What's up guys, here are my picks for UFC 125!! Since ION is airing a bunch of the prelims I'll just fire off a bunch of quick picks versus my usual longer discussion of fewer fights.
Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares: If Baroni wants to win this fight he'll have to do so some time in the 1st round. I commend Baroni's attempts to revitalize his career by spending time in Thailand, but his gas tank has been and probably always will be his weakness. Tavares is younger and likely a little more well-rounded. I'll take Tavares by UD.
Josh Grispi vs. Dustin Poirier: This is Grispi's fight to lose as he is being groomed for his eventual title shot against Jose Aldo. I haven't seen Poirier fight so it's tough for me to make a fair assessment, but Grispi has a lot of tools to win and I think he'll continue his string of submission victories.
Marcus Davis vs. Jeremy Stephens: I've been reading a lot of predicitions on the web and I'm surprised as to how few people are picking Davis to win. Stephens has balls out power, but Davis packs quite a punch himself and it much more technically sound in my opinion, and we that Stephens can fall victim to technique in the fight with Guillard. This will be Davis's first fight at 155, so the cut could drain him, but I'm taking Davis by UD.
Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida: This is the fight I'm having the most trouble picking a winner for. Gomi has tons of power in his hands and also has good wrestling. Guida will be the better wrestler, but his short reach really limits his striking. I'm leaning to wards Guida as I think takedowns and GnP will play a difference, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Gomi pull out the win.
Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim: This is a tough tough fight for Diaz and will be his first real test against a 170 fighter who plays right into his weakness. Diaz has trouble guys who can take him down and utilize smothering top control, and that exactly what Kim loves to do. Diaz's striking has come a long way since his UFC debut, and he's always dangerous with submission, but I think Kim will be too strong for Diaz to shake off the top. I'm taking Kim by UD.
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera: Pretty funny how had this fight occurred a year or two ago it could have been for a title shot, but now it could be for jobs. Both men are dangerous strikers, but Vera has seemed to lose his edge and is hesitant to pull the trigger. Silva can be a force, but injuries have hampered him in the past and who knows if he is fully recovered. Both men are so-so on the mat, but Silva's GnP is just vicious. I'll take Silva via TKO just because I think Vera is a bust.
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann: So Leben asks for Wanderlei Silva and gets Brian Stann. I'm not too excited for this fight as I was hoping to see Leben take some leaps in competition, and I think this is Leben's fight to lose. Both men prefer to keep fights standing, and while Leben will take some damage, his granite chin will keep him upright. Stann has been dropped and finished before and if he trades with Leben enough it'll happen again. I'll take Leben via UD or late TKO.
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard: As much as I hate to say it, I don't see this fight going much differently than the first one. Edgar has definitely progressed more as a fighter, but Maynard's strength and wrestling are just extremely difficult to deal with. Edgar could shock the would once again and pepper Maynard with shots as he did with Sherk and Penn, but I look for the Bully to continually take Edgar down and grind out one of his typical decision wins.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
UFC 124 Post Fight Thoughts
Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett: Billy and I talked about this fight a little a few months ago when we tried to tape a conversation, and I picked Bocek from the start. Hazelett is flashy on the ground and can catch less talented fighters, but Bocek is much more technically sound. What we saw Saturday was a guy who uses his flashy rubber guard get easily subbed by a guy with sound fundamentals. Bocek calling Sotiropoulos out was weird since he's slated to face Siver in Australia, so I'd give Bocek Oliveira or a rematch with Jim Miller.
Thiago Alves vs. John Howard: Basically and very talented muay thai fighter versus a mediocre muay thai fighter. Alves looked like he was in amazing shape thanks to the Dolce diet and put on one of the best performances of his career. Howard isn't going to be much more then a mid level guy so he can get a new fighter to the UFC to bounce back. As for Alves I say give him another stand up fight and put him in the cage with Dan Hardy.
Mac Danzig vs. Joe Stevenson: Wow who saw that coming? I still want to see both guys go down to 145, but I imagine they'll both stick around at 155. Joe Stevenson vs. Tyson Griffin makes sense as they're both on losing skids but are fairly popular fighters. I'd like to see Danzig take on Terry Etim to see if he's truly turned his career around.
Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira: I picked Miller to win, but I certainly did believe that he would tap the young black belt prospect so quickly. Oliveira really impressed me with his off the back offense, but I think he severely underestimated Miller's ground game and thought he'd be able to cruise to an easy win. Big win for Miller and a title shot could be within his grasp if he can manage one more big win against someone like Sean Sherk.
Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle: I could have cared less about this fight. Big tall guy beats up gassed out tall guy. The end.
GSP vs. Josh Koscheck: Holy ass beating Batman. I know people have been giving GSP crap for being too boring and relying on his wrestling too much, but seriously, when did anyone ever think that Koscheck was a better boxer. Koscheck's stand up is mediocre at best thanks to his leaping jabs and predictable overhand right. GSP was a stellar kickboxer to begin with and his time with Freddie Roach has obviously helped his overall game as evidenced by the jab that literally broke Koscheck's face. Aside from Jake Shields GSP has cleaned out the division and I don't think Shields really offers anything that GSP can't handle, especially looking back on the beating GSP put on Jon Fitch (yes I think Fitch is better). Koscheck has a broken orbital bone so he'll be out for awhile, and after GSP embarrasses Shields I think it'll be time for him to make the move to 185.
Thiago Alves vs. John Howard: Basically and very talented muay thai fighter versus a mediocre muay thai fighter. Alves looked like he was in amazing shape thanks to the Dolce diet and put on one of the best performances of his career. Howard isn't going to be much more then a mid level guy so he can get a new fighter to the UFC to bounce back. As for Alves I say give him another stand up fight and put him in the cage with Dan Hardy.
Mac Danzig vs. Joe Stevenson: Wow who saw that coming? I still want to see both guys go down to 145, but I imagine they'll both stick around at 155. Joe Stevenson vs. Tyson Griffin makes sense as they're both on losing skids but are fairly popular fighters. I'd like to see Danzig take on Terry Etim to see if he's truly turned his career around.
Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira: I picked Miller to win, but I certainly did believe that he would tap the young black belt prospect so quickly. Oliveira really impressed me with his off the back offense, but I think he severely underestimated Miller's ground game and thought he'd be able to cruise to an easy win. Big win for Miller and a title shot could be within his grasp if he can manage one more big win against someone like Sean Sherk.
Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle: I could have cared less about this fight. Big tall guy beats up gassed out tall guy. The end.
GSP vs. Josh Koscheck: Holy ass beating Batman. I know people have been giving GSP crap for being too boring and relying on his wrestling too much, but seriously, when did anyone ever think that Koscheck was a better boxer. Koscheck's stand up is mediocre at best thanks to his leaping jabs and predictable overhand right. GSP was a stellar kickboxer to begin with and his time with Freddie Roach has obviously helped his overall game as evidenced by the jab that literally broke Koscheck's face. Aside from Jake Shields GSP has cleaned out the division and I don't think Shields really offers anything that GSP can't handle, especially looking back on the beating GSP put on Jon Fitch (yes I think Fitch is better). Koscheck has a broken orbital bone so he'll be out for awhile, and after GSP embarrasses Shields I think it'll be time for him to make the move to 185.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
UFC 124 Picks
Aside from the main event and maybe the Jim Miller/Charles Oliveira fight I'm not terribly excited about this fight card, but I'll do my usual picks for the show.
Mac Danzig vs. Joe Stevenson: This is the battle of two Ultimate Fighter winners who are fighting for relevance in a stacked UFC 155 division. In all honesty, both of these fighters could likely make 145, a move that wouldn't hurt either fighter with the UFC and WEC merging. Stevenson hasn't fought since his loss to Sotiropoulos and Danzig's most recent fight ended in a controversial technical submission loss to Matt Wiman. I look for Stevenson to use his size and strength advantage to take Danzig down and wear him out. I'm taking Stevenson by late TKO or unanimous decision which will either lead to Danzig's dismissal or move to 145.
Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira: Part of me is very excited for this fight considering how talented both men are, but part of me is also disappointed that more time wasn't spent building Oliveira up. Miller is coming off an impressive win over Gleison Tibau and Oliveira submitted Efrain Escudero the same night. Oliveira is an extremely talented grappler but I don't think he is as well-rounded as Miller nor do I think he has faced the level of competition that Miller has faced. Miller's experience and all around skill set are going to be the difference in this fight, so I'm taking him to win via unanimous decision.
Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve: Hard for me to call this fight considering McCorkle's only UFC fight was a quick submission victory over Mark Hunt. Struve is 4-2 is the UFC with those losses coming to top contenders Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson. McCorkle will be the much stronger fighter, but I think Struve's length and ability to take a beating will be the difference maker. Morecraft and Buentello really beat up on Struve and he still came out with victories, and that's what I think will happen here. Struve will be on the receiving end of a beatdown from McCorkle but will eventually pull one of his tricks out when McCorkle gets careless or tired.
Thiago Alves vs. John Howard: While this fight has the potential to be pretty exciting, it doesn't make much sense to me considering how it's a major step up for Howard when he's coming off a loss and it's a pretty major step down for Alves after fighting GSP and Fitch. Both men like to stand and trade, but Howard also has some good takedowns and top control. While Howard can take Alves down, Alves will certainly be the better striker and, despite what we saw in the last fight with Fitch, has some good takedown defense. I look for this fight to be pretty back and forth to start with Howard scoring a takedown, but eventually getting finished on the feet when he gets baited into an exchange with the Pitbull.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck: While Koscheck certainly holds some big power in his hands and is a decorated collegiate wrestler, I'm still struggling to think of a way he wins this fight. GSP is a much better MMA wrestler in that he's always looking to improve his position, he's active with ground and pound and submissions, and his takedowns and takedown defense are second to none. While Koscheck may have more power in his strikes, he's not nearly as crisp or technical as GSP and I can only imagine that GSP has gotten better since their first fight as he has spent more time at Tristar and Jackson's as well as with Freddie Roach. That being said, I don't see GSP losing this fight or even ending up in trouble at anytime. GSP has already beaten Koscheck once and since then GSP has beaten a better striker (Alves) and a better wrestler(Fitch), so I look for GSP to take a commanding win either by late stoppage or one-sided decision.
As always follow me on Twitter @JustinCohee and listen to me on the Tom Van Stone Show on wrestleview.com. Thanks and enjoy the fights!
Mac Danzig vs. Joe Stevenson: This is the battle of two Ultimate Fighter winners who are fighting for relevance in a stacked UFC 155 division. In all honesty, both of these fighters could likely make 145, a move that wouldn't hurt either fighter with the UFC and WEC merging. Stevenson hasn't fought since his loss to Sotiropoulos and Danzig's most recent fight ended in a controversial technical submission loss to Matt Wiman. I look for Stevenson to use his size and strength advantage to take Danzig down and wear him out. I'm taking Stevenson by late TKO or unanimous decision which will either lead to Danzig's dismissal or move to 145.
Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira: Part of me is very excited for this fight considering how talented both men are, but part of me is also disappointed that more time wasn't spent building Oliveira up. Miller is coming off an impressive win over Gleison Tibau and Oliveira submitted Efrain Escudero the same night. Oliveira is an extremely talented grappler but I don't think he is as well-rounded as Miller nor do I think he has faced the level of competition that Miller has faced. Miller's experience and all around skill set are going to be the difference in this fight, so I'm taking him to win via unanimous decision.
Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve: Hard for me to call this fight considering McCorkle's only UFC fight was a quick submission victory over Mark Hunt. Struve is 4-2 is the UFC with those losses coming to top contenders Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson. McCorkle will be the much stronger fighter, but I think Struve's length and ability to take a beating will be the difference maker. Morecraft and Buentello really beat up on Struve and he still came out with victories, and that's what I think will happen here. Struve will be on the receiving end of a beatdown from McCorkle but will eventually pull one of his tricks out when McCorkle gets careless or tired.
Thiago Alves vs. John Howard: While this fight has the potential to be pretty exciting, it doesn't make much sense to me considering how it's a major step up for Howard when he's coming off a loss and it's a pretty major step down for Alves after fighting GSP and Fitch. Both men like to stand and trade, but Howard also has some good takedowns and top control. While Howard can take Alves down, Alves will certainly be the better striker and, despite what we saw in the last fight with Fitch, has some good takedown defense. I look for this fight to be pretty back and forth to start with Howard scoring a takedown, but eventually getting finished on the feet when he gets baited into an exchange with the Pitbull.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck: While Koscheck certainly holds some big power in his hands and is a decorated collegiate wrestler, I'm still struggling to think of a way he wins this fight. GSP is a much better MMA wrestler in that he's always looking to improve his position, he's active with ground and pound and submissions, and his takedowns and takedown defense are second to none. While Koscheck may have more power in his strikes, he's not nearly as crisp or technical as GSP and I can only imagine that GSP has gotten better since their first fight as he has spent more time at Tristar and Jackson's as well as with Freddie Roach. That being said, I don't see GSP losing this fight or even ending up in trouble at anytime. GSP has already beaten Koscheck once and since then GSP has beaten a better striker (Alves) and a better wrestler(Fitch), so I look for GSP to take a commanding win either by late stoppage or one-sided decision.
As always follow me on Twitter @JustinCohee and listen to me on the Tom Van Stone Show on wrestleview.com. Thanks and enjoy the fights!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Picks For This Weekend's UFC & Strikeforce Events
This coming Saturday, we will not only see a new Ultimate fighter crowned, but we will also see a solid card from Strikeforce. I didn't watch to much of the Ultimate Fighter this season, but I'll do my best to make some intelligent choices. Lets get right to the picks.
UFC Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan: I'm glad to see Phan going back down to 145 as he was pretty undersized at 155. This may be Phan's first UFC fight, but he has a lot of experience and has fought for K-1, Strikeforce, and Sengoku. Garcia is heavy handed and usually goes for broke and throws haymakers. Phan showed on TUF that he has some pretty crisp striking, and if he can avoid the winging punches of Garcia, I think he'll take a close decision as Garcia will gas himself out.
Rick Story vs. Johny Hendricks: I think this has fight of the night written all over it. Both fighters are up and comers in the welterweight division and are looking to get some big tme exposure and possibly a main card spot on a big PPV. Both have good wrestling, but Hendricks will likely have the advantage in that department. I would say that Story might have slightly better striking, but Hendricks has a lot of power. Story is very capable with submissions, though, something I'm not sure Hendricks is well-versed in at this early stage of his career. Bit of a coin flip, but I'm going with Story. Hendricks could very well put a beating on Story with his big big power, but I just think Story's tenacity will win out.
Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia: While this seems like an easy pick, an upset in Grove's favor is not out of the realm of possibility. Maia's striking has improved significantly, but Grove will not only have a striking advantage, he will also have a significant reach advantage. Maia is a BJJ ace and has great takedowns as well. In order to win this fight Maia may have to absorb a few shots to get close to Grove and get him to the mat. Even then, Grove is a talented grappler in his own right and could be a threat should the fight go to the ground, even on his back. I'm a big Maia fan, and think his BJJ is just too good for him to not win this fight. Grove could certainly make it interesting, but I don't think it'll be enough to stop Maia from winning via late submission or decision.
Jonathan Brookins vs. Michael Johnson: As I stated earlier, I didn't watch enough of this season of tough to get a good feel for these guys. From what I've seen, though, Brookins is a strong grappler and Johnson is more of a straight wrestler. The only fight I've seen with either guy is Brookins's loss to Jose Aldo. Given that Brookins has fought at 145, I'm thinking Johnson will be the bigger fighter. No idea who to pick here, so I'm just going to say Johnson by decision.
Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac: I'm not entirely sure why this is headlining the show given that Pokrajac is relatively unknown in the UFC and Bonnar only has one win in his past 4 fights. Bonnar rarely has a boring fight, though, so maybe UFC officials think this fight will end up be more exciting than the potential grapple fest that Maia/Grove could end up being. Pokrajac lost his first two fights in the UFC before submitting James Irvin at UFC on VS 2 in an impressive showing. Both men are pretty well-rounded, but Bonnar is a UFC veteran who has faced tougher competition over his career. I'm taking Bonnar by decision in a fight that will likely see Pokrajac get his walking papers.
Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu
Benji Radach vs. Ovince St. Preux: Tough fight for me to call since I've never seen St. Preux fight, but I do know he recently won at a Challengers event over Antwain Britt, and has an 8 second KO over UFC veteran Jason Day. Radach hasn't fought since he lost to Scott Smith back in April of 2009. Radach has some good striking and big power, but he's coming back from a lot of injuries and is taking this fight on short notice. I'm going with St. Preux, just because I don't think he's facing a 100% Razor.
Mike Kyle vs. Antonio Silva: Kyle is a late replacement for Valentijn Overeem and is stepping into a real tough fight. Kyle is undefeated in his last 6 fights, but has most recently fought at 205 pounds. Silva is coming off of a big win over Andrei Arlovski and even his most recent loss to Fabricio Werdum was an impressive showing. Given that Kyle is taking a fight on this short of notice against a bigger, more talented opponent, I can't see this fight ending any other way than with a TKO in Silva's favor.
Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Lindland: This is a test for both men to see if they can stay relevant in the fight game. Lawler is 2-2 in his last four fights with wins over Scott Smith and Melvin Manhoef and losses to Jake Shields and Babalu. Lindland recently broke a 2 fight losing streak with a win over Kevin Casey at a Challengers event. Lindland will be the better wrestler by far, but Lawler possesses big power in his hands, and Lindland's chin is certainly a factor. I'm taking Lawler as I think he'll be able to defend the takedown and will eventually connect on Lindland and knock him out.
Paul Daley vs. Scott Smith: This fight has huge potential to result in fireworks and a highlight reel KO. Smith has a habit of getting beat up before pulling a win out of nowhere, but I don't think it'll happen here. Daley strikes are just too hard to withstand for an extended period of time. I think Smith is extremely tough, but a fighter who takes as much punishment as he does will not likely last long with a striker as technical and powerful as Daley. I'm taking Daley by KO.
Dan Henderson vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral: This is a rematch from a 2000 Rings bout that saw Henderson walk away with the win via a majority decision. Henderson brings heavy hands and stellar wrestling to this fight while Babalu brings a more varied striking approach with high level BJJ and submission skills. Henderson didn't look great in his last fight against Jake Shields, but stated his poor peformance was due to a difficult weight cut as a result of pain killers. Henderson now returns to 205 and shouldn't have much trouble making a cut this time around. Babalu most recently defeated Robbie Lawler in what was mostly a kickboxing match. I was hoping Babalu was stick around at 185, but maybe he'll return after this fight. I'm having a tough time picking a winner here as Henderson could land a bomb of a right hand or he could grind out an ugly decision with takedowns and top control. Babalu could keep it safe on the feet with quick punches and kicks or could very well catch Hendo in a submission. I'm hoping for a Babalu win, but I think Henderson will be too strong and will grind out a decision win.
UFC Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan: I'm glad to see Phan going back down to 145 as he was pretty undersized at 155. This may be Phan's first UFC fight, but he has a lot of experience and has fought for K-1, Strikeforce, and Sengoku. Garcia is heavy handed and usually goes for broke and throws haymakers. Phan showed on TUF that he has some pretty crisp striking, and if he can avoid the winging punches of Garcia, I think he'll take a close decision as Garcia will gas himself out.
Rick Story vs. Johny Hendricks: I think this has fight of the night written all over it. Both fighters are up and comers in the welterweight division and are looking to get some big tme exposure and possibly a main card spot on a big PPV. Both have good wrestling, but Hendricks will likely have the advantage in that department. I would say that Story might have slightly better striking, but Hendricks has a lot of power. Story is very capable with submissions, though, something I'm not sure Hendricks is well-versed in at this early stage of his career. Bit of a coin flip, but I'm going with Story. Hendricks could very well put a beating on Story with his big big power, but I just think Story's tenacity will win out.
Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia: While this seems like an easy pick, an upset in Grove's favor is not out of the realm of possibility. Maia's striking has improved significantly, but Grove will not only have a striking advantage, he will also have a significant reach advantage. Maia is a BJJ ace and has great takedowns as well. In order to win this fight Maia may have to absorb a few shots to get close to Grove and get him to the mat. Even then, Grove is a talented grappler in his own right and could be a threat should the fight go to the ground, even on his back. I'm a big Maia fan, and think his BJJ is just too good for him to not win this fight. Grove could certainly make it interesting, but I don't think it'll be enough to stop Maia from winning via late submission or decision.
Jonathan Brookins vs. Michael Johnson: As I stated earlier, I didn't watch enough of this season of tough to get a good feel for these guys. From what I've seen, though, Brookins is a strong grappler and Johnson is more of a straight wrestler. The only fight I've seen with either guy is Brookins's loss to Jose Aldo. Given that Brookins has fought at 145, I'm thinking Johnson will be the bigger fighter. No idea who to pick here, so I'm just going to say Johnson by decision.
Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac: I'm not entirely sure why this is headlining the show given that Pokrajac is relatively unknown in the UFC and Bonnar only has one win in his past 4 fights. Bonnar rarely has a boring fight, though, so maybe UFC officials think this fight will end up be more exciting than the potential grapple fest that Maia/Grove could end up being. Pokrajac lost his first two fights in the UFC before submitting James Irvin at UFC on VS 2 in an impressive showing. Both men are pretty well-rounded, but Bonnar is a UFC veteran who has faced tougher competition over his career. I'm taking Bonnar by decision in a fight that will likely see Pokrajac get his walking papers.
Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu
Benji Radach vs. Ovince St. Preux: Tough fight for me to call since I've never seen St. Preux fight, but I do know he recently won at a Challengers event over Antwain Britt, and has an 8 second KO over UFC veteran Jason Day. Radach hasn't fought since he lost to Scott Smith back in April of 2009. Radach has some good striking and big power, but he's coming back from a lot of injuries and is taking this fight on short notice. I'm going with St. Preux, just because I don't think he's facing a 100% Razor.
Mike Kyle vs. Antonio Silva: Kyle is a late replacement for Valentijn Overeem and is stepping into a real tough fight. Kyle is undefeated in his last 6 fights, but has most recently fought at 205 pounds. Silva is coming off of a big win over Andrei Arlovski and even his most recent loss to Fabricio Werdum was an impressive showing. Given that Kyle is taking a fight on this short of notice against a bigger, more talented opponent, I can't see this fight ending any other way than with a TKO in Silva's favor.
Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Lindland: This is a test for both men to see if they can stay relevant in the fight game. Lawler is 2-2 in his last four fights with wins over Scott Smith and Melvin Manhoef and losses to Jake Shields and Babalu. Lindland recently broke a 2 fight losing streak with a win over Kevin Casey at a Challengers event. Lindland will be the better wrestler by far, but Lawler possesses big power in his hands, and Lindland's chin is certainly a factor. I'm taking Lawler as I think he'll be able to defend the takedown and will eventually connect on Lindland and knock him out.
Paul Daley vs. Scott Smith: This fight has huge potential to result in fireworks and a highlight reel KO. Smith has a habit of getting beat up before pulling a win out of nowhere, but I don't think it'll happen here. Daley strikes are just too hard to withstand for an extended period of time. I think Smith is extremely tough, but a fighter who takes as much punishment as he does will not likely last long with a striker as technical and powerful as Daley. I'm taking Daley by KO.
Dan Henderson vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral: This is a rematch from a 2000 Rings bout that saw Henderson walk away with the win via a majority decision. Henderson brings heavy hands and stellar wrestling to this fight while Babalu brings a more varied striking approach with high level BJJ and submission skills. Henderson didn't look great in his last fight against Jake Shields, but stated his poor peformance was due to a difficult weight cut as a result of pain killers. Henderson now returns to 205 and shouldn't have much trouble making a cut this time around. Babalu most recently defeated Robbie Lawler in what was mostly a kickboxing match. I was hoping Babalu was stick around at 185, but maybe he'll return after this fight. I'm having a tough time picking a winner here as Henderson could land a bomb of a right hand or he could grind out an ugly decision with takedowns and top control. Babalu could keep it safe on the feet with quick punches and kicks or could very well catch Hendo in a submission. I'm hoping for a Babalu win, but I think Henderson will be too strong and will grind out a decision win.
Monday, November 22, 2010
UFC 123: Post Fight Thoughts
Well my friends UFC 123 has come and gone, and I have to say that after a disappointing UFC 122 event, the UFC bounced back nicely.
Paul Kelly/TJ O'Brien: After using his reach effectively in the first, O'Brien eventually folded to Kelly's pressure and was finished in the 2nd round when he couldn't escape punches and elbows from the crucifix position. Kelly continues to be a tough guy at 155 and really showed some great heart after getting beat up a bit in the first. I'd like to see him take on fellow Brit Terry Etim while O'Brien could get a fellow newcomer to the UFC.
Edson Barboza/Mike Lullo: This was the first time I had seen Barboza fight, and man was I impressed. Lullo had his moments and even showed some pretty decent rubber guard, but he had nothing for Barboza's brutal leg kicks. Some people are comparing Barboza to Jose Aldo, but I'm going to save those kind of comparisons for when I see him fight a little more. For a future match-up Lullo could take on TJ O'Brien in a winner keeps their job match. For Barboza, I think he needs to be brought up slowly, so fights with Aaron Riley or Paul Taylor could be ways to go.
Dennis Hallman/Karo Parisyan: Not much to report with this fight. Hallman quickly knocked down a clearly out of shape Parisyan early in the first and finished him with hammer fists. Big Tan Dan may have been a little quick with the stoppage, but I don't see how Parisyan would have done anything more than take more unanswered fists to the face. Dana White has already stated that Karo is done with the UFC and I think that's a smart move. Until Karo can get his shit together and get in shape he's not going to be able to compete against UFC caliber fighters. As for Hallman, I like the idea of a third fight with Hughes, but it doesn't seem like the UFC agrees. If not Hughes I say match up Hallman with Jake Ellenberger makes sense as both are on winning streaks and Ellenberger is without an opponent due to last minute changes.
Mark Munoz/Aaron Simpson: This fight was a little sloppy at times, but it was a good scrap to open up the show on Spike. Both men are heavy handed and threw caution to the wind on multiple occasions. The fight was marred by some bad officiating, though, as the ring official called for a horrendous stand up and allowed Simpson to recover from an eye poke that was simply a punch to the face (much like Sakara v. Irvin). Munoz eventually went on to win a unanimous decision in a super close fight that I'm shocked wasn't a split decision in the end. For Munoz, I say give him CB Dollaway while Simpson should get Nick Catone or Gerald Harris.
Brian Foster/Matt Brown: I am quickly becoming a Brian Foster fan. Despite the fact that he has lost some fights to guys like Rick Story and Chris Lytle, the guy is still extremely dangerous on the feet and on the mat. Foster really showed some great ground and pound and had some nice grappling transitions with Brown as well. Unfortunately for Brown, though, he left his head out for the taking for a split second and Foster was able to snag the quick guillotine. I'd love to see Foster get in the cage with Rory MacDonald, the fighter he replaced in this fight. For Brown, he very well could be cut, but if he is given another shot I say a fight with John Hathaway or Matt Riddle makes sense.
George Sotiropoulos/Joe Lauzon: After the first round I really thought Lauzon was going to get the win. His striking looked faster and he was landing the much harder shots. He was also defending the takedown and early submission attempts as well. When the second round started, however, Lauzon was noticeably tired and that's when Sotiropoulos took over. Joe Rogan really nailed it on the head when he stated that Sotiropoulos has some of the best transitions in MMA. After getting Lauzon to the mat and masterfully moved from guard, to side control, to mount and eventually to North/South, Sotiropoulos finished Lauzon with a kimura, much like he did with George Roop at UFC 101. Lauzon's conditioning really was the difference maker, and unless he improves in that area he very could settle in as a gatekeeper at 155. For Lauzon I think a fight with the loser of Jim Miller/Charles Oliveira would be great. Apparently Sotiropoulos will be getting Dennis Siver next, which seem like a step back in competition. I'd rather see George get the winner of Kenny Florian/Evan Dunham.
Phil Davis/Tim Boetsch: Once again Phil Davis shows why he is one of the hottest up and comers in the UFC. While his striking is still a work in progress, Davis's wrestling and mat awareness are great and fun to watch. Boetsch hung tough and even threatened with a guillotine at one point, but was eventually forced to tap to a modified kimura/hammerlock that is being called the "Mr. Wonderful." Tough loss for Boetsch, but he should get another chance with the UFC. I think a fight with Steve Cantwell or Kyle Kingsbury would make sense. As for Phil Davis, a fight with Matyushenko or Matt Hamill would be a nice step up for competition without rushing Davis too far too fast.
Gerald Harris/Maiquel Falcao: Harris might have lost a decision, but he really lost the fight in the first round. The round looked as if it going to be a feeling out affair until Falcao blasted Harris with a flurry of punches. Falcao eventually got Harris's back and locked on a RNC, but it looked as if Harris was saved by the bell. Falcao seemed to hold the choke a little longer than he should have as he held it after the bell and had to be pulled off by the referee. It has been reported, though, that the round was called about 6 seconds too early, an additional 6 seconds that Harris would not have lasted considering that he was nearly tapping anyways. The rest of the fight, especially the third round, turned out to be uneventful and Falcao was awarded the decision. I'm a Gerald Harris fan considering how nice he was when he spoke to me and my friends, so I'm a little bummed he lost, but I think he'll be able to rebound nicely. Fights with Tom Lawlor or Alessio Sakara (a fight that was scheduled and then eventually canceled) could be fun while Falcao could be matched up with Brian Stann or Rich Attonito.
BJ Penn/Matt Hughes: Not much to report here as Penn knocked Hughes out cold with strikes just 21 seconds into the fight. A stated earlier, I'd like to see Hughes get Hallman, but if the UFC decides to go another way I think fights with Martin Kampmann or Diego Sanchez would be a lot of fun. Penn has already been matched up with Jon Fitch, and I have to say that I am super excited to see that fight go down.
Lyoto Machida/Rampage Jackson: From what I've been reading over the past couple of days, I've seen a number of varying opinions as to who won this fight. Personally, I gave the fight to Rampage as I thought he won the first two rounds. The third round was clearly all Machida, but I didn't think it was enough to steal the fight. I need to rewatch the first round to be sure, but Rampage's aggressiveness and strikes did more for me than Machida's leg kicks. For Rampage, I say give him the winner of Griffin/Franklin and then you can give Machida the loser.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has been checking out the blog and be sure to listen to me on the Tom Van Stone Show on Wrestleview.com. Listen in, continue to check out the blog, and follow me on Twitter @JustinCohee.
Paul Kelly/TJ O'Brien: After using his reach effectively in the first, O'Brien eventually folded to Kelly's pressure and was finished in the 2nd round when he couldn't escape punches and elbows from the crucifix position. Kelly continues to be a tough guy at 155 and really showed some great heart after getting beat up a bit in the first. I'd like to see him take on fellow Brit Terry Etim while O'Brien could get a fellow newcomer to the UFC.
Edson Barboza/Mike Lullo: This was the first time I had seen Barboza fight, and man was I impressed. Lullo had his moments and even showed some pretty decent rubber guard, but he had nothing for Barboza's brutal leg kicks. Some people are comparing Barboza to Jose Aldo, but I'm going to save those kind of comparisons for when I see him fight a little more. For a future match-up Lullo could take on TJ O'Brien in a winner keeps their job match. For Barboza, I think he needs to be brought up slowly, so fights with Aaron Riley or Paul Taylor could be ways to go.
Dennis Hallman/Karo Parisyan: Not much to report with this fight. Hallman quickly knocked down a clearly out of shape Parisyan early in the first and finished him with hammer fists. Big Tan Dan may have been a little quick with the stoppage, but I don't see how Parisyan would have done anything more than take more unanswered fists to the face. Dana White has already stated that Karo is done with the UFC and I think that's a smart move. Until Karo can get his shit together and get in shape he's not going to be able to compete against UFC caliber fighters. As for Hallman, I like the idea of a third fight with Hughes, but it doesn't seem like the UFC agrees. If not Hughes I say match up Hallman with Jake Ellenberger makes sense as both are on winning streaks and Ellenberger is without an opponent due to last minute changes.
Mark Munoz/Aaron Simpson: This fight was a little sloppy at times, but it was a good scrap to open up the show on Spike. Both men are heavy handed and threw caution to the wind on multiple occasions. The fight was marred by some bad officiating, though, as the ring official called for a horrendous stand up and allowed Simpson to recover from an eye poke that was simply a punch to the face (much like Sakara v. Irvin). Munoz eventually went on to win a unanimous decision in a super close fight that I'm shocked wasn't a split decision in the end. For Munoz, I say give him CB Dollaway while Simpson should get Nick Catone or Gerald Harris.
Brian Foster/Matt Brown: I am quickly becoming a Brian Foster fan. Despite the fact that he has lost some fights to guys like Rick Story and Chris Lytle, the guy is still extremely dangerous on the feet and on the mat. Foster really showed some great ground and pound and had some nice grappling transitions with Brown as well. Unfortunately for Brown, though, he left his head out for the taking for a split second and Foster was able to snag the quick guillotine. I'd love to see Foster get in the cage with Rory MacDonald, the fighter he replaced in this fight. For Brown, he very well could be cut, but if he is given another shot I say a fight with John Hathaway or Matt Riddle makes sense.
George Sotiropoulos/Joe Lauzon: After the first round I really thought Lauzon was going to get the win. His striking looked faster and he was landing the much harder shots. He was also defending the takedown and early submission attempts as well. When the second round started, however, Lauzon was noticeably tired and that's when Sotiropoulos took over. Joe Rogan really nailed it on the head when he stated that Sotiropoulos has some of the best transitions in MMA. After getting Lauzon to the mat and masterfully moved from guard, to side control, to mount and eventually to North/South, Sotiropoulos finished Lauzon with a kimura, much like he did with George Roop at UFC 101. Lauzon's conditioning really was the difference maker, and unless he improves in that area he very could settle in as a gatekeeper at 155. For Lauzon I think a fight with the loser of Jim Miller/Charles Oliveira would be great. Apparently Sotiropoulos will be getting Dennis Siver next, which seem like a step back in competition. I'd rather see George get the winner of Kenny Florian/Evan Dunham.
Phil Davis/Tim Boetsch: Once again Phil Davis shows why he is one of the hottest up and comers in the UFC. While his striking is still a work in progress, Davis's wrestling and mat awareness are great and fun to watch. Boetsch hung tough and even threatened with a guillotine at one point, but was eventually forced to tap to a modified kimura/hammerlock that is being called the "Mr. Wonderful." Tough loss for Boetsch, but he should get another chance with the UFC. I think a fight with Steve Cantwell or Kyle Kingsbury would make sense. As for Phil Davis, a fight with Matyushenko or Matt Hamill would be a nice step up for competition without rushing Davis too far too fast.
Gerald Harris/Maiquel Falcao: Harris might have lost a decision, but he really lost the fight in the first round. The round looked as if it going to be a feeling out affair until Falcao blasted Harris with a flurry of punches. Falcao eventually got Harris's back and locked on a RNC, but it looked as if Harris was saved by the bell. Falcao seemed to hold the choke a little longer than he should have as he held it after the bell and had to be pulled off by the referee. It has been reported, though, that the round was called about 6 seconds too early, an additional 6 seconds that Harris would not have lasted considering that he was nearly tapping anyways. The rest of the fight, especially the third round, turned out to be uneventful and Falcao was awarded the decision. I'm a Gerald Harris fan considering how nice he was when he spoke to me and my friends, so I'm a little bummed he lost, but I think he'll be able to rebound nicely. Fights with Tom Lawlor or Alessio Sakara (a fight that was scheduled and then eventually canceled) could be fun while Falcao could be matched up with Brian Stann or Rich Attonito.
BJ Penn/Matt Hughes: Not much to report here as Penn knocked Hughes out cold with strikes just 21 seconds into the fight. A stated earlier, I'd like to see Hughes get Hallman, but if the UFC decides to go another way I think fights with Martin Kampmann or Diego Sanchez would be a lot of fun. Penn has already been matched up with Jon Fitch, and I have to say that I am super excited to see that fight go down.
Lyoto Machida/Rampage Jackson: From what I've been reading over the past couple of days, I've seen a number of varying opinions as to who won this fight. Personally, I gave the fight to Rampage as I thought he won the first two rounds. The third round was clearly all Machida, but I didn't think it was enough to steal the fight. I need to rewatch the first round to be sure, but Rampage's aggressiveness and strikes did more for me than Machida's leg kicks. For Rampage, I say give him the winner of Griffin/Franklin and then you can give Machida the loser.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has been checking out the blog and be sure to listen to me on the Tom Van Stone Show on Wrestleview.com. Listen in, continue to check out the blog, and follow me on Twitter @JustinCohee.
Friday, November 19, 2010
UFC 123 Predictions
What's up everybody, I know it has been a while but between work, job hunting, etc. the blog has suffered, but I really hope to change that over the coming weeks. A lot has gone on during my little absence, particularly the merger of the UFC and WEC. I plan on writing a little something about it, especially some fantasy match-ups I'd like to see. For now, though, I'm just going to do some quick predictions for the fights this weekend.
Also, I'm going to be doing some guest spots on Thomas Van Stone's Internet radio show on Wrestleview.com. The site is primarily directed towards pro-wrestling, but the radio shows covering everything from pro-wrestling to MMA as well as other sports and even politics. Only VIP members of the site can listen, but at only $4.99 a month it's not a bad deal at all and you'll get to hear MMA talk from yours truly. Anyways on to my predictions.
Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Falcao: Since joining the UFC, Harris has gone 3-0 against highly touted UFC newcomers, and on Saturday night Harris gets his fourth prospect. I have not seen Falcao fight, but from what I've read he's a Chute Boxe member with 21 knockouts in 25 career wins. Falcao seems to be a quick starter as most of his wins come early in the first round. If Falcao wants to win here he'll need get that early finish, because a longer fight favors Harris greatly and he'll be able to use his wrestling, slams, and ground and pound to out work Falcao. Falcao could come out and bull rush Harris, but I'm taking the guy with more octagon experience. I'll take Harris via 2nd or 3rd round TKO.
Tim Boetsch vs. Phil Davis: Both men have wrestling backgrounds, but Davis has All-American caliber wrestling from his time spent at Penn State, while Boetsch has turned into more of a brawler. Boetsch will likely be the better striker as that is an area that Davis is still working on, but unless Boetsch catches Davis, I don't see how he can win this fight. I look for Davis to take Boetsch down, work top control and GnP, and maybe even try to sneak in a submission. Boetsch is a tough fighter, but it won't be enough to stop Davis from finishing him in the 3rd or taking a commanding decision.
Joe Lauzon vs. George Sotiropoulos: I love this fight, as it's not only a great match-up, but it could also have some title shot implications. Both fighters are coming off big wins as Lauzon ripped through Gabe Ruedigger in the most dominant win of his career and Sotiropoulos has gone 6-0 since joining the UFC and holds wins over Joe Stevenson and Kurt Pellegrino. Lauzon has good striking to go with great takedowns and a smooth ground game. Sotiropoulos has boxing experience and also has some super slick BJJ thanks to his time spent at 10th Planet with Eddie Bravo. Sotiropoulos will be the bigger fighter and I think that will make a difference in this fight. Sotiropoulos can hold his own on the feet and should the fight hit the mat Sotiropoulos has some of the best transitions I've seen, and he's great off his back. Lauzon can certainly hold his own on the mat, and mixes his strikes and takedowns very well, but I think Sotiropoulos is on too much of a hot streak right now and will win a close decision and maybe a title shot.
Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn: When this fight was first announced I had a little trouble getting excited for it, but over time I've warmed up to it. Hughes is certainly winding down in his career, but we're still unsure as to where Penn is. Is Penn winding down as well, or did he just find his foil with Frankie Edgar? Personally, I would have liked to have seen Penn take some more fights at 155 first, but it makes sense for him to take big fights like this and make the big money. Hughes has been on a roll as of late and has some much-improved striking in those bouts, but I'm still don't think his boxing will match up well with Penn's. Penn's jab is just too good at this stage of his career and if the fight stays on the feet, it will be a long night for Hughes and end up looking like the Sherk/Penn fight. Should the fight hit the mat, though, Hughes could use his size and strength advantage to keep Penn on his back. This is my coin flip fight of the night, but I'm leaning towards Hughes to take a decision or late TKO. I just think he'll be able to take Penn down and tire him out. If Penn defends the takedown, though, he'll just pick Hughes apart.
Lyoto Machida vs. Rampage Jackson: For the main event of the evening we get a match-up between two former champions who are coming off of losses, looking to get back into the title picture. Machida most recently lost by brutal KO to Shogun Rua while Rampage lost a one-sided decisions to Rashad Evans. Rampage is much more of a power puncher/boxer, but still manages to show good defense, something he will certainly need here. Machida's elusiveness and counter-striking have given several UFC fighters trouble in the past, and we could very well see more of the same come Saturday. Rampage may think that bull rushing Machida will work like it worked for Rua, but Rampage's attacks aren't nearly as varied as Rua's and Rampage will come in swinging first instead of making Machida punch first like Rua did as well. I see this fight being a typical Machida fight as Rampage will come in swinging and Machida will peck away at him over three rounds. If Machida does finish Rampage it'll be late in the fight, but I look for it to be a decision in Machida's favor.
Image From Bleacherreport.com
Friday, October 22, 2010
UFC 121 Predictions
Sorry for not getting this up sooner. I've been putting in more hours at the internship, and I just found out I passed the VA Bar Exam, so I've been trying to get my life into order. I couldn't find Bellator's show on my cable box last night, so I had to settle for reading results. A few things that happened last night have gotten me thinking about some new entries I could do, but for now let's get to my UFC 121 predictions.
Brendan Schaub vs. Gabriel Gonzaga: This is a great fight where you have a new up and comer versus one of the perennial contenders. Schaub looked great on TUF showing both strong hands and slick grappling, but lost in the finale when he was knocked out by Roy Nelson. Since then he's gone on to quickly finish his last two opponents. Schaub trains with Nate Marquardt and Shane Carwin at Grudge in Colorado, so he's got a good group of guys helping him prepare for this fight, especially since Carwin has a win over Gonzaga. Gabriel Gonzaga was finished by Junior Dos Santos in his last fight and also has losses to Carwin, Werdum, and Couture, but every one of his losses has come from the elite of the HW division. Gonzaga is a phenomenal grappler, but is good standing up and has sick leg and head kicks. If Schaub can keep this fight standing he has the power to put out Gonzaga's lights, and can certainly hold his own on the mat. Gonzaga, as I said earlier, is good on the feet, but even better on the ground thanks to his BJJ. If I were Gonzaga I'd try and get this fight down as soon as possible. This is a real coin flip fight for me, but I think I'm going to take Gonzaga by decision due to his experience.
Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz: I'm not quite sure how I feel about this fight. I like Hamill in that he's a great story, but his sloppy boxing and poor defense show that he's not going to reach the top of the division anytime soon. Ortiz is simply in the twilight of his career and isn't near the fighter he was during his championship run. Hamill won his last fight against Jardine thanks to the fact that the guy can take one hell of a punch. He's also a tremendous wrestler, but doesn't really seem to use it all that often. Ortiz has subpar boxing, but has has good takedowns and ground and pound. Unfortunately for Ortiz he's going to have a real tough time getting Hamill down, and for all his striking deficiencies, Hamill is a better kick boxer than Ortiz. Ortiz will shoot, but likely fail, and even if he manages to hit Hamill, Hamill will walk right through them and pick Ortiz apart on his way to a decision or late TKO stoppage.
Paulo Thiago vs. Diego Sanchez: When this fight was first announced I got excited, but after Sanchez's recent comments, I don't know if he's taking it as seriously as he should. Sanchez stated that after this fight he's going to return to 155 and make a run for the title. While I think a return to 155 is a good idea, it makes me wonder how much time he spent putting mass back on for this fight. In his last fight against John Hathaway, Sanchez didn't look like he was in the best shape, so if he's planning to go right back to 155 I'm concerned that he didn't prepare for the fight as well as he should have. On the other hand, Sanchez has returned to Jackson's to train for this fight, so he'll definitely have a great corner working for him. Sanchez's strength is his tenacity, and he'll definitely look to put the pressure on Thiago here. Both fighters are good strikers, but Thiago isn't as predictable as Sanchez is. Thiago will also have the advantage when it comes to BJJ, but Sanchez has shown time and time again that his wrestling and ground and pound are hard to deal with. That being said, I look for Thiago to use his striking to keep Sanchez at bay, and even if the fight hits the mat, Thiago's BJJ will allow him to give Sanchez fits. I'm going with Paulo here via decision.
Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann: After months of talk, Jake Shields finally makes his UFC debut against a very tough Martin Kampmann. Shields is a former Elite XC Welterweight champ and former Strikeforce Middleweight champ. Shields will be going back to 170 for this fight, and I think it's a good move. Shields is primarily a wrestler with smothering ground control, but he also has good submissions. Kampmann is a Dutch Muay Thai champ, but is extremely talented on the mat as well. Shields most recently dominated Dan Henderson and Kampmann is coming off a commanding decision win over Paulo Thiago. Kampmann is likely the better striker, but while he is a good grappler, Shields is even better and has handled talented grapplers like Mayhem Miller. Kampmann isn't as much of an underdog as some people may think he is, but I still don't see him winning this fight. I see this fight going a lot like most Jake Shields fights go with Shield gaining top control and working GnP and submission for a majority of the fight. Shields could pull out a submission late in the fight, but I'll take him winning by decision.
Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez: HOOOOOLLLLLYYYYYY CRAP I am so so excited for this fight. Lesnar the casual fan favorite versus the hardcore fans pick for the fighter most likely to dethrone the champ. Both men are tremendous athletes with wrestling backgrounds. Lesnar will have a significant size and weight advantage, but Velasquez is a much better all around striker. Velasquez also has a ton of power in his hands as evidenced by his appearance on Sports Science. Lesnar recently brought in a new boxing coach to work on his fundamentals, so while he has a lot of power, his basic skill set is still in need of work. Lesnar will want to get this fight to the mat and work his vicious ground and pound, and I think Velasquez will want to keep the fight standing and pick Lesnar apart with his striking and speed advantage. Both guys has excellent conditioning so I wouldn't be surprised to see this fight make it to the championship rounds. This is an incredibly difficult pick considering how talented both men are, but I'm going to go with my gut and pick Velasquez via a 4th or 5th round TKO stoppage.
Image From Wikipedia
Monday, October 18, 2010
UFC 120 Post Fight Thoughts
Gustafsson/Diabate: This fight was an absolute beating. Diabate looked sharp in his octagon debut against Luis Cane, but he was overwhelmed by Gustafsson. I was really impressed with Gustafsson's striking as he was able to drop Diabate several times and then eventually use his superior grappling skills to get the RNC. I'd like to see Gustafsson get someone like Tim Boetsch or Jason Brilz and Diabate could be faced with Steve Cantwell or Kyle Kingsbury.
Kongo/Browne: Kongo is seriously a dirty, cheating fighter. Every time he fights you're guaranteed to see some low blows, and in this fight we not only saw a low blow but constant grabbing of Browne's shorts, even after a point deduction. Browne didn't look great with his strikes in the first, but they were definitely landing. Kongo looked OK in the second round, but was unable to implement his usual gameplan and had to settle for his sketchy knees to Browne's legs. Browne could take on Matt Mitrione, Ben Rothwell or Christian Morecraft, and the same could be done for Kongo.
Hathaway/Pyle: Man Pyle impressed the hell out of me with this performance. He dominated Hathaway all three rounds, and almost finished Hathaway with a crazy triangle in the second. People are hating on Hathaway and saying he was overrated and his win over Sanchez wasn't that impressive due to Sanchez being out of shape and having camp issues. I think that's a cop out considering Hathaway DOMINATED Sanchez and also has wins over tough guys like Paul Taylor and Rick Story. Pyle just used better grappling and some awesome takedowns to get the win. For Hathaway I say give him Claude Patrick and I'd like to see Pyle get Mike Swick or Dan Hardy.
Condit/Hardy: WOW talk about a sick sick KO. I seriously thought Hardy would use superior boxing skills to cruise to a decision victory, and I certainly didn't think Condit had the power to drop Hardy like that. I always figured Condit for a volume puncher versus power, but he showed everyone that he can put someone down with one shot. Huge win for Condit, and hopefully he'll get a game opponent in his next fight like Jon Fitch or the Kampmann/Shield winner. As for Hardy, I could see him getting matched with Anthony Johnson or Chris Lytle.
Bisping/Akiyama: Not a whole lot to report on this one. Akiyama looked for bombs while Bisping remained technical and took a unanimous decision. Bisping continues to make noise in the 185 division, but has yet to defeat a top 10 guy, which is keeping him out of the title picture. A win over someone like Demian Maia could help him, but with most of the top 185ers tied up at the moment, we'll have to wait and see what is next for the Brit. As for Akiyama, he is yet another Japanese star to come to an American fight organization and fail to impress. Fights with Wanderlei Silva, Dan Miller, or Palhares could be fun, but I'm not sure if the UFC will want to give him something a little less competitive so that Akiyama can rebound.
Kongo/Browne: Kongo is seriously a dirty, cheating fighter. Every time he fights you're guaranteed to see some low blows, and in this fight we not only saw a low blow but constant grabbing of Browne's shorts, even after a point deduction. Browne didn't look great with his strikes in the first, but they were definitely landing. Kongo looked OK in the second round, but was unable to implement his usual gameplan and had to settle for his sketchy knees to Browne's legs. Browne could take on Matt Mitrione, Ben Rothwell or Christian Morecraft, and the same could be done for Kongo.
Hathaway/Pyle: Man Pyle impressed the hell out of me with this performance. He dominated Hathaway all three rounds, and almost finished Hathaway with a crazy triangle in the second. People are hating on Hathaway and saying he was overrated and his win over Sanchez wasn't that impressive due to Sanchez being out of shape and having camp issues. I think that's a cop out considering Hathaway DOMINATED Sanchez and also has wins over tough guys like Paul Taylor and Rick Story. Pyle just used better grappling and some awesome takedowns to get the win. For Hathaway I say give him Claude Patrick and I'd like to see Pyle get Mike Swick or Dan Hardy.
Condit/Hardy: WOW talk about a sick sick KO. I seriously thought Hardy would use superior boxing skills to cruise to a decision victory, and I certainly didn't think Condit had the power to drop Hardy like that. I always figured Condit for a volume puncher versus power, but he showed everyone that he can put someone down with one shot. Huge win for Condit, and hopefully he'll get a game opponent in his next fight like Jon Fitch or the Kampmann/Shield winner. As for Hardy, I could see him getting matched with Anthony Johnson or Chris Lytle.
Bisping/Akiyama: Not a whole lot to report on this one. Akiyama looked for bombs while Bisping remained technical and took a unanimous decision. Bisping continues to make noise in the 185 division, but has yet to defeat a top 10 guy, which is keeping him out of the title picture. A win over someone like Demian Maia could help him, but with most of the top 185ers tied up at the moment, we'll have to wait and see what is next for the Brit. As for Akiyama, he is yet another Japanese star to come to an American fight organization and fail to impress. Fights with Wanderlei Silva, Dan Miller, or Palhares could be fun, but I'm not sure if the UFC will want to give him something a little less competitive so that Akiyama can rebound.
Monday, October 11, 2010
UFC 120 Thoughts & Predictions
This Saturday UFC 120 will take place at the O2 Arena in London, England, and will be aired for free on Spike TV. There won't be any title fights, but there are some good match-ups, so let's get to them.
Claude Patrick vs. James Wilks: Ultimate Fighter winner James Wilks makes his return to the cage to face fellow submission specialist Claude Patrick. After winning the Ultimate Fighter by submitting DaMarques Johnson at the finale, Wilks was matched up against Matt Brown. Wilks lost the fight by TKO, but bounced back with a decision win over Peter Sobotta back in June. Patrick made his debut at the same event and defeated Ricardo Funch via submission, the ninth submission victory of his twelve wins. Patrick's lone career loss came to UFC-vet Drew McFedries in the second fight of his career. Both men are well versed in submissions, as evidenced by their records, but it is difficult for me to make an informed decision as I have not had the opportunity to see Patrick fight. Wilks looked good against Johnson, but really wilted under the pressure that Brown was able to put on him. After Brown escaped a Wilks submission attempt, Wilks looked defeated and was eventually pounded out. Patrick seems to favor the guillotine as half of his wins have come via that choke, and while he is very talented, I question if Wilks is truly UFC material. I'll take Patrick by submission as he seems to have a knack for catching necks.
Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne: After consecutive, devastating losses to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir, Kongo got back into the win column after decimating Paul Buentello, making him tap due to strikes. Kongo is a talented kickboxer and has shown excellent ground and pound, but he seems to falter when faced with someone can turn the tables and take him to the mat. Browne made his UFC debut June, and easily defeated James McSweeney. Browne is undefeated and only one of his fights has gone the distance. I've seen Kongo fight many times, so I know what he brings to the table. He is a very strong striker who can easily toss someone to the mat, and rain down brutal punches. I've only seen Browne fight the one time against McSweeney, so it's hard to say what kind of fighter he is considering the fight lasted only 30 seconds. Browne is the bigger, taller fighter here, but I think Kongo will continue his reputation the guy who can beat most everyone, except for the best. I'll take Kongo via TKO as he'll continually dump Browne to the mat and beat him up.
John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle: Pyle, from what I've heard, is the Wilson Gouveia of Xtreme Couture. That is, he's extremely talented in the gym and receives high praise from his teammates, but once he's in the cage, it's a coin flip. Pyle has collected wins over Chris Wilson and Jesse Lennox, but has also been defeated by Jake Ellenberger and Brock Larson. On the other hand, Hathaway is undefeated and most recently defeated Diego Sanchez in a very one-sided fight. I've sung Hathaway's praises in previous entries, so I'll try to keep it in check here. Hathaway has shown several times that he has an excellent jab thanks to his frame, and is very capable on the ground, especially his ground and pound. Pyle was able to survive Ellenberger's GnP for a round, but eventually couldn't deal with it. I think this will be a very similar fight for Pyle as he'll get lit up on the feet, and will only be able to defend himself against an onslaught of punches for a limited time. I'm taking Hathaway via TKO.
Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit: When I first heard about this match-up, I was thinking that this was a bit much for Condit, considering Hardy is coming off of a title fight and Condit was losing his last fight before finishing (a sketchy finish at that) Rory MacDonald with only 7 seconds left in the third round. After thinking about it, though, this fight has a lot of potential to be Fight of the Night. Condit has shown in the past that he is talented on the feet as well as the mat. Hardy, on the other hand, is primarily a striker, but showed in his fight against GSP that he is tough enough to survive dangerous situations. I don't think Condit is nearly as strong as GSP, though, so Hardy might be able to escape situations should Condit take him down. Hardy will want to keep this fight standing, and I think Condit will be happy to comply. Unfortunately for Condit, I think Hardy is the better, more technical, and stronger puncher. I see this fight going a lot like Hardy's fight with Mike Swick. Hardy will get the better of the stand-up and maybe rock Condit a few times, but I think Condit is too tough to finish here. I'll take Hardy by decision.
Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama: Am I the only one who finds it strange that Akiyama is headlining an event despite the fact that he is coming off a loss, and is a relative unknown to the casual MMA fan? Maybe it's his international appeal, but after barely beating Alan Belcher, dealing with a long lay-off, and then losing to Chris Leben (who had fought 2 weeks prior) I just don't get it. Also, Akiyama could really cut down to 170, but as with many Japanese fighters, weight cutting doesn't seem to be a priority or a concern really. Sexyama is a judo practitioner, but also has some big power in his hands. Bisping is probably the more technical striker, but he has a bad habit of pulling his punches, causing them to lose power. Bisping is good at defending the takedown, though, and will also have a much bigger gas tank, as Akiyama looked dead in the third against Leben. I see this being a typical Bisping fight as he'll use his superior foot work and speed to peck away at Akiyama and cruise to a decision victory.
(Image from MMAResolutions.com)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
MMA Judging: How Do You Fix The Problem?
Let me start off by letting you all know that my friend and GTS contributor, Bryan Peden, has started his own MMA website called "MMAtters." You should all check it out at www.mmatters.weebly.com. Feel free to check out the site as well as "like" MMAtters on Facebook. GTS will be getting it's own Facebook page in the very near future so keep an eye out for that as well.
I guess what really inspired this next post was the absolute robbery of a decision that was awarded to Sean Sherk over Evan Dunham at UFC 119. I definitely believe that Sherk won the first round thanks to his takedowns, ground control, and the cut he gave Dunham, but I thought Dunham overwhelmed Sherk with strikes in rounds 2 and 3, defended the takedown well, got up quickly when he was taken down, and even had several close submission attempts. At the end of the fight, though, Sherk was announced as the winner via split-decision, an announcement that was followed by a deafening chorus of boos. Dunham has taken the high ride since the loss and has blamed himself for not finishing the fight, despite the fact that even UFC President Dana White has stated several times that Dunham won that fight. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time a decision has been botched, and it certainly won't be the last (see Leonard Garcia's last 3 fights), but the question is ... How do you fix MMA judging?
GIVE THE JUDGES MONITORS: This seems like a pretty easy fix to me. Judges, despite sitting cage/ring-side, simply are not going to have the vantage points that are made available when watching the fight on a TV/monitor. Between the cage itself, camera crews, referees, and the position of the fighters, it is impossible for a judge to see everything from their seat with their own eyes. If the judges had monitors placed in front of them, then they could easily see every punch thrown(and whether it actually lands), every small transition made on the mat, etc. Monitors simply would allow judges to see everything they are missing by giving them angles and close ups that they are just not going to get otherwise. The scary thing, though, is that at a lot of events, monitors are placed in front of the judges, but they are never plugged in a turned on. That, to me, is completely asinine. I mean if the monitor is there and it gives you a better opportunity to make the right call, then why not use it?
TRAIN THE JUDGES: The worst part about most MMA judges, is that they really have no idea what they are watching. Most of these judges are coming over from boxing, and don't understand the intricacies of the clinch, takedowns, ground control, transitions, submission attempts, takedown defense, fighters working off their back, leg kicks, etc. If judges actually knew what they were watching, then rounds can be awarded to fighters based on actual knowledge versus awarding rounds based on personal belief. I've read articles in the past where a fighter would be working a submission, and a judge would ask someone close to them, "what is he trying to do?" Occurrences like that are inexcusable and are costing fighters fights, which in turn affects their purses and their livelihood. If Athletic Commissions could start bring in MMA instructors to do simple work shops for judges, then maybe the judges would be able to gain the proper knowledge of the sport to judge it correctly. I think it's also important that fans of the sport look into getting into judging as well as a casual UFC fan likely has a better understanding of the fight than most judges.
TWEEK THE POINT SYSTEM: Tweeking the current point system used to score MMA may be difficult, but I do think it is possible. Currently MMA is using the same 10 Point system used in boxing where the winner of the round is awarded 10 points and the loser of the round is awarded 9 or less. While it might be the best system at the moment, I still find it strange that a scoring system for one sport (boxing) is being used for one that not only includes boxing, but kickboxing, muay thai, wrestling, judo, BJJ, etc. Bryan and I had a discussion regarding scoring, and we both agreed that certain techniques are being given too much weight over others. For example, one takedown should not be given more points than a solid punch to the face. This likely goes back to training and educating the judges, but a takedown that results in the downed fighter immediately getting to his feet should not be given more deference than a solid leg kick, because when you actually think about it, which technique actually caused more damage? I think judges need to not be afraid to score a round 10-10 and I also think adopting some idea from Pride/Japanese MMA would work as well. What I like about that particular scoring system is that at the end of a fight, the judges would pick a winner based on you that they won the "fight", not who won the most rounds. I like to use the Michael Bisping/Wanderlei Silva fight as an example. Under the current system Wanderlei won a decision as he was awarded rounds 2 and 3. Bisping won round 1, but round 2 was very close, and round 3 ended with Silva knocking Bisping down and nearly finishing him. In what was a close decision under the current system, under a system like that used in Pride, Silva would've have been awarded the decision because at the end of the fight he was standing over Bisping raining down punches. The fight may have been close based on singular rounds, but when the final bell is rung and Wanderlei is standing over a nearly unconscious and bloody Bisping, it's pretty clear who just won a fight.
These are just a few things that I've thought about that could fix judging, so feel free to agree or disagree with me and sound off in the comments section.
I guess what really inspired this next post was the absolute robbery of a decision that was awarded to Sean Sherk over Evan Dunham at UFC 119. I definitely believe that Sherk won the first round thanks to his takedowns, ground control, and the cut he gave Dunham, but I thought Dunham overwhelmed Sherk with strikes in rounds 2 and 3, defended the takedown well, got up quickly when he was taken down, and even had several close submission attempts. At the end of the fight, though, Sherk was announced as the winner via split-decision, an announcement that was followed by a deafening chorus of boos. Dunham has taken the high ride since the loss and has blamed himself for not finishing the fight, despite the fact that even UFC President Dana White has stated several times that Dunham won that fight. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time a decision has been botched, and it certainly won't be the last (see Leonard Garcia's last 3 fights), but the question is ... How do you fix MMA judging?
GIVE THE JUDGES MONITORS: This seems like a pretty easy fix to me. Judges, despite sitting cage/ring-side, simply are not going to have the vantage points that are made available when watching the fight on a TV/monitor. Between the cage itself, camera crews, referees, and the position of the fighters, it is impossible for a judge to see everything from their seat with their own eyes. If the judges had monitors placed in front of them, then they could easily see every punch thrown(and whether it actually lands), every small transition made on the mat, etc. Monitors simply would allow judges to see everything they are missing by giving them angles and close ups that they are just not going to get otherwise. The scary thing, though, is that at a lot of events, monitors are placed in front of the judges, but they are never plugged in a turned on. That, to me, is completely asinine. I mean if the monitor is there and it gives you a better opportunity to make the right call, then why not use it?
TRAIN THE JUDGES: The worst part about most MMA judges, is that they really have no idea what they are watching. Most of these judges are coming over from boxing, and don't understand the intricacies of the clinch, takedowns, ground control, transitions, submission attempts, takedown defense, fighters working off their back, leg kicks, etc. If judges actually knew what they were watching, then rounds can be awarded to fighters based on actual knowledge versus awarding rounds based on personal belief. I've read articles in the past where a fighter would be working a submission, and a judge would ask someone close to them, "what is he trying to do?" Occurrences like that are inexcusable and are costing fighters fights, which in turn affects their purses and their livelihood. If Athletic Commissions could start bring in MMA instructors to do simple work shops for judges, then maybe the judges would be able to gain the proper knowledge of the sport to judge it correctly. I think it's also important that fans of the sport look into getting into judging as well as a casual UFC fan likely has a better understanding of the fight than most judges.
TWEEK THE POINT SYSTEM: Tweeking the current point system used to score MMA may be difficult, but I do think it is possible. Currently MMA is using the same 10 Point system used in boxing where the winner of the round is awarded 10 points and the loser of the round is awarded 9 or less. While it might be the best system at the moment, I still find it strange that a scoring system for one sport (boxing) is being used for one that not only includes boxing, but kickboxing, muay thai, wrestling, judo, BJJ, etc. Bryan and I had a discussion regarding scoring, and we both agreed that certain techniques are being given too much weight over others. For example, one takedown should not be given more points than a solid punch to the face. This likely goes back to training and educating the judges, but a takedown that results in the downed fighter immediately getting to his feet should not be given more deference than a solid leg kick, because when you actually think about it, which technique actually caused more damage? I think judges need to not be afraid to score a round 10-10 and I also think adopting some idea from Pride/Japanese MMA would work as well. What I like about that particular scoring system is that at the end of a fight, the judges would pick a winner based on you that they won the "fight", not who won the most rounds. I like to use the Michael Bisping/Wanderlei Silva fight as an example. Under the current system Wanderlei won a decision as he was awarded rounds 2 and 3. Bisping won round 1, but round 2 was very close, and round 3 ended with Silva knocking Bisping down and nearly finishing him. In what was a close decision under the current system, under a system like that used in Pride, Silva would've have been awarded the decision because at the end of the fight he was standing over Bisping raining down punches. The fight may have been close based on singular rounds, but when the final bell is rung and Wanderlei is standing over a nearly unconscious and bloody Bisping, it's pretty clear who just won a fight.
These are just a few things that I've thought about that could fix judging, so feel free to agree or disagree with me and sound off in the comments section.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Guest Post: Bryan Peden's P4P List
The WEC was nice enough to give us a great fight card on the versus network for free, so if you didn’t see it last night you can still find it somewhere on the internet most likely. I have nothing against giving my thoughts on a card and hearing what everyone else has to say but that is not what this post is going to be about. For those of you that don’t know Jose Aldo fought last night and won in spectacular fashion, once again, against a game opponent in Manny Gamburyan. With Aldo having three consecutive title fights (two title defenses) and finishing two of the three in the manner that he did I thought to myself . . . How does he now fall in THE POUND FOR POUND LIST? So I did some research.
MMAWeekly.com has the feather weight (145 lbs) rankings as Aldo, Gamburyan, Brown, Faber as 1-4 respectively, so that’s good for business. Current #1 ranked fighters in their weight classes include 135 Dominick Cruise: 1-0 vs #2 ranked Brian Bowles and 2-0 vs #4 ranked Joseph Benavidez. 155 Frankie Edgar: 2-0 vs #5 ranked B.J. Penn. 170 George St. Pierre: 1-0 vs #2, #3, #4 who are Fitch, Koscheck and Alvez. 185 Anderson Silva: 1-0 vs #2, #4, #5, #6 (#3 shields isn’t going to fight at 185 in the near future so these are essentially #2-#5) Sonnen, Marquardt, Maia and Henderson. 205 Mauricio Rua: 1-1 vs #2 Machida and 1-0 vs #4 and #5 Rampage Jackson and little Nog. 265 Brock Lesnar: Has not beaten any of the CURRENT top 5 ranked fighters. Like it or hate it I developed my own top 10 pound for pound list.
#1 George St. Pierre (20-2) - No one can dictate where they want the fight to be better the George. He has the best MMA related wrestling in the business and can finish you on the feet or on the ground. With a win over Koscheck and a possible future fight with Jake Shields he wont have much business left in the welterweight division and can make a run at the middleweights to further cement his number 1 status.
#2 Anderson Silva (27-4) – Everyone knows that if you stand with Anderson and he wants to finish you, he can and will. He has shown off his bjj black belt skills lately with a come from behind victory over Sonnen where he also showed the desire of a true champion. He didn’t really test the waters of the bigger 205 pound division, he dove in head first and defeated former champion Forrest Griffin making one of the best highlight reels of MMA.
#3 Jose Aldo (17-1) – I do not know who is next for him after his KO of Gamburyan, but does it matter? He is as dynamic of a striker as fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva. Although we haven’t seen it too much due to solid take down defense he also is rumored to have very dangerous bjj skills as well. Oh yeah, he just turned 24!!!
#4 Jon Fitch (23-3) – 2 of his 3 losses were eight years ago and the other one was against my #1 P4P GSP. He has very technical kick boxing skills and can impose his will on almost anyone his wrestling. His BJJ skills are very much underrated because he mostly uses them for position rather than submissions. Earlier in his career he fought and won at 205 and 185.
#5 Mauricio Rua (19-4) - He is the champion of one of the most stacked divisions in any organization. He lost a highly disputed championship fight to my #9 Machida and then redeemed himself with KO in their second meeting. 16 wins by KO/TKO give a good picture of his capabilities on his feet while he uses his advanced BJJ skills to nullify submissions and stand back up to use his stand up weapons.
#6 Frankie Edgar (13-1) - The Answer has only been riddled once and he gets a chance at redemption in just a few months to fight the man that gave him the smudge on his career. B.J. Penn is still B.J. Penn which means that a win over him puts your name on the map. Fortunately his name was already on the map so he landed on the P4P list.
#7 Jake Shields (25-4) - Making the move to the stacked welterweight division of the UFC will prove a lot of what Shields has been showing us all along. He is a great fighter. He out wrestled former Olympian Dan Henderson at 185 while he can comfortably fight at 170. 3 of his losses were over eight years ago and he is on a 14 fight win streak which is more fights than #10 and just as many as #6.
#8 Fedor Emilianenko (31-2) – Yes his last fight resulted in a loss, yes everyone wants
him to go to the UFC to fight Brock and the other star studded cast of UFC’s heavyweight division. Strikeforce has a solid heavy weight division as well and with his powerful hands and slick BJJ he should not be looked down upon after his last fight.
#9 Lyoto Machida (16-1) – I’ve stubbed my toes more times today than Machida gets hit in a fight, and I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. He is one of the most elusive fighters I have ever seen with lightning fast punches and kicks he is a dangerous man. With good take downs and submission skills he stays on the list after his last loss.
#10 Brock Lesnar (5-1) – The only reason I got turned down by an MLB team was because I was too old, not because I haven’t played in over ten years. Well that’s not true but it is for Brock when he tried out for the NFL’s Vikings. He is a freak athlete who is still young in this game. He already has the wrestling credentials to beat anyone and with his submission in his last fight and a win in his next fight we could see the not so little guy in the top 5.
MMAWeekly.com has the feather weight (145 lbs) rankings as Aldo, Gamburyan, Brown, Faber as 1-4 respectively, so that’s good for business. Current #1 ranked fighters in their weight classes include 135 Dominick Cruise: 1-0 vs #2 ranked Brian Bowles and 2-0 vs #4 ranked Joseph Benavidez. 155 Frankie Edgar: 2-0 vs #5 ranked B.J. Penn. 170 George St. Pierre: 1-0 vs #2, #3, #4 who are Fitch, Koscheck and Alvez. 185 Anderson Silva: 1-0 vs #2, #4, #5, #6 (#3 shields isn’t going to fight at 185 in the near future so these are essentially #2-#5) Sonnen, Marquardt, Maia and Henderson. 205 Mauricio Rua: 1-1 vs #2 Machida and 1-0 vs #4 and #5 Rampage Jackson and little Nog. 265 Brock Lesnar: Has not beaten any of the CURRENT top 5 ranked fighters. Like it or hate it I developed my own top 10 pound for pound list.
#1 George St. Pierre (20-2) - No one can dictate where they want the fight to be better the George. He has the best MMA related wrestling in the business and can finish you on the feet or on the ground. With a win over Koscheck and a possible future fight with Jake Shields he wont have much business left in the welterweight division and can make a run at the middleweights to further cement his number 1 status.
#2 Anderson Silva (27-4) – Everyone knows that if you stand with Anderson and he wants to finish you, he can and will. He has shown off his bjj black belt skills lately with a come from behind victory over Sonnen where he also showed the desire of a true champion. He didn’t really test the waters of the bigger 205 pound division, he dove in head first and defeated former champion Forrest Griffin making one of the best highlight reels of MMA.
#3 Jose Aldo (17-1) – I do not know who is next for him after his KO of Gamburyan, but does it matter? He is as dynamic of a striker as fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva. Although we haven’t seen it too much due to solid take down defense he also is rumored to have very dangerous bjj skills as well. Oh yeah, he just turned 24!!!
#4 Jon Fitch (23-3) – 2 of his 3 losses were eight years ago and the other one was against my #1 P4P GSP. He has very technical kick boxing skills and can impose his will on almost anyone his wrestling. His BJJ skills are very much underrated because he mostly uses them for position rather than submissions. Earlier in his career he fought and won at 205 and 185.
#5 Mauricio Rua (19-4) - He is the champion of one of the most stacked divisions in any organization. He lost a highly disputed championship fight to my #9 Machida and then redeemed himself with KO in their second meeting. 16 wins by KO/TKO give a good picture of his capabilities on his feet while he uses his advanced BJJ skills to nullify submissions and stand back up to use his stand up weapons.
#6 Frankie Edgar (13-1) - The Answer has only been riddled once and he gets a chance at redemption in just a few months to fight the man that gave him the smudge on his career. B.J. Penn is still B.J. Penn which means that a win over him puts your name on the map. Fortunately his name was already on the map so he landed on the P4P list.
#7 Jake Shields (25-4) - Making the move to the stacked welterweight division of the UFC will prove a lot of what Shields has been showing us all along. He is a great fighter. He out wrestled former Olympian Dan Henderson at 185 while he can comfortably fight at 170. 3 of his losses were over eight years ago and he is on a 14 fight win streak which is more fights than #10 and just as many as #6.
#8 Fedor Emilianenko (31-2) – Yes his last fight resulted in a loss, yes everyone wants
him to go to the UFC to fight Brock and the other star studded cast of UFC’s heavyweight division. Strikeforce has a solid heavy weight division as well and with his powerful hands and slick BJJ he should not be looked down upon after his last fight.
#9 Lyoto Machida (16-1) – I’ve stubbed my toes more times today than Machida gets hit in a fight, and I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. He is one of the most elusive fighters I have ever seen with lightning fast punches and kicks he is a dangerous man. With good take downs and submission skills he stays on the list after his last loss.
#10 Brock Lesnar (5-1) – The only reason I got turned down by an MLB team was because I was too old, not because I haven’t played in over ten years. Well that’s not true but it is for Brock when he tried out for the NFL’s Vikings. He is a freak athlete who is still young in this game. He already has the wrestling credentials to beat anyone and with his submission in his last fight and a win in his next fight we could see the not so little guy in the top 5.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Quick UFC 119 Thoughts and WEC 51 Predictions
Due to a friend's birthday celebration I was unable to catch UFC 119 live last Saturday. I did, however, order the fights the next day so that I could be sure to see all the fights with ease and in HD quality. I had managed to stay away from results and other reports, so I went into the event completely unspoiled. After watching I really wish I had read up on the fights beforehand so that I could just try and find the fights online rather than shell out the money for the PPV. The event had its moments, but some of the fights that I had high hopes for didn't really deliver.
UFC 119
Stephens vs. Guillard: This fight played out a lot like I expected with Guillard using his speed and accuracy to get in and out. Stephens threw his usual wild haymakers, but never really connected with a good solid shot. Melvin didn't engage as much as I thought he would, and Stephens didn't utilize the leg kick enough despite the success he was having with it. Not the barnburner many expected, but a good win for Guillard. Fights with Cole Miller or Evan Dunham would be good. As for Stephens I'd like to see him fight Duane Ludwig or Ross Pearson.
Dunham vs. Sherk: Definitely my pick for Fight of the Night, but also disappointment of the night thanks to the bogus decision. I gave Sherk the first thanks to the takedowns and vicious cut he put over Dunham's eye, but I gave Dunham the 2nd and 3rd. Dunham defended the takedown well (or got up quickly when he was taken down), had several deep submission attempts, and absolutely battered Sherk on the feet. I was impressed with Sherk, though, considering how long he's been away from the cage. Dunham won't be hurt too much by the loss, and as I stated earlier I'd like to see him fight Guillard or maybe Kurt Pellegrino.
Serra vs. Lytle: While I'm sure this was entertaining to some people, but I didn't see it as much more than a sloppy kickboxing match. This was definitely a much better fight than the first, though, and really showed how tough Matt Serra is. Lytle controlled much of the fight with his boxing and really took it to Serra all three rounds. I think a Serra/Marcus Davis fight makes a lot of sense, and would be a good fight for two guys looking to rebounded from losses. As for Lytle I'd like to see him take a jump in competition and maybe take on Thiago Alves in a rematch, or maybe Mike Swick.
Bader vs. Little Nog: Once again Little Nog showed that wrestling is a weakness in his skill set. He did show good takedown defense at times and clipped Bader a couple times, but Bader controlled most of the fight with his takedowns and ground and pound. Nog really needs to bounce back to show he deserves to be in the UFC, so fights Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin could be ways to go. As for Bader, he could get Jon Jones next, but to preserve both stars I think Bader vs. Forrest Griffin is a good way to go.
Cro Cop vs. Mir: I don't have much to say here considering how much of a dud this fight turned out to be. Neither guy looked impressive and the win doesn't really do anything for anybody. Cro Cop doesn't look motivated despite what he says, so if he wants to keep fighting then maybe a fight with Gilbert Yvel or Ben Rothwell could be the way to go. As for Mir, I think a fight with Roy Nelson makes sense considering how Nelson submitted him in a grappling match.
WEC 51
Leonard Garcia vs. Mark Hominick: I say Hominick by decision. Garcia will through his usual wild haymakers and look for a KO, but I think Hominick will be more technical and pick Garcia apart.
Chang Sung Jung vs. George Roop: I'll take the Korean Zombie by TKO. Roop will have a significant reach advantage but Jung can take so much punishment which leads to longer fights which leads to more opportunities for Roop to get dropped.
Miguel Torres vs. Charlie Valencia: This is an attempt to resurrect Torres, and I think he'll take a win via TKO here. Torres has been spending time at TriStar in Montreal and I think that will help him immensely.
Donald Cerrone vs. Jamie Varner: Tough fight for me to call. I don't really care for either guy, but I think Cerrone is the better fighter if he doesn't start of so slow. I'll take a stab at a pick and say Cerrone by submission.
Jose Aldo vs. Manny Gamburyan: Aldo by TKO. Aldo has already won fights against better fighters and I think he takes the easy W here.
UFC 119
Stephens vs. Guillard: This fight played out a lot like I expected with Guillard using his speed and accuracy to get in and out. Stephens threw his usual wild haymakers, but never really connected with a good solid shot. Melvin didn't engage as much as I thought he would, and Stephens didn't utilize the leg kick enough despite the success he was having with it. Not the barnburner many expected, but a good win for Guillard. Fights with Cole Miller or Evan Dunham would be good. As for Stephens I'd like to see him fight Duane Ludwig or Ross Pearson.
Dunham vs. Sherk: Definitely my pick for Fight of the Night, but also disappointment of the night thanks to the bogus decision. I gave Sherk the first thanks to the takedowns and vicious cut he put over Dunham's eye, but I gave Dunham the 2nd and 3rd. Dunham defended the takedown well (or got up quickly when he was taken down), had several deep submission attempts, and absolutely battered Sherk on the feet. I was impressed with Sherk, though, considering how long he's been away from the cage. Dunham won't be hurt too much by the loss, and as I stated earlier I'd like to see him fight Guillard or maybe Kurt Pellegrino.
Serra vs. Lytle: While I'm sure this was entertaining to some people, but I didn't see it as much more than a sloppy kickboxing match. This was definitely a much better fight than the first, though, and really showed how tough Matt Serra is. Lytle controlled much of the fight with his boxing and really took it to Serra all three rounds. I think a Serra/Marcus Davis fight makes a lot of sense, and would be a good fight for two guys looking to rebounded from losses. As for Lytle I'd like to see him take a jump in competition and maybe take on Thiago Alves in a rematch, or maybe Mike Swick.
Bader vs. Little Nog: Once again Little Nog showed that wrestling is a weakness in his skill set. He did show good takedown defense at times and clipped Bader a couple times, but Bader controlled most of the fight with his takedowns and ground and pound. Nog really needs to bounce back to show he deserves to be in the UFC, so fights Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin could be ways to go. As for Bader, he could get Jon Jones next, but to preserve both stars I think Bader vs. Forrest Griffin is a good way to go.
Cro Cop vs. Mir: I don't have much to say here considering how much of a dud this fight turned out to be. Neither guy looked impressive and the win doesn't really do anything for anybody. Cro Cop doesn't look motivated despite what he says, so if he wants to keep fighting then maybe a fight with Gilbert Yvel or Ben Rothwell could be the way to go. As for Mir, I think a fight with Roy Nelson makes sense considering how Nelson submitted him in a grappling match.
WEC 51
Leonard Garcia vs. Mark Hominick: I say Hominick by decision. Garcia will through his usual wild haymakers and look for a KO, but I think Hominick will be more technical and pick Garcia apart.
Chang Sung Jung vs. George Roop: I'll take the Korean Zombie by TKO. Roop will have a significant reach advantage but Jung can take so much punishment which leads to longer fights which leads to more opportunities for Roop to get dropped.
Miguel Torres vs. Charlie Valencia: This is an attempt to resurrect Torres, and I think he'll take a win via TKO here. Torres has been spending time at TriStar in Montreal and I think that will help him immensely.
Donald Cerrone vs. Jamie Varner: Tough fight for me to call. I don't really care for either guy, but I think Cerrone is the better fighter if he doesn't start of so slow. I'll take a stab at a pick and say Cerrone by submission.
Jose Aldo vs. Manny Gamburyan: Aldo by TKO. Aldo has already won fights against better fighters and I think he takes the easy W here.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Guest Entry: Billy Peden's Thoughts On Mir's Desire To Go To 205
Frank Mir, during his pre-fight media routine, has spoken of his thoughts of moving down in weight class to the Light Heavyweight division. Stating that, after seeing Forrest Griffin being able to walk around at the same weight as himself yet take that size to 205 has made Mir more aware of the possibility. Frank Mir has never been a huge Heavyweight and when he does push the limit of 265, he looks unnatural and bloated so; does this potential drop in lbs. improve his strengths and decline his weaknesses? Is Mir just too small to fight the likes of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin? No and no. Frank Mir's disingenuous approach to conditioning and game planning as well as his inability to react intelligently when getting hit in the face play way more into his recent woefulness than the ill conjured excuse of "Oh, he's is too small for Heavyweight".
First of all, it is common sports’ science that it is more of a detriment to be a 285 pound behemoth and try and maintain a steady pace in any cardiovascular activity. Guys like Lesnar and Carwin do not have athletic doppelgangers in any other sport but Professional Football. These NFL linemen perform anaerobic activity for about 10 seconds then receive almost a minute’s break before the ball is snapped again. They are certainly not pushing and pulling an opponent 5 minutes straight. Packing on weight, whether it’s muscle or fat, exponentially deteriorates your cardio. Who were the “who’s who” of the Heavyweight division at the launch of the new millennium: Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture who all weighed, in their prime, less than 240 lbs. Frank Mir would be entering a whole new class of athletes in joining 205. He is successful because he is able to use his dangerous guard against slower lethargic fighters, whom do not possess the explosiveness needed to stop a well strategized submission from the bottom. Not to be said for Machida, Rashad, Shogun, Griffin etc...Frank Mir has always been one to fold immediately when becoming the landing pad for a well placed fist to the grill.
Did size matter when Brandon Vera thrashed him senselessly in less than 2 minutes while weighing 25 lbs fewer than Mir, or when 5'11 Ian Freeman TKO'd him in the first round 4 years ago? The greatly physically inferior "Pe de Pano" picked up 1 of his 7 wins in 5 years at Mir's expense. What happened when Vera, Lesnar, Carwin, Cruz, and Freeman all put leather on his chin? Fight over. Maybe Mir is a natural 205'er but dropping weight does not buff out the noticeable chinks in his armor. Dropping weight is not the saving grace as many fighter/fans see it. Just ask Brandon Vera, Diego Sanchez, Jens Pulver, Justin McCully, Josh Haynes... So, as two “under sized” Heavyweights square off this Saturday, don’t imagine how they could be if they trickled down a division but how they could be if they fixed the reoccurring errors in their respective games. Mir is a great Heavyweight and deserves to be in big fights but until he starts following a game plan and learns to take a salvo of strikes without wilting, it does not matter what he tips the scales at.
First of all, it is common sports’ science that it is more of a detriment to be a 285 pound behemoth and try and maintain a steady pace in any cardiovascular activity. Guys like Lesnar and Carwin do not have athletic doppelgangers in any other sport but Professional Football. These NFL linemen perform anaerobic activity for about 10 seconds then receive almost a minute’s break before the ball is snapped again. They are certainly not pushing and pulling an opponent 5 minutes straight. Packing on weight, whether it’s muscle or fat, exponentially deteriorates your cardio. Who were the “who’s who” of the Heavyweight division at the launch of the new millennium: Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture who all weighed, in their prime, less than 240 lbs. Frank Mir would be entering a whole new class of athletes in joining 205. He is successful because he is able to use his dangerous guard against slower lethargic fighters, whom do not possess the explosiveness needed to stop a well strategized submission from the bottom. Not to be said for Machida, Rashad, Shogun, Griffin etc...Frank Mir has always been one to fold immediately when becoming the landing pad for a well placed fist to the grill.
Did size matter when Brandon Vera thrashed him senselessly in less than 2 minutes while weighing 25 lbs fewer than Mir, or when 5'11 Ian Freeman TKO'd him in the first round 4 years ago? The greatly physically inferior "Pe de Pano" picked up 1 of his 7 wins in 5 years at Mir's expense. What happened when Vera, Lesnar, Carwin, Cruz, and Freeman all put leather on his chin? Fight over. Maybe Mir is a natural 205'er but dropping weight does not buff out the noticeable chinks in his armor. Dropping weight is not the saving grace as many fighter/fans see it. Just ask Brandon Vera, Diego Sanchez, Jens Pulver, Justin McCully, Josh Haynes... So, as two “under sized” Heavyweights square off this Saturday, don’t imagine how they could be if they trickled down a division but how they could be if they fixed the reoccurring errors in their respective games. Mir is a great Heavyweight and deserves to be in big fights but until he starts following a game plan and learns to take a salvo of strikes without wilting, it does not matter what he tips the scales at.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
UFC 119 Predictions
Well I'm still not sure how to edit the video Billy and I recorded and I can't figure out how to make it into several shorter videos so that I could put them on youtube. I'll talk to my techy friend and hopefully we can figure something out before the video is irrelevant. Anyways, here are my picks for this Saturday's PPV.
Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens: This is my early pick for fight of the night. I actually called this fight after Stephen's win over Sam Stout. Guillard then called out Stephens after his win over Waylon Lowe. Thankfully Joe Silva was listening and set up this fight that is going to be an absolute slugfest. Both guys are known primarily for their striking, so don't expect to see too much, if any, grappling in this fight. Guillard is probably the better technical striker and will likely have a little bit of a reach advantage. What Stephens lacks in technique he makes up for with brutal KO power. In Stephen's last fight, he faced another technical striker in the Tompkins trained Sam Stout and dropped him several times. His power is just a game changer, and after seeing Guillard get dropped by a Joe Stevenson jab, it makes me wonder how he'll fair with a much better striker and much harder hitter. Guillard hits much harder than Stout, though, so he could stun Stephens as well. Guillard is also the better wrestler, and if the fight isn't going his way, Guillard has the ability to take Stephens down and steal some rounds. As much as I like Stephens and think he could certainly catch Melvin and put him out cold, I think Guillard's reach, smoother striking, and ability take the fight to the mat if he needs to gives Guillard the win by unanimous decision.
Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk: After Dunham submitted Efrain Escudero at Fight Night 20, I was excited to see Dunham progress as a fighter. When I then heard that he was being put in a fight against Tyson Griffin, I was worried that Dunham was getting pushed too hard too fast, but I was totally wrong. Dunham is certainly among the new guard at 155 as has shown that he is able to hang with the UFC's elite. Sean Sherk on the other hand is coming off a loss to current champ Frankie Edgar, which was well over a year ago. Ring rust is a real issue here, and I think it will play a major role in this fight. Sean Sherk's bread and butter is his wrestling, but as we saw in the Edgar fight, Sherk seems to be content to strike despite his short reach and limited head movement. Dunham will obviously hold a major reach advantage and is also just a better striker. Dunham will have to deal with Sherk's wrestling and takedowns, but Dunham is good off of his back and is completely capable of taking Sherk down himself. Sherk is a talented fighter, but I think the long lay off and Dunham being much more well-rounded will lead to a Sherk loss by decision or late submission.
Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle: This is a rematch from the finale of the comeback season of the Ultimate Fighter. Serra won via split decision in a fairly lackluster fight. While the first fight was certainly not much to write home about, I think this fight will be much much different. Lytle has boxing experience, but he has shown that he has much more to offer in a fight. Lytle's last two wins have come via spectacular submission, showing that Lytle is extremely talented on the mat. Serra is coming off a KO win over Frank Trigg in a fight he showed that despite is small stature, his compact build allows him to put a lot of power behind his punches. Serra is a talented grappler, but he seems favor a stand up fight and in the Hughes fight, Serra wasn't able to do much once Hughes put him on his back. I'm leaning towards Lytle via submission because I think he'll find a way to get Serra on his back and out grapple him. I would not be the least bit surprised, though, if Serra was able to clip Lytle and put him off his game. Either way I'm expecting a great fight.
Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: After the Jason Brilz fight, this is a great fight to see if Little Nog is the real deal who just had a bad fight, or if he's got a major weakness that happens to be Bader's strength, wrestling. Nog showed in the fight against Luis Cane that he is an extremely dangerous striker thanks to his training with the Brazilian Olympic Boxing Team. Nog is also a talented grappler as one would expect with anyone who spends any sort of time training with Big Nog. The Brilz fight, though, showed that Nog can be taken down, put on his back, and kept there. Yes, Nog was able to sweep Brilz at one point, but that was one move in a three round fight that I scored for Brilz. Bader is a solid, strong wrestler who is also not afraid to throw heavy heavy hands. If Bader can win this fight he will certainly prove that he belongs in the upper tier of 205 and if Nog can win he'll show the casual fans that he deserved the hype he got when he came into the UFC and destroyed Cane. That being said, I'm going to have to go with Bader via unanimous decision. I think Bader is a better wrestler and striker than Jason Brilz and I also think he will be much stronger than Nog. Nog is the crisper striker, but I think Bader is smart enough to realize that he doesn't want to get into too many exchanges on the feet, will take Nog down, and work three rounds of top control and ground and pound.
Frank Mir vs. Mirko Cro Cop: The main event for UFC 119 was originally supposed to be the rematch between Mir and Big Nog, but Cro Cop stepped in after Big Nog was forced to back out due to injury. This isn't likely to garner a lot of PPV buys, but I still think it's a pretty cool fight. Cro Cop is coming off a win over Pat Barry while Mir is fighting for the first time since he was destroyed by Shane Carwin. Cro Cop has won 4 of his last 5 fights with the loss coming to Junior Dos Santos, but even in winning performances we've seen Cro Cop be tentative with his striking. After coming back from knee surgery it seems as though he's a little tentative and was even dropped a couple of times in the Barry fight. I'm hoping Cro Cop really lets his punches and kicks go so that he'll have more of a chance to keep this fight competitive. Mir has shown in both the Kongo and Nog fights that he has improved drastically with his striking to go along with his stellar BJJ. Mir doesn't have the best takedowns, though, and if Cro Cop is able to put on a performance of old, then he'll have excellent takedown defense anyways. Mir has been finished by guys not named Carwin or Lesnar as well as we saw that he can be knocked down and out in fights with Brandon Vera and Pe De Pano. For Cro Cop to win this fight, though, he's going to have to perform like the Cro Cop of old, and unfortunately I think those days have passed. I look for the fight to stay on the feet for the most part, but I think at some point during a scramble Mir will lock in a submission (likely a choke) and get the win.
Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens: This is my early pick for fight of the night. I actually called this fight after Stephen's win over Sam Stout. Guillard then called out Stephens after his win over Waylon Lowe. Thankfully Joe Silva was listening and set up this fight that is going to be an absolute slugfest. Both guys are known primarily for their striking, so don't expect to see too much, if any, grappling in this fight. Guillard is probably the better technical striker and will likely have a little bit of a reach advantage. What Stephens lacks in technique he makes up for with brutal KO power. In Stephen's last fight, he faced another technical striker in the Tompkins trained Sam Stout and dropped him several times. His power is just a game changer, and after seeing Guillard get dropped by a Joe Stevenson jab, it makes me wonder how he'll fair with a much better striker and much harder hitter. Guillard hits much harder than Stout, though, so he could stun Stephens as well. Guillard is also the better wrestler, and if the fight isn't going his way, Guillard has the ability to take Stephens down and steal some rounds. As much as I like Stephens and think he could certainly catch Melvin and put him out cold, I think Guillard's reach, smoother striking, and ability take the fight to the mat if he needs to gives Guillard the win by unanimous decision.
Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk: After Dunham submitted Efrain Escudero at Fight Night 20, I was excited to see Dunham progress as a fighter. When I then heard that he was being put in a fight against Tyson Griffin, I was worried that Dunham was getting pushed too hard too fast, but I was totally wrong. Dunham is certainly among the new guard at 155 as has shown that he is able to hang with the UFC's elite. Sean Sherk on the other hand is coming off a loss to current champ Frankie Edgar, which was well over a year ago. Ring rust is a real issue here, and I think it will play a major role in this fight. Sean Sherk's bread and butter is his wrestling, but as we saw in the Edgar fight, Sherk seems to be content to strike despite his short reach and limited head movement. Dunham will obviously hold a major reach advantage and is also just a better striker. Dunham will have to deal with Sherk's wrestling and takedowns, but Dunham is good off of his back and is completely capable of taking Sherk down himself. Sherk is a talented fighter, but I think the long lay off and Dunham being much more well-rounded will lead to a Sherk loss by decision or late submission.
Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle: This is a rematch from the finale of the comeback season of the Ultimate Fighter. Serra won via split decision in a fairly lackluster fight. While the first fight was certainly not much to write home about, I think this fight will be much much different. Lytle has boxing experience, but he has shown that he has much more to offer in a fight. Lytle's last two wins have come via spectacular submission, showing that Lytle is extremely talented on the mat. Serra is coming off a KO win over Frank Trigg in a fight he showed that despite is small stature, his compact build allows him to put a lot of power behind his punches. Serra is a talented grappler, but he seems favor a stand up fight and in the Hughes fight, Serra wasn't able to do much once Hughes put him on his back. I'm leaning towards Lytle via submission because I think he'll find a way to get Serra on his back and out grapple him. I would not be the least bit surprised, though, if Serra was able to clip Lytle and put him off his game. Either way I'm expecting a great fight.
Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: After the Jason Brilz fight, this is a great fight to see if Little Nog is the real deal who just had a bad fight, or if he's got a major weakness that happens to be Bader's strength, wrestling. Nog showed in the fight against Luis Cane that he is an extremely dangerous striker thanks to his training with the Brazilian Olympic Boxing Team. Nog is also a talented grappler as one would expect with anyone who spends any sort of time training with Big Nog. The Brilz fight, though, showed that Nog can be taken down, put on his back, and kept there. Yes, Nog was able to sweep Brilz at one point, but that was one move in a three round fight that I scored for Brilz. Bader is a solid, strong wrestler who is also not afraid to throw heavy heavy hands. If Bader can win this fight he will certainly prove that he belongs in the upper tier of 205 and if Nog can win he'll show the casual fans that he deserved the hype he got when he came into the UFC and destroyed Cane. That being said, I'm going to have to go with Bader via unanimous decision. I think Bader is a better wrestler and striker than Jason Brilz and I also think he will be much stronger than Nog. Nog is the crisper striker, but I think Bader is smart enough to realize that he doesn't want to get into too many exchanges on the feet, will take Nog down, and work three rounds of top control and ground and pound.
Frank Mir vs. Mirko Cro Cop: The main event for UFC 119 was originally supposed to be the rematch between Mir and Big Nog, but Cro Cop stepped in after Big Nog was forced to back out due to injury. This isn't likely to garner a lot of PPV buys, but I still think it's a pretty cool fight. Cro Cop is coming off a win over Pat Barry while Mir is fighting for the first time since he was destroyed by Shane Carwin. Cro Cop has won 4 of his last 5 fights with the loss coming to Junior Dos Santos, but even in winning performances we've seen Cro Cop be tentative with his striking. After coming back from knee surgery it seems as though he's a little tentative and was even dropped a couple of times in the Barry fight. I'm hoping Cro Cop really lets his punches and kicks go so that he'll have more of a chance to keep this fight competitive. Mir has shown in both the Kongo and Nog fights that he has improved drastically with his striking to go along with his stellar BJJ. Mir doesn't have the best takedowns, though, and if Cro Cop is able to put on a performance of old, then he'll have excellent takedown defense anyways. Mir has been finished by guys not named Carwin or Lesnar as well as we saw that he can be knocked down and out in fights with Brandon Vera and Pe De Pano. For Cro Cop to win this fight, though, he's going to have to perform like the Cro Cop of old, and unfortunately I think those days have passed. I look for the fight to stay on the feet for the most part, but I think at some point during a scramble Mir will lock in a submission (likely a choke) and get the win.
Monday, September 20, 2010
UFC Fight Night 22 Post Fight Thoughts and Chael Sonnen F's Up Big Time
Better late then never, but here are my quick post fight thoughts from UFC Fight Night 22. I apologize for not getting predictions up in time. I'm going to start having a couple friends write guest pieces so that we can have a little more activity on here, and we even recorded close to two hours of fight talk the other night. I start a GTS MMA youtube page, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get the video into smaller pieces so that I can actually post them.
I still don't really care for Cole Miller considering his recent and continuing comments towards wrestling, but I couldn't help but be impressed by his performance. Ross looked like he was landing solid in a couple of the exchanges, but I don't think he ever really got comfortable dealing with Cole's reach. Miller just called out Gomi, but it looks like Gomi and Clay Guida is being set up. I'd like to see Miller take on recent signing Antonio McKee, especially when you considering McKee's style is exactly was Cole has been hating on.
Jim Miller improved to 7-1 in the UFC with an impressive win over Gleison Tibau. I was hoping Tibau would switch his gameplan up after he started getting clipped by Miller, but even when he got Miller down, Tibau didn't really look like he knew what he wanted to do. Miller is definitely putting himself in a good position to earn a title shot, especially with one more win. Cole Miller is definitely an option.
Charles Oliveira showed that he's definitely going to be a force at 155 while Efrain Escudero became the first TUF winner (aside from Lutter) to be cut from the UFC. Efrain did not impress in this fight, and he also missed weight big time for the second time in his UFC career. Oliveira is only 20 years old so he's just going to get better with time. I'd like to see him fight Ross Pearson or maybe Aaron Riley in his next fight.
Wow Palhares really screwed himself. You HAVE to protect yourself at all times otherwise you're going to get popped and that's exactly what happened here. Marquardt saw an opportunity and he jumped on it, and got the quick win. Palhares pulled a Pe De Pano there and decided it be better to look at the ref instead of the guy trying to punch him in the face.
In other news, it was announced that Vitor Belfort will face Yushin Okami in main event of UFC 122 in Germany. It was originally expected to serve a fight to set up an eventual contender, but Chael Sonnen failed his pre-fight drug test for UFC 117, and is facing fines and suspension. It is now looking like the winner of Okami/Belfort will get the next crack at Silva, but we will have to wait and see how this fight goes, and if the winner comes out healthy enough for a quick turn around.
I still don't really care for Cole Miller considering his recent and continuing comments towards wrestling, but I couldn't help but be impressed by his performance. Ross looked like he was landing solid in a couple of the exchanges, but I don't think he ever really got comfortable dealing with Cole's reach. Miller just called out Gomi, but it looks like Gomi and Clay Guida is being set up. I'd like to see Miller take on recent signing Antonio McKee, especially when you considering McKee's style is exactly was Cole has been hating on.
Jim Miller improved to 7-1 in the UFC with an impressive win over Gleison Tibau. I was hoping Tibau would switch his gameplan up after he started getting clipped by Miller, but even when he got Miller down, Tibau didn't really look like he knew what he wanted to do. Miller is definitely putting himself in a good position to earn a title shot, especially with one more win. Cole Miller is definitely an option.
Charles Oliveira showed that he's definitely going to be a force at 155 while Efrain Escudero became the first TUF winner (aside from Lutter) to be cut from the UFC. Efrain did not impress in this fight, and he also missed weight big time for the second time in his UFC career. Oliveira is only 20 years old so he's just going to get better with time. I'd like to see him fight Ross Pearson or maybe Aaron Riley in his next fight.
Wow Palhares really screwed himself. You HAVE to protect yourself at all times otherwise you're going to get popped and that's exactly what happened here. Marquardt saw an opportunity and he jumped on it, and got the quick win. Palhares pulled a Pe De Pano there and decided it be better to look at the ref instead of the guy trying to punch him in the face.
In other news, it was announced that Vitor Belfort will face Yushin Okami in main event of UFC 122 in Germany. It was originally expected to serve a fight to set up an eventual contender, but Chael Sonnen failed his pre-fight drug test for UFC 117, and is facing fines and suspension. It is now looking like the winner of Okami/Belfort will get the next crack at Silva, but we will have to wait and see how this fight goes, and if the winner comes out healthy enough for a quick turn around.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Shark Fights Updates
Shark Fights is starting on PPV in the next few minutes. I will be tweeting updates throughout the night, so feel free to follow me @JustinCohee.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wrestling In MMA Doesn't Suck - You Just Suck Cuz You Can't Wrestle
Over the past week several fighters have made comments regarding wrestling's role in MMA. The first comments I heard came from UFC Lightweight Cole Miller. When playing a word association game, Miller described wrestling as the worst thing in MMA and something that will eventually destroy the sport. Miller stated that wrestlers make the sport boring and that judges favor wrestlers due to their position on top and how most wrestlers have impressive physiques. Dan Hardy recently stated in an interview that there is too much wrestling in MMA and that the rules should be changed to prevent long stalemates. Hardy's training partner Paul Daley basically said the same thing and said he believed rule changes would be good for the sport. Finally, Shinya Aoki stated that American wrestlers are boring because they never take risks and that BJ Penn didn't really "lose" to Frankie Edgar.
Comments like these aren't necessarily new to MMA, but the amount of comments being made and now the additional calls for rule changes really makes this subject interesting. With fighters like Gray Maynard, Jon Fitch, Frankie Edgar, and Jake Shields entering the elite of their divisions thanks to their wrestling backgrounds and stifling ground control, it is easy to see why many believe that wrestlers are beginning to take over. Many point to the fact more and more wrestlers are joining MMA every year as seen with guys like Johny Hendriks, Chad Mendes, King Mo, Daniel Cormier, and Ben Askren to show that the sport is becoming inundated with guys who simply want to take you down and hold top control while doing little else. While I can "see" where these arguments are coming from, I'm less inclined to take them seriously.
When Royce Gracie dominated his competition in the early days of the UFC, everyone thought that BJJ was going to be the skill to have in order to be successful in mixed martial arts. Before long kickboxers and muay thai specialists developed ways to prevent the fight from going to the mat and learned submission defense. The sport continued to develop and fighters soon learned that they could not simply be one-dimensional, but would have to learn every skill they could and become a true mixed martial artist. It is this realization that makes me almost angry to hear fighters say that wrestling is ruining the sport. If you don't want to be taken down, then learn how to sprawl and defend the takedown. If you don't want to have a wrestler on top of you for 3-5 rounds then learn some defensive wrestling techniques, some ground transitions, or learn how to throw submissions off your back.
Cole Miller's comments really caught me off guard considering how there are several wrestlers in his camp at American Top Team. I also think it's pretty odd to make comments about how he wants to make fights exciting and that wrestlers are boring. Last time I checked, Miller's last loss came from a wrestler in Efrain Escudero who slammed him repeatedly, out struck him on the feet, and eventually knocked him out cold.
Hardy and Daley's comments regarding rules changes are absolutely ridiculous. This is MIXED MARTIAL ARTS. These guys are calling for faster stand-ups basically because they are strikers and would rather play to their strengths. Hardy's most recent loss was to GSP in a fight in which Hardy was absolutely dominated on the mat. Not only was Hardy taken down several times, but he was nearly submitted on numerous occasions. If Hardy had his way, as soon as GSP slowed down or didn't improve his position immediately, the fight would be stood up. Hardy simply isn't comfortable on the mat and while he is a very talented striker, his call for a rule change to cater to his skill set is pretty ridiculous. The same goes for Daley. Koscheck went into that fight know that Daley had knocked out his first two UFC opponents and took Daley down ensure that he didn't put himself in any unnecessary danger. This whole "be a man and keep the fight standing" BS is really asinine. If you want to be a stand up fighter only then do boxing or K-1 or realize that hey I can't get away with being good at just one thing and make attempts to improve your skill set.
Aoki's comments didn't really surprise me considering his reputation for being a bit of a prick. What did surprise me, though, were his comments claiming that Penn was not defeated by Edgar. I don't know which fight he is talking about, but if he is talking about the second fight, then he is seriously wrong. Edgar is known for his wrestling, but what I saw in that fight was a well rounded fighter who not only used his wrestling when he could, but also out struck Penn on the feet by utilizing various techniques (i.e. cut kicks), and even showed great ground defense when Penn took his back. Wrestlers not taking risks is pretty strange too considering how wrestlers are not used to dealing with submissions, yet they still attempt to take down BJJ practitioners.
When Kenny Florian lost his most recent fight to Gray Maynard he didn't call Maynard a pussy for not standing with him, nor did he fault Maynard for laying on top of him for three rounds. What Florian did do, though, was re-evaluate his skill set, realize something was missing, and hired a wrestling coach. That is exactly the kind of attitude and drive you want to see in a fighter. Improvement and development is the name of the game, and as soon as a fighter thinks that they have enough skill in one area to get by, then that is when the sport passes them by. Yes wrestling may not bring about the most exciting fights in the world, but it is effective. Fighters should absolutely play to their strengths, but they really need to know what to in any situation. Don't like your position or the situation, well then do something about it. I mean, what would people say if a wrestler called someone a pussy for wanting to stand the whole time and being afraid to go to the mat?
Comments like these aren't necessarily new to MMA, but the amount of comments being made and now the additional calls for rule changes really makes this subject interesting. With fighters like Gray Maynard, Jon Fitch, Frankie Edgar, and Jake Shields entering the elite of their divisions thanks to their wrestling backgrounds and stifling ground control, it is easy to see why many believe that wrestlers are beginning to take over. Many point to the fact more and more wrestlers are joining MMA every year as seen with guys like Johny Hendriks, Chad Mendes, King Mo, Daniel Cormier, and Ben Askren to show that the sport is becoming inundated with guys who simply want to take you down and hold top control while doing little else. While I can "see" where these arguments are coming from, I'm less inclined to take them seriously.
When Royce Gracie dominated his competition in the early days of the UFC, everyone thought that BJJ was going to be the skill to have in order to be successful in mixed martial arts. Before long kickboxers and muay thai specialists developed ways to prevent the fight from going to the mat and learned submission defense. The sport continued to develop and fighters soon learned that they could not simply be one-dimensional, but would have to learn every skill they could and become a true mixed martial artist. It is this realization that makes me almost angry to hear fighters say that wrestling is ruining the sport. If you don't want to be taken down, then learn how to sprawl and defend the takedown. If you don't want to have a wrestler on top of you for 3-5 rounds then learn some defensive wrestling techniques, some ground transitions, or learn how to throw submissions off your back.
Cole Miller's comments really caught me off guard considering how there are several wrestlers in his camp at American Top Team. I also think it's pretty odd to make comments about how he wants to make fights exciting and that wrestlers are boring. Last time I checked, Miller's last loss came from a wrestler in Efrain Escudero who slammed him repeatedly, out struck him on the feet, and eventually knocked him out cold.
Hardy and Daley's comments regarding rules changes are absolutely ridiculous. This is MIXED MARTIAL ARTS. These guys are calling for faster stand-ups basically because they are strikers and would rather play to their strengths. Hardy's most recent loss was to GSP in a fight in which Hardy was absolutely dominated on the mat. Not only was Hardy taken down several times, but he was nearly submitted on numerous occasions. If Hardy had his way, as soon as GSP slowed down or didn't improve his position immediately, the fight would be stood up. Hardy simply isn't comfortable on the mat and while he is a very talented striker, his call for a rule change to cater to his skill set is pretty ridiculous. The same goes for Daley. Koscheck went into that fight know that Daley had knocked out his first two UFC opponents and took Daley down ensure that he didn't put himself in any unnecessary danger. This whole "be a man and keep the fight standing" BS is really asinine. If you want to be a stand up fighter only then do boxing or K-1 or realize that hey I can't get away with being good at just one thing and make attempts to improve your skill set.
Aoki's comments didn't really surprise me considering his reputation for being a bit of a prick. What did surprise me, though, were his comments claiming that Penn was not defeated by Edgar. I don't know which fight he is talking about, but if he is talking about the second fight, then he is seriously wrong. Edgar is known for his wrestling, but what I saw in that fight was a well rounded fighter who not only used his wrestling when he could, but also out struck Penn on the feet by utilizing various techniques (i.e. cut kicks), and even showed great ground defense when Penn took his back. Wrestlers not taking risks is pretty strange too considering how wrestlers are not used to dealing with submissions, yet they still attempt to take down BJJ practitioners.
When Kenny Florian lost his most recent fight to Gray Maynard he didn't call Maynard a pussy for not standing with him, nor did he fault Maynard for laying on top of him for three rounds. What Florian did do, though, was re-evaluate his skill set, realize something was missing, and hired a wrestling coach. That is exactly the kind of attitude and drive you want to see in a fighter. Improvement and development is the name of the game, and as soon as a fighter thinks that they have enough skill in one area to get by, then that is when the sport passes them by. Yes wrestling may not bring about the most exciting fights in the world, but it is effective. Fighters should absolutely play to their strengths, but they really need to know what to in any situation. Don't like your position or the situation, well then do something about it. I mean, what would people say if a wrestler called someone a pussy for wanting to stand the whole time and being afraid to go to the mat?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Future of the Middleweight Division
The Middleweight division is home of one of the best fighters in the world, UFC Champ, Anderson Silva. Along with Silva, the UFC is home to contenders Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Yushin Okami, Chris Leben, Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva and others. Strikeforce recently crowned a new champ in Jacare Souza after former champ, Jake Shields, left for the UFC welterweight division. Along with Jacare, Strikeforce has contenders in Tim Kennedy, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, Jason Miller, and Renato Babalu Sobral. The Middleweight division is a strange division, specifically in the UFC due to the fact that Anderson Silva has been so dominant as a champion that most contenders (aside from Sonnen) never really gave Silva a competitive fight despite their talents. Sonnen recently showed that Silva isn't quite as invincible as once thought, and that Silva's days as champ could be numbered. Jake Shields was looking to start a similar trend in Strikeforce before jumping ship, but with Shields now gone, and talk of a Middleweight tournament floating around, things at Strikeforce could get very interesting. While there are several contenders already established in both organizations, there are fewer up and comers than I have discussed with the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. That being said, there are three guys who are currently making noise at 185 and could very well add themselves to the contenders list.
Luke Rockhold: At 7-1 Rockhold is still in the early stages of his career. Despite that all 7 of his wins have come by stoppage in the first round, and six of those wins have been by submission. In his past three fights Rockhold submitted Cory Devela in 30 seconds, submitted TUF alum Jesse Taylor, and finished fellow up and comer Paul Bradley with brutal knees to the body. If I'm correct, Rockhold is supposed to be facing veteran Matt Lindland some time in the near future. Lindland is always a tough fight thanks to his wrestling credentials, but Rockhold can certainly handle himself on the mat. Rockhold has been featured only on the Strikeforce Challengers cards, so this is a good fight for him to show that he belongs on the big cards and deserves to fight stiffer competition.
Aaron Simpson: I first saw Aaron Simpson fight on the WEC 36 card against David Avellan in a fight he won by brutal knockout in the first 18 seconds of the fight. After the win, Simpson joined the rest of the WEC Middleweight in the UFC when the divisions were merged. Simpson made his UFC debut against fellow WEC veteran Tim McKenzie in a fight won in the first round via TKO. Simpson then went on to absolutely demolish Ed Herman, and won once again in a come-from-behind performance against Tom Lawlor. The fight with Lawlor was one I got to see in person and rightfully won fight of the night. Simpson lost to Chris Leben in his most recent fight, but Simpson looked good for most of the fight before succumbing to Leben's punches in the 2nd round. Leben would go on to submit Yoshihiro Akiyama just 2 weeks later, showing that Leben was definitely on a comeback surge. Simpson trains with Ryan Bader and CB Dollaway and has a strong wrestling background to go with his KO power. What I really like about Simpson is that he blends his striking and wrestling in every single one of his fights. He doesn't go into the cage with one mindset, but rather keeps his opponents guessing as to where he's going to want to take the fight.
Gerald Harris: I don't think I am alone in saying this, but I think Gerald Harris has one of the brightest futures of any fighter currently with the UFC. Harris started off with the UFC as a contestant on the Ultimate Fighter, but was eventually eliminated by the season's winner Amir Sadollah. Harris then went back to the independent scene earned his way back into the UFC with a knockout victory over WEC veteran Nissen Osterneck. Harris made his UFC debut against fellow prospect John Salter in a fight that Harris dominated with his striking, wrestling, and ground and pound. Harris won KO of the Night with the performance. I was at the fight and even had a chance to speak to Harris. He was nice enough to talk to my friends and I for several minutes and got excited when we alerted him to the fact that he was the lone KO of the night and would likely get a bonus check out of it. It was just very cool to see him get excited about the win and the bonus. Harris's second fight in the UFC was against BJJ black belt Mario Miranda. Despite being dropped early in the fight Harris surged back and finished Miranda with punches with just seconds left in the first round. Harris's most recent fight was against another BJJ stand out in David Branch, and once again Harris passed the test with flying colors. In the third round Branch attempted to pulled guard but was quickly and brutally slammed to the mat which resulted in one of the coolest knockouts I've ever seen. Despite ESPN's limited coverage of MMA, the KO was featured on Sportscenter's Top 10 and even earned praise from LeBron James. Harris's power, tight boxing, excellent top control, and brutal slams make him the hottest prospect in the Middleweight division, and likely the UFC.
Luke Rockhold: At 7-1 Rockhold is still in the early stages of his career. Despite that all 7 of his wins have come by stoppage in the first round, and six of those wins have been by submission. In his past three fights Rockhold submitted Cory Devela in 30 seconds, submitted TUF alum Jesse Taylor, and finished fellow up and comer Paul Bradley with brutal knees to the body. If I'm correct, Rockhold is supposed to be facing veteran Matt Lindland some time in the near future. Lindland is always a tough fight thanks to his wrestling credentials, but Rockhold can certainly handle himself on the mat. Rockhold has been featured only on the Strikeforce Challengers cards, so this is a good fight for him to show that he belongs on the big cards and deserves to fight stiffer competition.
Aaron Simpson: I first saw Aaron Simpson fight on the WEC 36 card against David Avellan in a fight he won by brutal knockout in the first 18 seconds of the fight. After the win, Simpson joined the rest of the WEC Middleweight in the UFC when the divisions were merged. Simpson made his UFC debut against fellow WEC veteran Tim McKenzie in a fight won in the first round via TKO. Simpson then went on to absolutely demolish Ed Herman, and won once again in a come-from-behind performance against Tom Lawlor. The fight with Lawlor was one I got to see in person and rightfully won fight of the night. Simpson lost to Chris Leben in his most recent fight, but Simpson looked good for most of the fight before succumbing to Leben's punches in the 2nd round. Leben would go on to submit Yoshihiro Akiyama just 2 weeks later, showing that Leben was definitely on a comeback surge. Simpson trains with Ryan Bader and CB Dollaway and has a strong wrestling background to go with his KO power. What I really like about Simpson is that he blends his striking and wrestling in every single one of his fights. He doesn't go into the cage with one mindset, but rather keeps his opponents guessing as to where he's going to want to take the fight.
Gerald Harris: I don't think I am alone in saying this, but I think Gerald Harris has one of the brightest futures of any fighter currently with the UFC. Harris started off with the UFC as a contestant on the Ultimate Fighter, but was eventually eliminated by the season's winner Amir Sadollah. Harris then went back to the independent scene earned his way back into the UFC with a knockout victory over WEC veteran Nissen Osterneck. Harris made his UFC debut against fellow prospect John Salter in a fight that Harris dominated with his striking, wrestling, and ground and pound. Harris won KO of the Night with the performance. I was at the fight and even had a chance to speak to Harris. He was nice enough to talk to my friends and I for several minutes and got excited when we alerted him to the fact that he was the lone KO of the night and would likely get a bonus check out of it. It was just very cool to see him get excited about the win and the bonus. Harris's second fight in the UFC was against BJJ black belt Mario Miranda. Despite being dropped early in the fight Harris surged back and finished Miranda with punches with just seconds left in the first round. Harris's most recent fight was against another BJJ stand out in David Branch, and once again Harris passed the test with flying colors. In the third round Branch attempted to pulled guard but was quickly and brutally slammed to the mat which resulted in one of the coolest knockouts I've ever seen. Despite ESPN's limited coverage of MMA, the KO was featured on Sportscenter's Top 10 and even earned praise from LeBron James. Harris's power, tight boxing, excellent top control, and brutal slams make him the hottest prospect in the Middleweight division, and likely the UFC.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Catch All Post: Quick Thoughts On What's Going On In MMA
With most of my posts dealing with the UFC I'm going to be spending most of this post discussing what else is going in the wonderful world of MMA. Here we go...
Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Griggs: It's fights like these that really make me wish I was a betting man. Aside from washed-up fighters like Jason Guida, Bob Sapp and Wes Sims, Lashley hadn't really fought anyone with any significant experience or proven skill-sets. I was a little surprised when the Griggs fight was set up considering his record was 8-1 at the time. I guess Strikeforce thought they could give Lashley a little step up in competition without throwing him to the wolves with someone like Antonio Silva, Brett Rogers, Fedor, etc. Unfortunately for Strikeforce it seems that Lashley is just not that into being a fighter. To just give up like that really makes you question the motives Lashley had when we started training in MMA. With the success of Brock Lesnar in the UFC, I really think Lashley expected his amateur wrestling background and his WWE history would be enough to allow him to have some success in the cage while also collecting a hefty paycheck. Once Lashley finally saw that he wasn't going to be able to take someone down at will and got hit hard enough by Griggs, he wilted and probably started rethinking his career choices right that second.
Feijao vs. King Mo: As soon as this fight was set up, almost everything I read wrote Feijao off and expected an easy win for Mo. This is really just the continuation of a trend that I am seeing with the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight division. The belt has changed hands 3 times in 3 fights, and with each title change MMA sites are quick to call the loser overrated. When Gegard Mousasi beat Babalu in a minute, everyone sang his praises and expected him to hold the belt for awhile, especially considering the slim roster. Mousasi lost the belt in his first defense to King Mo and was then quickly excused of being an overrated fighter who belongs at 185 and had never really fought anyone in the first place (even though he has wins over Jacare, Babalu, Denis Kang, Hector Lombard, etc.). King Mo was then expected to steamroll Feijao in his first defense, but when he lost by TKO in the third, all of a sudden Mo is back to being inexpereinced and overrated. That's the problem I have with a lot of MMA sites, they don't know how to be OK with being wrong. I honestly thought Mo had an excellent chance to win, but I wasn't going to write off Feijao just because of the lost to Mike Kyle. Feijao trains with one of the best camps in the world and is an excellent striker. I think he will continue to get better a Mo will as well, but it's really time that fighters stop being defined by singular performances.
Kazuo Misaki vs. Jorge Santiago II: I don't want to say a whole lot about this fight simply for the reason that I want people to watch it and experience what is certainly going to be a fight of the year candidate. These two already had one amazing fight, and I think the second one was even better. Misaki really brought it to Santiago, and looked like he had the fight won. Santiago is a beast, though, and really came back strong and showed that he is one of, if not the best fighter to come out of ATT. Dropping Misaki with the head kick is just an absolute insane part of the fight, and the transitions on the ground were something that you'd only see with the most talented of grapplers. To see Misaki's corner throw the towel in with just 30 seconds left in the fight (even though he was likely ahead on the cards) just added to the emotion. Misaki may have won more rounds, but Santiago had him beat in the 5th. Just another amazing performance from these two, and I really hope they start getting a little more love state side from the UFC and Strikeforce.
Shine Fights will be holding a one night lightweight tournament just down the road from me at the Patriot Center. The tournament will feature fighters like Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, Marcus Aurelio, Drew Fickett, Conor Heun, and others. I'm going to buy my ticket as soon as I finish up here and plan on taking pictures as well as posting live updates on my Twitter (@JustinCohee). Feel free to follow me on Twitter too as I mostly post MMA news anyways.
Also, I just read that Bellator will be coming to Philadelphia in October. There are only two fights announced thus far, but they are the "super fight" between ROger Huerta and Eddie Alvarez, and the welterweight title fight between champ Lyman Good, and wreslting stand out Ben Askren. I'm hoping I'll be able to go to that event as well and provide live coverge.
Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Griggs: It's fights like these that really make me wish I was a betting man. Aside from washed-up fighters like Jason Guida, Bob Sapp and Wes Sims, Lashley hadn't really fought anyone with any significant experience or proven skill-sets. I was a little surprised when the Griggs fight was set up considering his record was 8-1 at the time. I guess Strikeforce thought they could give Lashley a little step up in competition without throwing him to the wolves with someone like Antonio Silva, Brett Rogers, Fedor, etc. Unfortunately for Strikeforce it seems that Lashley is just not that into being a fighter. To just give up like that really makes you question the motives Lashley had when we started training in MMA. With the success of Brock Lesnar in the UFC, I really think Lashley expected his amateur wrestling background and his WWE history would be enough to allow him to have some success in the cage while also collecting a hefty paycheck. Once Lashley finally saw that he wasn't going to be able to take someone down at will and got hit hard enough by Griggs, he wilted and probably started rethinking his career choices right that second.
Feijao vs. King Mo: As soon as this fight was set up, almost everything I read wrote Feijao off and expected an easy win for Mo. This is really just the continuation of a trend that I am seeing with the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight division. The belt has changed hands 3 times in 3 fights, and with each title change MMA sites are quick to call the loser overrated. When Gegard Mousasi beat Babalu in a minute, everyone sang his praises and expected him to hold the belt for awhile, especially considering the slim roster. Mousasi lost the belt in his first defense to King Mo and was then quickly excused of being an overrated fighter who belongs at 185 and had never really fought anyone in the first place (even though he has wins over Jacare, Babalu, Denis Kang, Hector Lombard, etc.). King Mo was then expected to steamroll Feijao in his first defense, but when he lost by TKO in the third, all of a sudden Mo is back to being inexpereinced and overrated. That's the problem I have with a lot of MMA sites, they don't know how to be OK with being wrong. I honestly thought Mo had an excellent chance to win, but I wasn't going to write off Feijao just because of the lost to Mike Kyle. Feijao trains with one of the best camps in the world and is an excellent striker. I think he will continue to get better a Mo will as well, but it's really time that fighters stop being defined by singular performances.
Kazuo Misaki vs. Jorge Santiago II: I don't want to say a whole lot about this fight simply for the reason that I want people to watch it and experience what is certainly going to be a fight of the year candidate. These two already had one amazing fight, and I think the second one was even better. Misaki really brought it to Santiago, and looked like he had the fight won. Santiago is a beast, though, and really came back strong and showed that he is one of, if not the best fighter to come out of ATT. Dropping Misaki with the head kick is just an absolute insane part of the fight, and the transitions on the ground were something that you'd only see with the most talented of grapplers. To see Misaki's corner throw the towel in with just 30 seconds left in the fight (even though he was likely ahead on the cards) just added to the emotion. Misaki may have won more rounds, but Santiago had him beat in the 5th. Just another amazing performance from these two, and I really hope they start getting a little more love state side from the UFC and Strikeforce.
Shine Fights will be holding a one night lightweight tournament just down the road from me at the Patriot Center. The tournament will feature fighters like Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett, Marcus Aurelio, Drew Fickett, Conor Heun, and others. I'm going to buy my ticket as soon as I finish up here and plan on taking pictures as well as posting live updates on my Twitter (@JustinCohee). Feel free to follow me on Twitter too as I mostly post MMA news anyways.
Also, I just read that Bellator will be coming to Philadelphia in October. There are only two fights announced thus far, but they are the "super fight" between ROger Huerta and Eddie Alvarez, and the welterweight title fight between champ Lyman Good, and wreslting stand out Ben Askren. I'm hoping I'll be able to go to that event as well and provide live coverge.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Post Fight Thoughts: UFC 118 Edition
Last night's fights kept me thoroughly entertained despite some MMA sites claiming that this card was boring compared to UFC 116 and 117. While we didn't see anything that could be called a back and forth classic, what we did see was ever single facet of MMA put on display in its highest form.
Nik Lentz vs. Andre Winner: Probably my least favorite fight of the night. Despite the fact that British fighters are usually lacking in the wrestling department, I was impressed with Winner's ability to defend the takedown (even when both of his feet were off the ground at one point) and get up quickly when the takedown was successful. Lentz got lit up a couple times on the feet, but he used his wrestling background to stuff Winner against the cage and control the fight. Winner really missed some opportunities to create some space that would have allowed him to get his composure back and utilize his significant advantage on the feet. Lentz did what he needed to do to win the fight, but if he is going to take a step up in competition he needs to work on his striking as well as figuring out what to do once the fight hits the mat.
Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger: Holy shit that was an absolute beating. There was not one second of that fight that Gabe looked like he had a chance. The slams were awesome, Joe's transitions into the armbar were picture perfect, and the shots Joe was landing on the ground were absolutely brutal. Gabe may be one and done, or he could get another shot against a newcomer. As for Joe I think a fight with Clay Guida or Gomi would be fun to watch.
Dan Miller vs. John Salter: It was really great to finally see Dan Miller get a good win after all of the personal issues he has to deal with. Miller was coming off three straight losses, but they were to 3 of the best 185ers the UFC has to offer (Sonnen, Maia, Bisping). I saw Salter fight back in January when he was stopped by Gerald Harris. Some people are pretty high on him, but I'm not seeing anything special. I think he's a good wrestler, but that's about it. Miller's stand up definitely looked better, but once again it is his submission skills that get him the win. Miller looked content to stay standing his last few fights, but with his wrestling and BJJ credentials, it just makes more sense for him to try and get things to the mat. I'd like to see Miller take on Mark Munoz or maybe Aaron Simpson for his next fight.
Marcus Davis vs. Nate Diaz: I picked Diaz to win, but I was really pulling for Davis in this fight. I got super excited when he clipped and dropped Diaz in the first, but after that it was pretty much just Diaz putting on a show. I was talking to a friend about the Diaz brothers and their striking and we both agreed that they've really found a way to throw as many strikes as possible but still throwing power shots as well. I don't know if Davis was frustrated or what, but he looked like he aged a lot in that fight. Usually Davis is light on his feet and is able to get in and out of the pocket without taking a lot of damage, but in this fight he was flat-footed and slow. Once the fight hit the mat in the third it was all Diaz with great transitions and a fight ending guillotine that put Davis to sleep. Yves Lavigne should really be catching some crap right now for not stopping the fight sooner. Davis was out for a good 8-10 seconds before Lavigne finally stopped the bout. I'd rather see a semi-early stoppage than someone end up with a permanent injury. Not sure what's next for Davis, but a fight with Matt Brown or DeMarques Johnson is a direction I'd go in. As for Nate, his next fight depends on what weight he wants to go with. Maynard obviously isn't happening, and I think Diaz should stick with 170 for a little bit longer. I'd love to see him take on Diego Sanchez at either weight.
Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard: During the entire time I've been doing my fantasy UFC picks I don't think I've ever picked Gray Maynard to win. I don't know what it is about him, but I just could not get sold on him despite that fact that he's beaten some really tough guys, including the current world champ. I really thought Florian would light Gray up on the feet, but he did pretty much nothing except wait for the takedown. Even though he knew it was coming and trained with GSP for the fight, Kenny couldn't stop Maynard and offered absolutely nothing off of his back. Kenny has looked like a complete fighter on so many occasions, but last night he seriously looked helpless. Maynard didn't do much once he got Kenny down, but it was enough to take a commanding decision. PS, is it just me or is anybody else sick of hearing about Gray's power and striking? I've yet to see it against anyone that matters. Gray is a wrestler, an excellent wrestler, so it's ok to not talk about his striking. Maynard is like 155's Jon Fitch. He's strong, he'll take you down, and he'll completely neutralize you. Maynard is getting the next title shot, but I'm thinking Edgar will be able to make this fight much more competitive than their first meeting. As for Florian, I think a fight with Nate Diaz would make sense if Nate really wants to move back down.
Demain Maia vs. Mario Miranda: I didn't know a lot about Miranda prior to this fight, so when I saw Anderson Silva in his corner and heard that he also had a black belt I started to think that Maia could be in a little bit of trouble. My worries soon melted away when Maia looked better than Miranda on the feet, took him down with ease, and used his far superior BJJ to control the fight. It just goes to show how far ahead Maia is than most fighters when it comes to BJJ, even other black belts. Maia didn't get the submission like I thought he would, but he got close several time. Kudos to Miranda for defending the armbars the way he did, especially the one in the 3rd that he rolled out of beautifully. Miranda is 1-2 in the UFC so he might get one more crack at a newcomer or maybe one of the recent TUF guys. I'd like to see Maia take on the winner of Akiyama/Bisping or the winner of Belfort/Okami.
James Toney vs. Randy Couture: Man Toney really had no chance at all. Couture got the easy takedown in the opening seconds of the fight and got mount with no problem at all. From there it was all Randy working his trademark ground and pound before finally sinking an arm triangle. Dana White stated after the fight that this would be the last time he'd let a boxer come into the UFC like that and I got say I'm pretty happy to hear that. You can't be good at just one thing and come into the UFC and expect to be successful. Toney just looked lost, and it would just be more of the same with any other boxers. PS Randy is not a human being. To be 47 years old and to be in the kind of shape is just beyond my comprehension. Toney is one and done, so peace out, but for Couture he can now go back to working for a title shot at 205. Fights with Jon Jones or Rich Franklin would be my top picks.
Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn: I picked BJ Penn to win this fight, but I was really hoping that Edgar would be able to shock the world again and get a second win against Penn. Edgar won every round with ease and really made Penn look completely lost for 25 minutes. Edgar was quick on his feet, landed far more and harder shots, and took Penn down a couple times. Frankie kept moving the entire fight while Penn looked slow and flat-footed and didn't really try to use his jab, which has been his go to on the feet for quite some time. The one time Edgar might have been in trouble was when Penn took his back in the 5th, but Frankie stayed calm and managed to roll into top control ... just beautiful mat work. Frankie's next fight is already set with Maynard, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him attempt to avenge his only career loss. I'm not really sure where BJ goes from here. He could go up to 170 and test the waters there against guys like Matt Hughes or Matt Serra, or he could stick with 155 and take on someone like Gomi or Tyson Griffin.
Nik Lentz vs. Andre Winner: Probably my least favorite fight of the night. Despite the fact that British fighters are usually lacking in the wrestling department, I was impressed with Winner's ability to defend the takedown (even when both of his feet were off the ground at one point) and get up quickly when the takedown was successful. Lentz got lit up a couple times on the feet, but he used his wrestling background to stuff Winner against the cage and control the fight. Winner really missed some opportunities to create some space that would have allowed him to get his composure back and utilize his significant advantage on the feet. Lentz did what he needed to do to win the fight, but if he is going to take a step up in competition he needs to work on his striking as well as figuring out what to do once the fight hits the mat.
Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger: Holy shit that was an absolute beating. There was not one second of that fight that Gabe looked like he had a chance. The slams were awesome, Joe's transitions into the armbar were picture perfect, and the shots Joe was landing on the ground were absolutely brutal. Gabe may be one and done, or he could get another shot against a newcomer. As for Joe I think a fight with Clay Guida or Gomi would be fun to watch.
Dan Miller vs. John Salter: It was really great to finally see Dan Miller get a good win after all of the personal issues he has to deal with. Miller was coming off three straight losses, but they were to 3 of the best 185ers the UFC has to offer (Sonnen, Maia, Bisping). I saw Salter fight back in January when he was stopped by Gerald Harris. Some people are pretty high on him, but I'm not seeing anything special. I think he's a good wrestler, but that's about it. Miller's stand up definitely looked better, but once again it is his submission skills that get him the win. Miller looked content to stay standing his last few fights, but with his wrestling and BJJ credentials, it just makes more sense for him to try and get things to the mat. I'd like to see Miller take on Mark Munoz or maybe Aaron Simpson for his next fight.
Marcus Davis vs. Nate Diaz: I picked Diaz to win, but I was really pulling for Davis in this fight. I got super excited when he clipped and dropped Diaz in the first, but after that it was pretty much just Diaz putting on a show. I was talking to a friend about the Diaz brothers and their striking and we both agreed that they've really found a way to throw as many strikes as possible but still throwing power shots as well. I don't know if Davis was frustrated or what, but he looked like he aged a lot in that fight. Usually Davis is light on his feet and is able to get in and out of the pocket without taking a lot of damage, but in this fight he was flat-footed and slow. Once the fight hit the mat in the third it was all Diaz with great transitions and a fight ending guillotine that put Davis to sleep. Yves Lavigne should really be catching some crap right now for not stopping the fight sooner. Davis was out for a good 8-10 seconds before Lavigne finally stopped the bout. I'd rather see a semi-early stoppage than someone end up with a permanent injury. Not sure what's next for Davis, but a fight with Matt Brown or DeMarques Johnson is a direction I'd go in. As for Nate, his next fight depends on what weight he wants to go with. Maynard obviously isn't happening, and I think Diaz should stick with 170 for a little bit longer. I'd love to see him take on Diego Sanchez at either weight.
Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard: During the entire time I've been doing my fantasy UFC picks I don't think I've ever picked Gray Maynard to win. I don't know what it is about him, but I just could not get sold on him despite that fact that he's beaten some really tough guys, including the current world champ. I really thought Florian would light Gray up on the feet, but he did pretty much nothing except wait for the takedown. Even though he knew it was coming and trained with GSP for the fight, Kenny couldn't stop Maynard and offered absolutely nothing off of his back. Kenny has looked like a complete fighter on so many occasions, but last night he seriously looked helpless. Maynard didn't do much once he got Kenny down, but it was enough to take a commanding decision. PS, is it just me or is anybody else sick of hearing about Gray's power and striking? I've yet to see it against anyone that matters. Gray is a wrestler, an excellent wrestler, so it's ok to not talk about his striking. Maynard is like 155's Jon Fitch. He's strong, he'll take you down, and he'll completely neutralize you. Maynard is getting the next title shot, but I'm thinking Edgar will be able to make this fight much more competitive than their first meeting. As for Florian, I think a fight with Nate Diaz would make sense if Nate really wants to move back down.
Demain Maia vs. Mario Miranda: I didn't know a lot about Miranda prior to this fight, so when I saw Anderson Silva in his corner and heard that he also had a black belt I started to think that Maia could be in a little bit of trouble. My worries soon melted away when Maia looked better than Miranda on the feet, took him down with ease, and used his far superior BJJ to control the fight. It just goes to show how far ahead Maia is than most fighters when it comes to BJJ, even other black belts. Maia didn't get the submission like I thought he would, but he got close several time. Kudos to Miranda for defending the armbars the way he did, especially the one in the 3rd that he rolled out of beautifully. Miranda is 1-2 in the UFC so he might get one more crack at a newcomer or maybe one of the recent TUF guys. I'd like to see Maia take on the winner of Akiyama/Bisping or the winner of Belfort/Okami.
James Toney vs. Randy Couture: Man Toney really had no chance at all. Couture got the easy takedown in the opening seconds of the fight and got mount with no problem at all. From there it was all Randy working his trademark ground and pound before finally sinking an arm triangle. Dana White stated after the fight that this would be the last time he'd let a boxer come into the UFC like that and I got say I'm pretty happy to hear that. You can't be good at just one thing and come into the UFC and expect to be successful. Toney just looked lost, and it would just be more of the same with any other boxers. PS Randy is not a human being. To be 47 years old and to be in the kind of shape is just beyond my comprehension. Toney is one and done, so peace out, but for Couture he can now go back to working for a title shot at 205. Fights with Jon Jones or Rich Franklin would be my top picks.
Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn: I picked BJ Penn to win this fight, but I was really hoping that Edgar would be able to shock the world again and get a second win against Penn. Edgar won every round with ease and really made Penn look completely lost for 25 minutes. Edgar was quick on his feet, landed far more and harder shots, and took Penn down a couple times. Frankie kept moving the entire fight while Penn looked slow and flat-footed and didn't really try to use his jab, which has been his go to on the feet for quite some time. The one time Edgar might have been in trouble was when Penn took his back in the 5th, but Frankie stayed calm and managed to roll into top control ... just beautiful mat work. Frankie's next fight is already set with Maynard, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him attempt to avenge his only career loss. I'm not really sure where BJ goes from here. He could go up to 170 and test the waters there against guys like Matt Hughes or Matt Serra, or he could stick with 155 and take on someone like Gomi or Tyson Griffin.
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