On MMA: Where is Carwin’s belt?

The following is a re-print my of my weekly “On MMA” column in The Eagle Tribune

If Saturday’s fight followed precedence, Shane Carwin would be walking around with the UFC heavyweight belt around his waist.

He’s not, but he should be.

And I blame the Nevada State Athletic commission.

Referee Josh Rosenthal called a great fight at UFC 116 last Saturday, not stopping the fight despite a first-round barrage by Carwin that saw 57 punches crash into champion Brock Lesnar’s skull.

Lesnar wasn’t mounting any offense, but he was active in defending himself. There was no reason for the fight to be stopped.

But that’s not what we’ve grown accustomed to with Nevada officials. If the fight were called with the precedence set by nearly every other official under the governing body, Carwin would have taken the fight via first round TKO.

So Carwin got screwed by good officiating. It’s just too bad that good officiating is the anomaly and not the norm.

Other than Herb Dean — the best MMA ref in the business — we’ve been treated to guys like Steve Mazagatti, whose inconsistency and inexcusable lack of knowledge has opened the referee to constant ridicule from MMA fans and even UFC president Dana White.

Other than Dean and Rosenthal, any other official under Nevada’s jurisdiction would have stopped the fight in the first round and awarded Carwin the belt.

“I felt Brock go out a few times,” Carwin told MMAjunkie.com; Carwin was not at the post-fight press conference after being taken to a hospital. “But it is the ref’s job to call the fight, and mine is to finish the fight.”

Of Carwin’s 57 landed punches in round one, 47 came on the ground after he dropped Lesnar with a strong uppercut.

“[Rosenthal] did come to me before the fight and said to me, ‘Heaven forbid, if the fight gets ugly and somebody’s getting in a bad situation, you have to show me something that you’re still staying alive down there,’” Lesnar said. “That just kept going through my mind. ‘I’ve got to keep moving.’ I could feel Shane. Every punch was less and less and less and less. I knew that the worst was done.
“I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing go on.”

Even White, whose dislike for referees has become notorious, praised Rosenthal for his decision to let the fight continue.

“When the fight was first starting, I looked at [UFC CEO] Lorenzo [Feritta], and you guys know how critical I am about this stuff,” White said. “I said, ‘How the hell did Josh Rosenthal get this fight?’

“Listen, I don’t know Herb Dean. I’ve probably said five words to Herb Dean in my entire life. I just think that Herb Dean is the greatest ref in the history of the world. When guys are in there, I wish Herb was in every fight. But I want to say Josh Rosenthal did a fantastic job, and I apologize for badmouthing him before he did nothing wrong.”

Rosenthal did nothing wrong, and therein lies the problem.

Santiago to turn pro

Lawrence’s Will Santiago will turn pro with his next fight, most likely in October, after three impressive finishes in his amateur career.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “We’re working real hard. My trainers are really pushing me and this is something I want to do.”

Santiago, whose first training came in boxing, has finished two opponents with strikes and another with a choke. On top of working a regular job, he trains around four hours a day, six days a week.

“It’s very rewarding knowing that I’m getting better every day,” Santiago said. “I see so much improvement from my first fight to my third and just training every day, I can feel myself getting better and that’s all because of what my trainers have done with me.

He continued, “I go to sleep tired and I wake up tired. But that’s those are the sacrifices you have to make if you want to have success.”

Santiago says he’d like to try out for The Ultimate Fighter down the road, a reality series put together by the UFC. The Ultimate Fighter has launched the careers of Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, among others.

But before Santiago and make a pitch for the show, he needs two professional fights on his record.

“Once I get the two pro fights, I want to put a DVD together and send it out to Las Vegas,” he said. “Hopefully I can get a tryout and then it’s up to me.”

Santiago trains at the Intenze MMA Academy in Lawrence under the direction of Jose Madera. Jose Martinez is his boxing coach while Luis Garcia, Brian Caldwell and Sobhan Namvar handle other aspects of his game. A slew of locals train at Intenze, including Calvin Kattar (Methuen) and Tyson Akl (Salem).

“We’re working on everything,” Santiago said. “You can’t go into a fight with just one thing to offer. You can’t just box or you can’t just wrestle. To be successful, you need to be able to do a lot and I’ve been getting great training.”

Derry’s Moreau targeted for The Rock

Combat Zone 34 is slated for Aug. 13 at Rockingham Park and Derry’s Thomas Moreau is rumored to be targeted for the main event.

Moreau has been training with Team Valor in Derry and has won several judo championships across the state training with the Derry Judo Club.
He is one of the top contenders in the 170-pound division, winning his last three fights, including a win over Don Carlo-Clauss, who upset Kattar with a controversial decision at a February XCFL event. Moreau beat Carlo-Clauss by decision at World Championship Fighting 7 last June.