This Weekend in MMA (American Edition)

Shark Fights 17: Friday, July 15 - Live on HDNET

Jake Rosholt (11-3-0) vs Matt “Suave” Horwich (27-18-1)

Three-time NCAA National Champion Jake Rosholt will enter his sixth fight of 2011 against Matt “Suave” Horwich in the Main Event of Shark Fights 17. The fight is a rematch of a 190-pound catchweight match that ended in a 3^rd round TKO victory for Horwich, a 10^th Planet Jiu-Jitsu fighter.

Rosholt showcased his strengths throughout the first round with strong takedowns and dealt damage from the top position. Horwich took over the fight after the first with a wide array of ground skills, including sweeps off of his back and submission attempts. Eventually, Horwich was able to take the back of a tired and beaten Rosholt and finished him with strikes from the back in the third.

Few athletes entered the sport of MMA with the build-up of Rosholt. Fresh out of Oklahoma State University, Rosholt joined Team Takedown, an MMA management

company that pays high-level wrestlers to train MMA. Rosholt was put into the spotlight early with portions of his fourth pro fight and the training leading up to it airing on Versus as part of the TapouT show. His fifth fight was on the main card of WEC 36, and amid some talk about a TV clause in his contract Rosholt’s UFC debut at Fight Night 17 aired on SpikeTV.

Traveling a much different path through life, Horwich reached the UFC four months before Rosholt but in his 36^th fight. Both fighters, coincidentally, lost their debuts to Dan Miller. Horwich, also known as “The Fighting Hippy,” is the definition of a journeyman in both his life and career. A reformed addict and self-professed lover of God, The Bible and quantum physics, Horwich has fought in the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Bellator, IFL and over a dozen other MMA promotions.

Ricco Suave Rodriguez (46-11-0) vs. Karl Knothe (19-6-0)

Former UFC HW Champion Ricco Rodriguez will fulfill the Suave requirement for the co-Main Event as he takes on Karl Knothe at a 230-pound catchweight. Fighting off the radar, Rodriguez has put together an 11-fight win streak in less than 20 months by taking every fight offered to him. To make that point crystal clear, Ricco is already scheduled to face Seth Petruzelli at Bellator 48 in August.

Karl Knothe will enter the cage sporting a 12-fight win streak that has seen him finish each opponent in the first round. The Minnesota native and former St Cloud State University wrestler boasts a professional record of 19-6, but he told MNMMAnews.com that his true record is 59-6 when including the long list of fights that went unreported. Knothe has a good mix of power in his hands and both the ability and willingness to fight on the ground.

He will need all of those tools to best Ricco Suave. Rodriguez won gold and silver medals at the 1998 ADCC submission fighting championship and took the UFC title from legend Randy Couture in 2002. Since then, Rodriguez has struggled to fit into a proper weight class and has battled addiction to both prescription and illicit drugs. He notably appeared on the first season of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. This will be Ricco’s third straight fight at a catchweight.

MASS – Inauguration 7/16

Jacob “The Hunter” Kirwan (8-2) vs. Jimy “The Kid” Hettes (6-0)

MASS Featherweight Championship

The first ever Martial Arts Super Sport main event will feature two promising American featherweight prospects. Jacob “The Hunter” Kirwan won the Ring of Combat FW Title in February and he’ll have to go through Jimy “The Kid” Hettes if he wants to add another title to his mantle.

UFC matchmaker Joe Silva tapped the undefeated Hettes as a late replacement for Leonard Garcia at The Ultimate Fighter 12 finale, but Hettes was already locked into a fight at Northeast MMA’s Cage Fight 6. A NEPA Gracie fighter, Hettes has submitted all six of his professional opponents and has spent some time training with Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, NM.

If the fight hits the ground, fireworks are sure to follow. Kirwan is a BJJ brown belt under Luke Rinehart and has won five of his eight fights via submission. As a former Maryland high school wrestling champion, Kirwan has a strong grappling pedigree.

The card is being held on July 16^th at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT and will feature Ultimate Fighter veterans Kris “Savage” McCray and Joseph “Leonidas” Henle in separate fights.

Elite-1 MMA – Moncton 7/16

Elite-1 Light Heavyweight Championship

Jeremy “Gumby” Horn (87-21-5) vs Shawn Marchand (8-6)

With 113 fights under his belt, Jeremy Horn is one of the most prolific fighters in MMA history. “Gumby” fought an amazing 21 times in 1999 and has been in the cage with a who’s-who of fighters that include: Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Dan Severn, "Minotauro" Nogueira, Chael Sonnen, Ricardo Arona and Matt Lindland.

Horn will add another fight to his resume this weekend when he battles for the Elite-1 Light Heavyweight Championship against Canadian Shawn Marchand. Horn is a dangerous fighter with great submissions and plenty of experience. He is a UFC veteran and former title challenger.

Marchand is a local fighter that has found a home in Elite-1. He also holds the promotion’s Middleweight Title, although he missed the 185 LB mark in his last fight. In that fight, Marchand had a lot of trouble handling the stand-up of fellow Canadian Joe Doerksen and only lasted 43 seconds after eating several head kicks and right hands. With only one fight on his record that went the distance, you can expect this fight to end well before the final bell.

Stann is the man we want our sons to become. Chael Sonnen is a hero that has fallen from grace

As I sat on my couch on the 4th of July, drinking from a Budweiser can draped in the American flag and watching a man shovel 62 hotdogs into his mouth, I couldn’t help feeling like the personification of everything wrong with America. The Budweiser in my hand, now owned by Belgium based AB-InBev, displayed a false sense of patriotism as I sat motionless reveling in the country’s true national pastime, eating.

American heroes were once heralded for their courage and humility. Now, foul-mouthed celebrities are celebrated and made more famous by every mug shot and inflammatory comment.

Brian Stann is a true American Hero. He is a warrior and an ambassador of martial arts. Stann is the man we want our sons to become. Chael Sonnen is a hero that has fallen from grace. As an aspiring politician, disgraced realtor and felon recently back from a PED suspension, he is a representation of America’s troubled state. And in true WWE fashion good and evil will meet at UFC 136, except this time both men will be draped in the American flag.

Both Stann and Sonnen know full well the responsibility and dedication required to wear the stars and stripes. Stann served in two tours of Iraq and earned a Silver Star for “zealous initiative, courageous actions and exceptional presence of mind." Sonnen, an All-American at the University of Oregon, earned a spot as an alternate on the United States Greco-Roman Wrestling team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Since entering the spotlight, the two men have followed very different paths towards Houston’s Toyota Center. Dana White describes Stann perfectly. “He is on his way to becoming a superstar," White said. "Not only are his skills getting better, everything that comes out of this kid's mouth is a homerun.”

Sonnen, on the other hand, has taken a Dana-like, pro-wrestling inspired approach to the microphone (Sonnen 3:16 says I just mocked your ass). Whether it’s Lance Armstrong or the entire country of Brazil, nobody is safe from his taunts. Both in person and through the twitter account that he has both promoted and denied the existence of, Sonnen is a lightning rod for controversy.

Through ESPN.co.uk, Sonnen recently said, "Wanderlei tells me that he's going to send me to the dentist… I will cut the power to your house and do a home invasion. You will hear me climbing up the stairs in a pair of night vision goggles I bought in the back of 'Solder of Fortune' magazine. The next thing you'll hear is me picking the lock of your bedroom door and taking a photograph of you in bed with the Nogueira brothers working on your jiu-jitsu.”
What Sonnen failed to mention is that Wanderlei was telling Chael to be more respectful of Brazil and that MMA legend Silva spoke to Chael face-to-face, not behind his back or through the media.

In stark contrast, after his UFC 130 TKO of Jorge Santiago, Stann said, “I’d always love to fight Wanderlei. He’s one of my favorite fighters ever. It would be a dream come true. But, if I never have to fight him, then maybe I can just get a picture with him and an autograph. That would be pretty cool.”

If this were the WWE, the fans in Houston would explode when Stann locked up a submission victory and marched from turnbuckle to turnbuckle waving the flag and leading the fans in the familiar chant of “USA! USA! USA!” But MMA is not fake, and Sonnen is the toughest opponent of Stann’s life. The toughest opponent not firing a gun in his direction.