Thursday, July 19, 2007

Kodiak MMAil

Since posting my e-mail address, thekodiak@kodiakmma.com, on the home page a few weeks back, I’ve gotten a surprising amount of e-mail and have decided to answer some of the messages in a new feature, Kodiak MMAil.

(Please note that I made some necessary spelling changes. Some of you should be ashamed of yourselves.)

Kodiak MMA:

You’ve made a few White Castle references, so I assume you’re a fan. What’s the most you’ve ever eaten? Also, what’s up with the f**kin’ clam strips???

Keep up the great work,
Nikos
(Astoria, NY)

First of all, the clam strips are delightful, so watch your mouth.

As for burgers, I remember sitting down in the White Castle in Lynbrook, NY a number of years ago with my brother and we each knocked down 10 cheeseburgers like it was nothing. I also kind of remember handling 15 cheeseburgers with little difficulty, but we’d come from a small social gathering, so my memory is a bit hazy.

Nowadays, I keep it simple: 5-7 cheeseburgers, some fries, chicken rings, and a drink. I usually enjoy White Castle as a snack, but if I were to eat it as a meal, I’m pretty sure that I could put a hurtin’ on 20 cheeseburgers. And fries. And chicken rings.

Dear Kodiak,

If you were a fighter, 1) what music would you come out to, and 2) would you wear the board shorts or those tight spandex things?

Double J
(Bushkill, PA)

As for music, it’s a toss-up between “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine and “Here Comes the Hotstepper” by Ine Kamoze. If you ask me again next week, I’ll probably have a completely different answer, but I’ll go with those for now.

You raise an interesting point with the choice of fight shorts. I happen to have a particularly sweet, perfectly built ass on me, so it’d be a shame to hide it under a loose-fitting board short. Plus, if the “spandex things” are good enough for Fedor, they’re good enough for the Kodiak.

Yo -

Your UFC 72 and 73 picks and breakdown were pretty solid so I want to know what you think about GSP vs. Kos. I hate them both but am wondering who you like in this one.

Hebrew Hammer
(Cedarhurst, NY)

Well, I don’t like to use the term hate. I much prefer loathe.

I like Georges St. Pierre in this one. I’ll almost always root for the more complete, well-rounded mixed martial artist, and GSP is certainly that fighter in this match.

To his credit, Koscheck is a supremely talented wrestler, but he’s never impressed me much in the octagon, especially against Jeff Joslin and Diego Sanchez. St. Pierre, on the other hand, is also a very solid wrestler/grappler and possesses a much more explosive striking arsenal. In fact, I’d say that GSP’s wrestling and takedown defense might prove to be the x-factor in this match.

As long as GSP doesn’t show too much respect for Koscheck’s wrestling (the way Diego did) and mixes up his punches, kicks, and knees, he has a great shot at stopping Koscheck.

Hey,

I was just wondering who your favorite fighter(s) is/are?

B. Siegel
(Chestnut Hill, MA)

Wait a second…Chestnut Hill, MA…B. Siegel…B.C. Eagle…I think we have a Boston College product on our hands! Kenny Florian and I welcome you.

I’ve seen a lot of fighting in my day and actually have two tiers of favorite fighters.

Top Favorites:
Nick Diaz, BJ Penn, Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Karo Parisyan

Other Favorites:
Aleks Emelianenko, Kenny Florian, Anderson Silva, Babalu Sobral, Josh Barnett, Shogun Rua, Luke Cummo, Matt Serra, Nick Serra, Spencer Fisher, Evan Tanner, Joe Stevenson, Frankie Edgar, Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Rampage Jackson, Rob McCullough, Hayato Sakurai, Joachim Hansen, Daniel LoRusso

Dear KodiakMMA.com,

You really think that Diaz vs. Gomi was better than Guida vs.Griffin????

#1 Guida Fan
(Des Plaines, IL)

It was infinitely better. You're free to disagree, but you'd be a moron to do so.

Nick Diaz had been riding a 3-fight losing streak in the UFC and was pretty much brought in to lose to Pride lightweight champ Takanori Gomi. Instead, he outpunched the puncher and finished him with..wait for it...wait for it...a gogoplata! Do you know what that is???

In addition, Diaz took an absolute beating from Gomi in victory. I believe that Gomi broke diaz' cheek bone or something like that.

Yes, Clay Guida vs. Tyson "Don't Call Me Forrest" Griffin was an outstanding fight, but Gomi-Diaz happened on a much more grand scale (translation: Pride). Plus, the bullspit judges' decision for Griffin sullied it a bit for me.

Question for "The Kodiak"...

If you could have Dana White's job for one day, what would you do?

JFC
(Canada)

Simple. I'd resign on his behalf and name myself his permanent replacement. Then I'd go on a long vacation.

Upon returning from my celebratory voyage, I would make the following top priority:
- signing Fedor, Josh Barnett, Matt Lindland, and Denis Kang
- setting up Grand Prix tournaments
- heavily scouting and recruiting international talent
- replacing Bruce Buffer with Reality Fighting announcer Ralph Taliento
- replacing Mike Goldberg with myself
- improving the quality of UFC broadcasts (new graphics, music; locker room interviews; fewer pre-recorded fighter interviews; stuff like that)

Other than that, I happen to think that Dana White does an excellent job.

If you have a question/comment you'd like to share, I'm at thekodiak@kodiakmma.com. Be sure to include a name (any name) and where you're from.

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