Each week, ESPN.com MMA writer Brett Okamoto, ESPN Insider senior editor Mike Huang and a guest panelist tackle hot topics that are buzzing in the world of mixed martial arts.
This week, highly ranked Bellator bantamweight Joe Warren joins the panel.
1. What is your favorite MMA grudge match?
Joe Warren: I was in the corner for Dan Henderson-Michael Bisping (at UFC 100, July 2009) in Vegas and that was awesome. I did "The Ultimate Fighter" with Dan and Bisping was always outspoken to him. Dan usually doesn't get confrontational but he really did not like him. Everything about that fight was fun. Walking to the cage was fun. With Dan, he doesn't get emotional. You don't get a lot of expression from him like you do with me. You see me, you know I'm about to fight. Not with him. But there was an animosity that was personal in that fight.
Brett Okamoto: Looking back on the years I've covered the sport, the Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen rivalry is something I'll never forget. Sonnen is obviously known for it now, but back when he first started calling Silva out, it was so unexpected. Whether you liked him for it or not, it was a refreshing change of pace from previous Silva opponents, who had shown so much outward respect to him. The feeling going into the first fight was that he'd get dominated -- and then it didn't happen, which set the stage for the rivalry to grow. If you go back further, I also enjoyed the Matt Hughes-Frank Trigg grudge match.
Mike Huang: While it's easy to love the high-profile grudge matches where the guys are throwing barbs back and forth leading up to a fight or fights, in the case of rematches, the fact is many of them seem contrived. But not Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner. Back in their WEC days, when Varner was the lightweight champ but couldn't fight because of an injured knee, Cerrone went after him mercilessly. They genuinely disliked each other and took it out on each other. They split their two matchups one win each, but both earned Fight of the Night honors. Three years later Varner and I talked about those fights and the accompanying vitriol from Cerrone. "Ignorant people are going to say ignorant [expletive]," he said.
2. Will Michael Page's flashy, hands-down style eventually catch up to him?
Warren: He's a dynamic fighter. He's exciting to watch. MMA is the most unpredictable sport in the world, though. I learned that, getting knocked out by one punch. You can be in the best shape of your life and everything can be going well, but you can get hit on the chin and go out. So, yeah. I think he's going to need to start getting his hands up and protecting his face. I think in the future we'll see a little change in that, but also the same Michael.
Okamoto: There is no doubt in my mind that it will. I'm not saying he has to change. His style jumps off the page in a way you rarely see in this sport. It sets him apart and he'll win enough fights with it. But at some point, he's going to catch one right on the chin and science suggests he's going to go down from it. Of course, that can happen to anybody, but I would say that yes, Page's style invites it a little more than others.
Huang: It always does. Like so many other fighters -- boxers like Prince Naseem (one of the best at it) and current IBF super middleweight champ Carl Froch in particular -- that hands-down style relies on remarkable quickness and speed reaction, because their ability to counter depends on it. That counter can be devastating and you don't know from which direction a jab or hook can come. But as you age and slow down, your head movement and slipping gets slower, too. He's great at it now, but yeah, eventually it'll catch up to him, no question.
3. Should Cung Le's suspension from the UFC stand, based on his concerns over the drug testing methods used in Macau, China?
Warren: I don't know the whole situation but I can say from a personal level that I was on the Olympic wrestling team for several years. I worked with USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) every day. Those guys would come at 7 in the morning, show up at my door and randomly test me every week out of hundreds of people. I know how WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and USADA work and I know they're the best in the business. As far as credibility of a lab, I'm not 100 percent sure how that works. I don't know anything about HGH (human growth hormone). I know about failing marijuana tests. The organization Cung Le fights for usually does the right thing, so I would think you're seeing the right disciplinary action.
Okamoto: Here's the thing on this: UFC intentions were not bad here. More drug testing isn't bad. Unfortunately, its execution was off. And suspending a fighter from making a living for one year, in my mind, has to be treated the same way as convicting someone of a crime. Pretty much everyone has suspicion about Le's physique leading up to that fight and if his suspension is dropped, it doesn't prove necessarily that he's innocent. But for it to hold up, he has to be proven guilty. And I don't think you can prove his guilt based on the test results the UFC has.
Huang: Unless the UFC finds credible evidence for Le that the methods in China are substandard to those they use in the United States, then yes, it should stand. However, it should be noted that Cung Le has had a long, successful and clean career thus far. However, it's not hard to see a fighter at his age, trying to hold on to his career, looking for something to get him back on track.
4. Should UFC welterweight Gunnar Nelson consider dropping down to lightweight?
Warren: I didn't watch Gunnar's fight, but I can answer that personally I've been cutting weight my whole life. My father hated cutting weight. Didn't understand why I would have to do that. But let's be realistic: Once you get to the level of fighting for world championships, making money and executing your job, then it comes to what's competitive. These days, my weight class is 135 pounds. A competitive 135er weighs 160 pounds in the offseason. That's just to be competitive. When I fought Pat Curran (at 145 pounds), I took him down eight times but he was so much bigger than me, he was able to create space and stand up like a big brother would.
Okamoto: Consider it? Absolutely. Does he need to do it in his next fight? I mean, no. He doesn't have to. However long he puts it off, though, to me it's just avoiding the inevitable. Everyone cuts weight at the highest levels of MMA (except some heavies, of course). As Warren mentioned, the biggest difference I think Nelson would see at lightweight is that his grappling would be more effective. Nelson will struggle against the bigger guys at welterweight -- and there are a lot of them up there ranked ahead of him.
Huang: Well, I'm not sure he's going to find that division any easier, though the size advantage would be obvious. We've seen a lot of guys who really benefit from finally realizing the "ideal" weight at which to fight. Tim Boetsch was a plain old org guy until he moved down. Then he got on a little run. Anthony Johnson looks great at 205 (if he ever fights in the UFC again) after trying for years to make middleweight. Maybe for Nelson, the sweet spot's at 155.
5. Who do you favor in a fight between Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw?
Warren: I'm an honorary Alpha Male guy, so I'll always go that way. I think TJ is the best in the world. I trained with him since he first put gloves on. Just like me, he comes from a wrestling background. I definitely pick TJ to win. I think their styles will clash. Both are great strikers and usually that's when you see wrestling become involved. I'm not sure how the fight will look because of all their abilities. You could see a quick fight or a full wrestling match.
Okamoto: Cruz looked amazing in his return against Takeya Mizugaki. It was great to see, but in terms of evaluating him moving forward, I don't think 60 seconds of evidence (as awesome as that evidence was) is enough to say he's completely, 100 percent back. Against Mizugaki, Cruz got the early takedown. He set it up beautifully and powered through it, but Dillashaw is going to be much harder to take down. On the feet, we just didn't see much of Cruz because it ended so quickly. I think it's a very close fight that goes the distance, one that could literally be decided by something like a key takedown late in a round.
Huang: Wow. Cruz really looked like he was totally back in his fight against Mizugaki. It's going to be like watching two hummingbirds fight. They have the same darting, probing style, switching stances, quick sticks, lots of feints. I'll go out on a limb and say Cruz regains his belt.
