For those not familiar with Choi, the man is a total freakshow fighter. He possesses adequate skills in all major areas of MMA, but people are mostly interested in him because he’s so freakishly tall. Choi stands 7’2’’ and weighs in around 320 pounds. In MMA he’s 2-3 and has been fighting for less than four years. Choi’s most famous (more like infamous) moments were a lopsided submission loss to PRIDE FC legend Fedor Emelianenko and a lopsided Submission (due to strikes) win over Jose Canseco. And for those wondering, yes, that’s Jose Canseco the notorious former baseball player.  So Choi has no aversion to the freak-show fight, and I think he’d gladly accept this challenge. But should it happen? And more importantly, where would it happen?

First off, this fight would be a total guilty pleasure and I’d love to see it happen. I’ve always been a fan of freak-show fights as long as they serve their purpose: if the fan interest, marketability, and increased media exposure outweighs the silliness, why not book a freak-show every once in a while? If it doesn’t become a habit, and if the money you make outweighs the criticism you take, then at the end of the day it was a fun fight that didn’t mean much but was still a good spectacle for the fans. MMA’s history is rooted in spectacle. I know that some say that the sport has to completely abandon that part of its history to become fully accepted around the world as a legitimate sport, but do a few freak-show fights scattered here and there really matter in the long run? Aren’t we as loyal followers and proud supporters allowed a guilty pleasure every now and then?

But then the problem is deciding where this fight would take place. O’Neal has been an avid supporter of the UFC, but only the UFC, for the most part. UFC President Dana White has always shown an aversion to booking freak-show fights, and now that James Toney has utterly failed as a Mixed Martial Artist, that stigma has probably been increased tenfold. Japan is a viable option, but most of O’Neal’s fans are American; then again, most of Choi’s fans are Asian. Strikeforce is also a likely candidate, but then it becomes a question of Strikeforce being able to afford Shaq’s services, and whether or not having this fight so relatively soon after giving former football great Herschel Walker a shot in the cage causes Strikeforce to develop the stigma of being a freak-show promotion.

All things considered, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s Shaquille O’Neal, after all. Shaq has no allusions of grandeur and wants to fight someone that’s as much of a freak-show as he himself would be if he ever did step inside of a ring or a cage. It looks pretty unlikely right now, but if the two ever did fight, I’d be watching.

But what about you, fans and friends? Would you pay to see Shaquille O’Neal in an MMA fight against Hong Man Choi?

Marquee lightweight “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) weighed 150.4 pounds and opponent “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4) weighed 153.9 pounds.

MMA legend and Japanese hero “Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakuraba (21-13-1)  weighed 184.1 pounds and rookie opponent Rubin Williams weighed 181.9 pounds.
 
Lightweight “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) weighed 154.1 pounds and “Barracuda” Melchor Manibusan (1-1) weighed 152.6 pounds.

Featherweight Grand Prix contestant Joe Warren (2-0) weighed 138.2 pounds and his semi-final “Flash” Bibiano Fernandes (5-1) weighed 138.2 pounds.

In the other GP semi-final, Hideo Tokoro (19-15-1) weighed 138.5 pounds and “Evil Fist” Hiroyuki Takaya (11-6-1) weighed 138.9 pounds.

In the GP reserve bout, Daiki Hata (2-0-1) 138.5 pounds and Kazuyuki Miyata (4-6) weighed 138.5 pounds.

In the Super Hulk Tournament semi-finals, “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4) weighed 220.5 pounds and his replacement opponent “Beast” Bob Sapp (10-5-1) weighed 341.7 pounds.

Finally, in the other Super Hulk semi-final “Minowaman” Ikuhisa Minowa (40-28-8) weighed 192.9 pounds and Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1) weighed 319.7 pounds.

DREAM.11 will be broadcast on HDNet in North America.

CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights will be the North American broadcast television unveiling of our sport.

“This is more than a spectacular opportunity for Kimbo to be in front of a potential audience of 100-million plus eyeballs,” said EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, also on Thursday.

“I think it sucks,” White concluded.  “Kimbo Slice isn’t a mixed martial arists.  This is a guy who was fighting in your back yard three months ago.  Now he’s headlining on CBS.”

For those behind White, the argument runs: MMA has gone from groin strikes to Unified Rules since UFC 1, from Kevin Rosier (2-6) to “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).  Kimbo Slice erases the last 15 years of the sport’s evolution.

How many years does Brock Lesnar (1-1) erase?  At least 12, back to the beginning of the powerful Hammer House era.

Lesnar headlines the UFC’s August card in Minneapolis versus Hammer House’s original “Hammer” Mark Coleman (15-8).

But, an argument that either Slice or Lesnar is going to convince the mainstream that MMA peaked in 1996 is misguided.

That’s what they already think.

We’re blinded inside the MMA bubble to the reality that Slice and Lesnar still represent what the mainstream thinks MMA is.

A backyard brawler or former pro wrestler sell tickets and PPV buys because that’s still the mainstream expectation of MMA.

Despite the last three years of North America  MMA eruption, the mainstream still considers MMA a blood-thirsty, no-holds-barred duel of brutes.

Few minds will be changed, but continued mainstream ignorance may be encouraged.  There’s still so many to educate about the sport.

Notes From Around MMA

* Last Wednesday on TAGG radio, “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1) became the latest UFC fighter to complain about his compensation, saying, “It’s kind of sad, you know, when the company comes out on the cover of Forbes, and then you definitely just know where all the money is going to. It’s kind of like, ‘What the hell?’”

* TUF 7 cast member Jesse Taylor (6-2) told the North County Times, “”Let’s just say I’m undefeated so far,” about his record on the SpikeTV reality competition show.

* When asked by Eastside Boxing what his most satisfying moment was, “Stitch” Jacob Duran said, “For MMA the most satisfying moment came during the Forrest Griffin/Mauricio Rua fight.  I was working Forrest’s corner during this fight when he received a lightning bolt gash on the center of his forehead.  It was a really bad cut and the fight was close to being stopped.  I managed to get it under control for about four minutes, and Forrest went out and submitted Rua.”  Fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (15-4) thanked Duran with a card and gift certificate to an upscale restaurant.

* “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) is urging UFC President Dana White to make a fight between UFC Welterweight Champion St. Pierre and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4), the top-ranked welterweight and middleweight respectively.  “If Dana can make that fight, I’ll be in the line to buy a ticket,” Silva told Yahoo!Sports.

* “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1) was discharged from the South Korean military two days after reporting for mandatory service.  Officials cited Choi’s brain tumor pressing against his optic nerve as the reason for his dismissal.

With respect to MMA’s classiest act, I disagree.

The UFC’s stranglehold over the top of the sport has ensured the best fighters fight each other.

The best match-up in boxing right now is WBC welterweight titlist Floyd Mayweather, Jr. versus WBA and IBF welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto.

For those not in the boxing know, it ain’t happenin’.

Mayweather is ducking the young bull Cotto for more lucrative, less competitive rematches with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.  Those happen to be match-ups Mayweather is more likely to win.  Hell, he’s already beat them both.

It’s the UFC’s umbrella over the sport that has made sure champions fight contenders, not pretenders who allow champions to hold on to belts maximizing the marketability of their reign.

You see, when free agent fighters and their management pick their opponents, whether in boxing or MMA, they tend towards safe fights.

Exhibit A:  Everyone’s favorite MMA ducker, sixth-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1).

While a showdown with third-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (21-5) has been an option, Emelianenko has picked fights against middleweight “The Law” Matt Lindland (20-5) and kickboxer “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1).

Such is matchmaking when managers and free agent fighters seek to prolong their marketability versus the safest reasonable opponents.

I mean, Lindland and Choi are both world champions, right?  Nevermind that their championships were in a different weight class and sport respectively than Emelianenko.

I’m not advocating for the UFC.  I could care less about which promoter logo is atop a fight card.  It’s the card itself that interests me.  The fact is, the UFC’s centralized organization of the sport has produced the best fights and, by definition, avoided “becoming a fractured sport the way boxing has.”

Notes From Around MMA

* Top Strikeforce lightweight contender “The Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2) maintains “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (23-9) oiled up before their March 2006 title fight, won by Guida by UD.  Thomson claims, “I mentioned it to Clay’s brother one time.  I said, ‘Clay was really slippery in that fight…’  He just looked at me, shrugged, and said, ‘You do what you have to do to win.’  I just thought, ‘Whatever, douche bag.’  But, Clay…I think his career has leveled off.  He got a few big wins, but he’s taken some losses the last couple of years.”

* Couture (16-8) told IGN he’s pursuing a video game deal with EA Sports.  He also claimed, “I don’t care where the fight happens,” in response to a question about fighting sixth-ranked Emelinanenko in the UFC.  Couture had previously expressed his desire not to fight Emelianenko in the UFC.

* UFC middleweight Rob Yundt (6-1), who lost his UFC debut in February to “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-2), will return to the Octagon 21 June on the TUF 7 finale versus one of the TUF contestants.  The UFC won’t reveal Yundt’s opponent to him until that fighter is eliminated on the show.

* The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize and sanction MMA in the state by a vote of 95-2.  The bill is held-up in the Senate by Senators Dewayne Bunch of Cleveland and Bo Watson of Hixson.  The two southeast Tennessee legislators have attached an amendment earmarking the profits from MMA events for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Division I wrestling team.  According to the Nashville Post, the amendment may violate NCAA rules.  Tennesseans are urged to contact their state Senators and urge the passing of the bill next week without the earmarking amendment.

* Fourth-ranked welterweight “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5) and UFC light heavyweight “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-1), both New York state residents, and UFC executive Marc Ratner were lobbying New York state Senators Tuesday to legalize and regulate MMA in the state.  A bill legalizing and regulating the sport in New York has passed the state’s assembly, but is opposed in the senate.

* Canadian kickboxer “Black Sniper” Michael McDonald (1-1), 2002 and 2004 K-1 North American Grand Prix Champion, won a decision over American kickboxer “The Jet” Rick Roufus (1-1) in an MMA bout fought under the radar in Romania last month.

* “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) and “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (1-1) will go head-to-head 31 May in a ratings battle.  SpikeTV will air Ultimate Iceman to compete directly with CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights at 9:00 PM EST.  SpikeTV will air an entire day of UFC programming on 31 May, beginning at 11:00 AM EST.

* Star magazine reported that actress/singer Mandy Moore has a crush on top-ranked welterweight “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).  Moore was in the UFC 83 crowd last month when St. Pierre claimed the UFC welterweight title from Serra (9-5).

* You know it’s a slow MMA news cycle when eighth-ranked lightweight “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-2-1) testing negative for steroids in a Nevada State Athletic Commission test is a headline.  Of course he tested negative!  The headline is if he had tested positive…again.

* As I concluded after the first episode of this season’s The Ultimate Fighter, Jeremy May (5-5) is a douche bag and nothing could’ve made me happier than seeing him get smashed by fellow-Cincinnatian Matt Brown (9-6) last night.

The 7’2″ fighter is best known as a K-1 kickboxing champion, but challenged Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) on New Year’s Eve in Tokyo under MMA rules.  Choi was submitted in an armbar at 1:54 of round one.

Private Choi embarks on four weeks of boot camp before being assigned to non-combat duty due to his “grade-4″ physical status.

Ironically, the world-class athlete isn’t up to military standards.  Though many South Korean celebrities are granted a “grade-4″ to avoid combat duty, Choi was denied a license to fight Brock Lesnar (1-1) in California in 2007 on medical grounds.  Rumors of a benign tumor of the “Goliath’s” pituitary gland have followed him when he’s sought to fight State-side.

Choi won’t enter the ring during the term of his service, but The Korea Times reports his contract with FEG Korea, which owns K-1, “will automatically extend for the amount of time he misses action in K-1 events,” according to FEG Korea head Jeong Yeon-soo.