you've enjoyed this article, or any of my past articles, please donate to a friend of mine's rehabilitation fund, it would mean a lot to us both. She was a fighter for KOTC, and had a very bright career ahead of her before a freak accident hurt her ability to even walk, nevermind fight. All donations will go towards her physical therapy and rehabilitation costs. http://twinportsmma.com/teslahdonationfund.htm
