Michael Rome over at BloodyElbow.com has a piece rounding up all the quotes that have been blurbed by various people involved on EliteXC and the commission's end of the Young vs. Carano fight as well as some quotes from Young herself. Head over to BloodyElbow for the complete lowdown on the quotes, but I'll summarize.

Kaitlin stated that she never had an open wound, and that Dr. Sherry Wulkan cleared her to fight. In the end, she said the commission simply said “No” to continuing the fight. She went on to say it would have likely broke open in the third, but she believes that CBS didn't want to have a bloody face of a woman blasted on television.

Wulkan emailed Sam Caplan with a different explanation. In short, she said that in the locker room after looking in the mirror, Young said she was glad the fight was stopped. Wulkan believes that Young was mad about being shunned from having a post-fight interview or being invited to do so.

Young reiterated later her original story and that she was simply never told about the interviews or after party. Gina Carano, in fact, invited her and gave her tickets.

So, what's all the arguing about? Did Young have a chance to continue, and should she have been allowed to continue? The placement of the bruising suggested an orbital fracture, and it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the bruising led to the stoppage.

Would Kaitlin Young have actually won? Probably not. That isn't the entire point though. Fighters should always be given a chance to win a bout no matter how dominating their opponent is in the matchup. Carano was faster, bigger, and had a tired Young on the ropes of losing. We can't assume that the outcome would have been Carano winning, but in my mind, it was a safe bet after two rounds. Kaitlin wasn't quicker in any of the striking during the fight, and it was actually impressive to see Carano overcome the hype that Kaitlin Young had been given leading up to the fight.

In the end, I believe the stoppage was justified. Her face was mincemeat, she was clearly losing the fight, and it didn't look good for her in continuing the fight with Carano being so crushing in the standup. Should those be reasons to stop the fight? No, they shouldn't. There were no open wounds according to Young, and they were not placed in positions to allow for blood to blur her vision.

We can argue all day whether or not she should have been allowed to continue, but Carano won the fight. She was dominating the standup for two rounds, and Kaitlin didn't have the quickness to catch Carano. Regardless, I suppose Kaitlin should have been given the opportunity, and the commission and Dr. Shelly Wulkan disappointed us with that decision. The fact is that MMA doesn't have portable x-ray machines out in the cage to make split second decisions. Let's move on.

Photo courtesy of BloodyElbow.com

Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson

There is no real reason to believe that James Thompson can change the past or his chin. Unless he's chewing on pine bark like Jack Dempsey was once rumored to do in order to strengthen his jaw, Thompson's huge weakness will likely be exploited.

Thompson does however have some wrestling ability in his background, and he has spent some time training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas with its veteran stable of fighters. It's likely his gameplan will involve trying to put Kimbo to the floor, but I firmly believe that Thompson won't be the guy to test Kimbo's ground guy. Kimbo has the added bonus of being very powerful to blow through submission attempts. I doubt we'll see Thompson get to that position.

Leland's Prediction: Kimbo Slice via TKO/KO, Round 1

Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

This could very well be the most talked about fight of the evening. Two veteran strikers will go toe-to-toe in the cage, but I'm going to favor Lawler for a few reasons. Smith has had some problems on the ground, but he's been rather dominant in the standup game. The only problem for him in this fight is that Lawler has monster power to counter Smith's hands as well. He's also shown some patience in the standup game that really favors him in the later rounds.

An added bonus is that Lawler has great takedown defense and some solid wrestling ability if he gets into trouble. Look for Lawler to keep his distance, find his range, and explode. It's going to be very hard for Smith to avoid those huge arms on Lawler.

Leland's Prediction: Robbie Lawler via TKO/KO, Round 2

Joey Villasenor vs. Phil Baroni

For some odd reason, I think Phil may be taking this fight much more seriously than he did Kala Hose. Will his cardio have improved significantly is the real question, and Villasenor is a survivor in the cage. He has a solid chin, great cardio, and the ability to land some big punches. Baroni will likely come out with an onslaught of attacks, but Villasenor has the skills to outlast Baroni.

I can't exactly pick Baroni after his performance against Hose, but he could prove me wrong in saying that he's lost a step.

Leland's Prediction: Joey Villasenor via unanimous decision

Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young

A lot of writers are giving Kaitlin the nod here, and it can be justified when looking at her training regiment and striking. She'll likely be a cardio machine, but can she equal Carano's tenacity in the striking game. Sarah Schneider proved that Kaitlin's ground game needs a lot of work, but Carano probably won't be a force there.

Kaitlin has some strong striking, but Carano is known for being a powerful, yet accurate puncher.  She will also have some strong kicks, and hopefully some good wrestling ability on the ground. Kaitlin will be a great bet for those of you looking cash in, but I have to pick Gina Carano. While I know she's mentioned the layoff of training leading up to this bout, I still think her striking will be hard to deal with, but I'll be laying some cash on Kaitlin in case I'm wrong.

Leland's Prediction: Gina Carano via unanimous decision

Brett Rogers vs. Jon Murphy

This should be a good matchup. Murphy is explosive while Rogers possesses heavy hands as well. Murphy does has 2 losses on his record, one being to Houston Alexander, so he is susceptible to the onslaught, but Rogers likes to be patient. I'm more inclined to pick Rogers due to how tough it is to move him around to the floor, and the fact that his power is going to be a huge problem if he catches Murphy.

Leland's Prediction: Brett Rogers via KO/TKO, Round 1

Quick Picks
Justin Robbins vs. Wilson Reis: There's some hype surrounding Reis, and he has a slick grappling pedigree that could present problems for Robbins. Robbins is a nice solid opponent for Reis, but I think Reis has this one. Reis via submission, Round 2

Nick Serra vs. Matt Makowski: Serra has the grappling advantage, so look for him to get this to the floor quickly. Makowski is fairly green in the MMA game so far, but he's proven to be a tough opponent at 2-0. Serra via submission, Round 2

Andres Soares vs. Zach Makovsky: Soares finishes fights, and Makovsky can't seem to finish. Soares via submission, Round 1

Joe Sampieri vs. Mike Groves: Battle of the winless, pick'em. Sampieri via TKO, Round 2

Jim Bova vs. Chris Liguori: Chris has had some absolute wars with Jim Miller before, and I don't see how he won't be bringing that kind of heart to this fight. Bova will be a load though, and he's definitely an upcoming prospect. I'll pick the upset. Bova via TKO/KO, Round 1

James “Binky” Jones vs. Calvin Katter: Gotta go with Jones here. He may have a .500 record, but it's mostly losses to talent that's headed to the UFC or higher promotions. Katter is just starting out. Jones via submission, Round 1

Carlos Moreno vs. Carlton Haselrig: Moreno is weak on the ground, but Haselrig likely won't present any danger in that capacity. Moreno should get the knockout in this one. Moreno via KO/TKO, Round 1

 
I wrote a preview for the BodogFIGHT show in Las Vegas on Friday a few days ago for MMA Madness. I thought I'd let everyone know about it since there is at least some interest in the title fight and possibly the women's matchups on the card. Here's a short excerpt from the preview:

Making its return to the city of sin, BodogFIGHT in conjunction with Tuff-N-Uff promotions will present a night of mixed martial arts action on February 1st, 2008 from the Las Vegas Sports Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card will feature Nick “The Goat” Thompson (33-9-1) taking on undefeated contender John Troyer (8-0) in a battle for the BodogFIGHT Welterweight Title. The women’s division will also be on display during the event when powerful striking Kaitlin Young (4-0) takes on newcomer Sara Schneider. A four-man tournament was scheduled to take place within the welterweight division, but has since been canceled. Seth Baczynski will take on Chris Kennedy, and Waachim Spiritwolf will now fight Jeremy Razonable in regular MMA matchups in place of the tournament.

It might be worth checking out for you fans out there who are into smaller shows or some of the fighters in the mix. The tournament was cancelled by the NSAC, and Tonya Evinger was taken off the card, so Kaitlin Young can knockout another newcomer. Check it out if you are interested.

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