While many people think that Coutore-Sylvia will be the best fight of the night, I’m not sure it will be that exciting. Sylvia really slows down the fight and is happy to go the distance for the decision.
No, the fight I’m looking forward to is Rich Franklin vs. Jason McDonald. This mark’s Franklin’s return to the ring after surrendering his second defeat of his career losing his Middlewight belt to Anderson ” The Spider” Silva, arguably the best striker in the UFC. Franklin had no answer for Silva’s Muy Thai clinch which resulted in repeated knees to the face and a TKO after he broke his nose.
However, the last time Jason McDonald was thrown-in to the ring as a rebound guy he submitted Ed Hermann in the 1st rd, while registering a TKO against Chris Leben in the 2nd. McDonald has been a pleasant surprise so far for UFC Prez Dana White and could give Franklin a real fight.
In my opinion, Franklin bounces back and gets closer to a rematch with Silva.
This one is going to be a yawner. The next great UFC battle will be Sanchez v. Koscheck in April. Will the winner go straight to St. Pierre or face Hughes for the privedge?
Also on the April card are stepping stone matches for Grove and Swick at 185. The Franklin v. McDonald fight is a win/win proposition for the UFC- either Franklin re-establishes himself or McDonald joins the elite 185s. Silva can look invincible but has some holes and will always be in interesting fights. I’d also like to see Loiseau split a few more foreheads.
At light heavyweight Bisping, Rampage, and Evans will each get a few more gimmes before one will be dismantled by Liddell. No drama here until Silva comes over, although any Jardine fight is watchable.
There won’t be an interesting fight at heavyweight until Cro Cop annihilates someone for the title, although watching Coture pester dopey Silvia will be mildly amusing.
Lightweight won’t get interesting until Penn drops down and Pulver returns. I wonder if they have any plans to promote that.
This is probably the most interesting weight class in the UFC. Matching any two of the fighters listed here would be worthy of a top undercard at least. Histories and style contrasts make the future of the division facsinating.
One subplot invovles Penn and Hughes who have beaten and hate one another. Penn moved up from 155 and won by a 1st round submission in ‘04, considered one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Hughes broke Penn’s rib and scored a TKO in ‘06, although he was saved from a second submission by an early round bell. Hughes has won and lost to GSP, most recently getting out-struck and put to bed. Penn inflicted plenty of damage but lost a split decision to GSP in a bout that was very even and too short at only three rounds. Another fight between the two contenders would vault the victor to top contender status and put the loser’s future in question. Penn would likely drop back to 155, which may happen anyway after he coaches against Jens Pulver in the upcoming TUF season.
Sanchez and Koscheck have steamrolled almost every test to this point, but have yet to be tested by the elite. The TUF participants fought to a split decision during the show, which the still-undefeated Sanchez won. Koscheck is newer to MMA but his potential is impossible not to notice and he has best-in-class wrestling skills to fall back on. The question with Josh is a recurring theme in MMA- how far have the other areas of his game come and how will they hold up against a top fighter’s attack. While Koscheck will probably have the edge in grapling when the bell rings, Diego’s relentless ambush tends to knock opponents out of their element. Neither has been out-wrestled or shaken by strikes to date in the UFC- one or both will quickly be fighting in unfamiliar territory. The winner seems to be in line for a title shot, as the champ will defend his title minutes after their fight. The loser has plenty of upside and is likely to remain near the top this list.
Parysian is a bit of a wild card at 170. Quite experienced for a 24-year old, he has fought and lost to both GSP and Diego Sanchez, but has also been flawless against the 2nd tier of fighters- Drew Fickett, Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, and Matt Serra. His offense, particularly judo throws, were successful against the usually well-defended Sanchez, and he survived a nice beating. He has proven he has the poise and chin to stand and throw with anyone to go along with his natural strength, heavy hands, and judo skill. He may get lost in the shuffle, but strikes me as someone who will always be in the mix like BJ Penn. He won’t go quickly or quietly and has a chance to win anytime he enters the octagon. He will likely earn a title shot a some point.
As for St. Pierre, he is clearly the best right now at 170. He uses a wider array of leg, body, and head kicks than his competition along with a diverse boxing repotoire to stun and finish opponents. His takedown defense is sufficient to keep the fight on foot if it suits him. If not, his takedowns are only a shade below Hughes and Koscheck, and his elbows and fists are deadly on the ground. Submissions are a viable option at all times. His only loss was due to a Hughes armbar in a fight he came in to tenatively. He explained his mistakes and promised to regroup and enter his rematch with more confidence. He did and he dominated. Anyone can be beaten, particularly in a 25 minute championship bout. Submissions and cuts are always a risk from the crowd GSP will be dealing with over the next couple years. A Sanchez win could set up a title shot, which I expect be the most anticipated fight of the year. Hughes and Penn could both be in the mix for highly anticipated rematches as well. Although I consider Matt Serra to be a favorable matchup for GSP, he is experienced and will look to sink something in from the bell. Equaling Matt Hughes’ recent run of six successful defenses will be difficult.
The rankings:
1. Georges St. Pierre, 25
Trains in BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling
Excellent conditioning, strength, speed, agility and overall athleticism. Precise kicks, punches, knees, elbows, takedowns, submissions and takedown and ground defense.
Holds wins over Hughes and Penn
2. Diego Sanchez, 25
Gaidojutsu Black belt, former state HS wrestling champ
Raw strength and quickness. Relentless ground and pound and vicious rear chokes.
Undefeated in UFC.
3. B.J. Penn, 28
BJJ black belt, only non-Brazilian BJJ champion.
Probably the most agile and flexible fighter in the UFC. Great stand up and better submissions. Accused of poor conditioning.
Former champ has submitted Hughes and beaten current challenge Matt Serra. His split decision loss to
St. Pierre was probably determined by a couple late takedowns by a bloodied, battered GSP. Injured rib in loss to Hughes in fall of ’06 cost him the belt and months of recovery time.
“I want to smash his face so bad,” says Penn. “I don’t think about anything else except smashing Hughes’ face. I don’t like him at all.”
4. Matt Hughes, 33
Four time collegiate All-American wrestler.
No stronger fighter in the division, top notch takedowns, great ground and pound as well as submissions. Stand up proven to be inferior to the elite of the division. At his best when he is bouncing opponents off the ground.
Wins and losses versus GSP and Penn, steam-rolled the division pre-GSP.
5. Karo Parysian, 24
Judo Black belt, excels at grappling/judo throws, arm bars.
Good natural strength, heavy hands, work habits have been questioned, but a battle-tested warrior.
Has gone the distance with St. Pierre and Sanchez, also holds wins over Lytle, Serra, Diaz and Fickett.
6. Josh Koscheck, 29
National Champion Wrestler
Considered the best wrestler in UFC. Great takedowns, ground and pound, and defense.
Lost split decision to Sanchez during TUF. Has only been in the sport for a year and a half.
“I just don’t see how he could beat me now. Honestly, I think Diego would be an easy win.”
The Others: A mix of solid pros and up-and-comers, but there’s a fine line between both species and of the ‘professional opponent’. Fickett, Lytle, Serra, Riggs, Diaz, Fitch…….they all kind of run together for me. You’ve heard of them………..you might hear of them again…………you don’t really care.
In Conclusion: I don’t expect GSP to go 5-0 if he faces the rest of this list over the next few years. It also wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he lost to Koscheck or Sanchez, only to turn around and dominate the rematch. GSP loses to Sanchez, who loses to Penn, who loses to Hughes, who loses to GSP wouldn’t surprise me either. MMA is a sport of strategy and adjustment. Styles make fights. There are many different ways to achieve victory even when an opponent is superior on the given day. 5 fights I would like to see:
1. Hughes vs. Koscheck: Top-shelf wrestling.
2. Parysian vs. Penn: a technical battle between black belts.
3. GSP vs. Serra: Nobody actually wants to see this. Why is this happening?
4. Sanchez vs. Anderson Silva: Why not?
5. GSP vs. Sanchez: Probably going to happen eventually.
I’m looking forward to the return of The Natural, who is probably my 2nd favorite Mixed Martial Artist ever (behind only Ken Shamrock). I want to see Randy knock the crap out of The Maniac!
I know I should watch more, but it always seems to me like everyone is the freakin same these days. Everything is so regulated and everyone looks the same. I loved in the old days when guys with completely different styles (Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Don Frye, Kimo, etc). One thing that I love remains constant. Big John McCarthy.
That’s why the welterweights are the best. Although the rules favor the wrestlers in all weights, there are still competitors of different styles on display in this division. GSP is probably more boxer/kickboxer than wrestler, although he’s so well rounded that it depends on the fight. BJ Penn is pure BJJ, and seems to invent a new defense or submission every couple minutes. Did you see Penn-GSP? The guy is double-jointed in every joint. Karo Parysian makes effective use of judo throws against even the best opponents. Hughes and Koscheck are pure wrestlers, but it’s still interesting to see them trying to adapt. Diego is an ex-wrestler too but uses his knees like David Loisseau uses his bows.
I think that Sylvia probably deserves a rematch with Couture at some point being that he was “dominating” the Heavyweight Division until the Old Man came in and kicked the crap out of him. I think that The Natural vs Cro Cop would be extremely intriguing and is probably not too far away. I don’t think that Arlovski deserves a shot more than Sylvia after losing 2 of 3 to The MAINE-IAC. I don’t really want to see Couture beat Sylvia’s ass again, so I’m hoping for a match with Cro Cop.
By the way, why is Anderson Silva fighting Marquardt? Why don’t they give the fans what they want, a rematch between Ace and the Spider?!?!
The next title to change hands will be the Middleweight Belt, currently owned by Anderson Silva. It is my opinion that The Spider will be losing his belt to Rich “Ace” Franklin when the two meet for their rematch, presumably before the end of the year.
There is a decent chance that Randy Couture could lose his Heavyweight title before Silva loses his belt, especially if Couture’s next fight is indeed against Mirko Cro Cop. But I am gonna stick with both The Natural and Ace and say that both will be champs at the end of 2007.
After that last PPV I think UFC will want to milk the Couture era as long as they can without losing credibility. I think he’ll end up in a matchup that will favor him, and I would like to see Liddell move up to challenge him after that.
In his first interview after the Rampage fight was made, Chuck said “This is the last loss on my record that I have to avenge so I want to put that behind me and then look at new challenges.” I think the new challenge is the heavyweight division. After Chuck beats Randy the UFC would be set up to make the biggest fight possible- Liddell-Cro Cop.
As far as the middle-weights go, I think Franklin-Silva is still the biggest fight, and I don’t think they will pass on it. But I’m also looking forward to seeing Swick in action next week and I think he could jump on the fast track if he looks good.
WOW, what interesting implications we will have from the fallout of UFC’s latest PPV. Matt Serra is the new Welterweight Champion, Josh Koscheck basically manhandled the previously unbeaten Diego Sanchez, and yet more PRIDE fighters seem to be heading to the octagon as witnessed by the appearance of Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.
What happens to the Welterweight Division?
Do Kos and Diego go for the Rubber Match?
How crazy is the UFC about to get with all of the new guys?
Will Chuck answer Mayweather’s boxing challenge?
Yea that was wild. Looks like everyone’s upset pick hit no matter who it was.
-Kos-Sanchez: I think Rogan said it best when he said that these guys hate each other so much that they didn’t want to leave an opening for the other. I thought the standup might go like this but I figured it would open up when they both went for a takedown. Kos slammed him once right at the end of the first, obviously by design, and when Diego reversed him at the bell it was the only time he had an advantage. Why would Kos bother to do it again?
-Serra-GSP: Don’t want to downplay the win by saying it was a lucky punch because it was a great overall performance. We should have remembered how bad Georges got beat up by BJ Penn. Still I’ll happily lay 3:1 on a rematch. I really don’t think the UFC even had a contingency plan for this result. On one hand you’d like to build up a few stars rather than have the belt change hands three times a year, but this opens up a lot of fights. I think Koscheck deserves the first shot, barring a quick rematch. Did you see how happy Hughes was? I think he knows GSP is a bad matchup for him and, like everyone else, wants to get a crack at Serra before the belt is in more capable hands. It’s going to take another win for Serra to shake that reputation. Let’s look at the options:
1. Rematch: GSP is popular and looked like a top 5 lb for lb before Saturday. Obviously got stunned early and couldn’t recover. This fight proved that anyone can be beaten. Rematches after the underdog wins will always sell.
2. Hughes: I hate Hughes but he’s really popular. What a boring fight this would be. I’d rather see Hughes-GSP for a title shot.
3. Koscheck: I was pretty jacked for Koscheck-GSP. I definitely think this is our next champ if he gets the fight.
Interesting debate- UFC has been a little heavy on the rematches in other weight classes but that was due to lack of challengers. I hope Kos gets first crack with Hughes-GSP on the undercard. This single loss really buried Sanchez, but he’ll definitely earn a rematch, and hopefully it’ll be for the belt next time.
Wow, Joe and I waited to watch this PPV until tonight. I did not see that coming from Serra, but you can;t take anything away from him. This division is wide open and i love it.
First, how sweet would Huerta- Florian be?
Next, Koscheck deserves a shot at the belt. Although this match was boring it was great strategy by Koz.
I was surprised Swick lost his fight, but Ogami has very good mat skills. Ogami-Grove would be interesting.
I think if Lidell-Mayweather go at it they should do one in the ring and one in the octago. Although, I don’t think Chuck could last very long in the ring STAMINA-wise.
Well it looks like the coming Cro Cop-Gonzaga matchup will be a #1 contender match with the winner facing Couture. Give the UFC credit here for not fucking around. They could have esily put Randy in with a stiff for a cheap PPV, but instead look even more committed to putting on only great fights. Everyone is picking Cro Cop, exclusively on his repuation for most of us, becasue Gonzaga is relatively unknown. Rogan says not to sleep on him but what else would he say. After Serra it’s tough to be overconfident in anyone. With all the mayhem inside the octogon it’s always possible to sink in a submission or land a big shot.
None of the other fights on this card are of much interest to me although I like Bisping’s style and I’m interested to see how quickly he is promoted.
I’m excited for Chuck-Rampage, as I’m sure everyone is, but I wish they’d waited until summer. Is Evans next in line, or would they consider Jardine? Always possible are fighters outside the UFC as well. Karo Parysian appears on the undercard and is always entertaining to watch.
I agreed with the Koscheck title shot at first but now I expect a Hughes-Serra matchup simply because Hughes was and is so popular. It’s also tough to argue with a title shot for a fighter who dominated for so long. I read a rumor somewhere about GSP-Kos and that would be just insane- I really think those are the two best in the division.
Lightweight is going to be out of control. I thi nk the UFC made an error holding a title bout so quickly. I think a tournament would have been an incredibly popular move, and we have the fighters to support it. Can you really argue with title shots for Stevenson, Florian, Huerta or Franca? Actually I’ll do a quick rank-job when I get around to it………….
Who will win the Ultimate Fighter? Until I see him beaten (which will obviously eliminate him from the competition anyway), I’ve got “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon. He might be young (22), but Lauzon was very impressive in his dismantling of Brian Geraghty in his first fight on the show. To boot, and it has been well documented, Lauzon defeated coach Jens Pulver at UFC 63.
I think this question should have probably been posted AFTER this first round is over. The quarter finals are like two fights away and we have yet to see like 4 fighters. All the guys have been impressive so far though, and I think as Corey Hill goes from raw talent to polished fighter, he will be tough to beat. (Kinda like Sylvia was for a while) His first fight was anything but impressive and if Emerson wasn’t such a tool he probably would have won.
I’m interested in seeing Gray and Matt Wiman fight before I make any predictions though.
There’s 2 fights that no one seems to be talking much about this weekend, and they’re not in the world of MMA.
I’m talking about Jermain Taylor vs Cory Spinks and, on its undercard, Edison Miranda vs Kelly Pavlik, the winner of which could get a shot at Taylor should he defeat Spinks as he is supposed to. The action will be coming live from Memphis, TN and will be televised for “free” on HBO.
Let me get right to the point: I love Taylor! For my money, there is nothing better than a great Middleweight; at Middleweight, you get the best of both worlds: Power like Heavyweight but also Quickness like a Lightweight. While Floyd Mayweather Jr. is widely considered to be the best Pound-for-Pound boxer in the world at Junior Middleweight, it is Taylor who I find to be completely entertaining and a joy to watch.
Taylor, of course, was the Bronze medalist at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Since then, “Bad Intentions” has amassed a record of 26-0-1, with 17 wins coming by KO. Among his victims are Raul Marquez, William Joppy, Daniel Edouard, and Bernard Hopkins (twice). Taylor’s record also features a draw against Winky Wright, largely considered to be among the best Pound-for-Pound boxers not named Mayweather.
The winner of Miranda-Pavlik could certainly get a shot at Taylor’s titles, especially since the camps from Taylor and Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe have had difficulties setting something up between the two. If it comes down to Miranda or Pavlik, here’s hoping for Miranda; the following article pretty much sums up my feelings for why: http://www.mmanews.com/boxing/Taylor-Banters-With-Miranda-Before-Fight-With-Spinks.html
If you are near a TV on Saturday night and are in the mood to watch some guys beating each other up, tune in to HBO!
Well, I watched the Jermaine Taylor “fight” last night. A few thoughts:
-Boxing is dead.
-Taylor needs to change his nickname. His intentions are to get the fight over with without breaking a sweat.
-Why does he keep fighting weak punchers from lower weight classes?
-Why do boxers act like they can’t wait to kill the guy leading up to the fight and at the press conference, and then get in there and do nothing?
-I bet Taylor ends up avoiding Pavlik- just a hunch.
-Boxing is dead. Dead.
In a brighter note, there is a nice card tonight for UFC Fight Night, which sets up next weekends Liddell-Rampage card. Maybe they will each throw 4-5 punches per round and then celebrate and hollar into the camera when its over about how great they are. On second thought maybe they will actually fight, since that is what they love to do and get paid to do.
“Who’s going to look good with Cory Spinks?” said Emanuel Steward, Taylor’s trainer. “All you want to do is get the win and move on. Cory Spinks was jabbing, and before the punch got out, he’s running back already.”
For the record, I like UFC more than Boxing, too, and can’t wait for Iceman-Rampage next weekend!
You’re right about Spinks, but at the same time Taylor never wins definitively against anyone. Winky basically beat him and Hopkins could have gone either way.
And why make a fight against a guy who won’t provide a good fight? The sport is dying and this is what they came up with? A boring, easy fight with little chance of excitement or an upset?
Similarly, the one decent fight of the year (Hoya-Maywaether) has no undercard? How else do you get up-and-comers into the spotlight? The one and only chance the sport had to get the attention of the casual fan and they offer one boring fight for $55.
The UFC does well because one company essentially owns the sport. There is no bickering between promoters or holding out for bigger pay days.
Wiman over Geraghty
Garcia over Berube
Maynard over Emerson
Miller over Wang
Lauzon over Melendez
Leites over Sword
Huerta over Evans
Gamburyan over Diaz
Penn over Pulver
Geraghty over Wiman
Berube over Garcia
Emerson over Maynard
Wang over Miller
Melendez over Lauzon
Sword over Leites
Evans over Huerta
Diaz over Gamburyan
Pulver over Penn
Get it????? For real now I’ve currently been watching 6 straight hours of The Ultimate Fighter and I’m pretty pumped up for tonight. Not Tim Dean pumped up, but pumped nonetheless.
After picking pretty well for the TUF 5 Finale, I am going to try my luck with my picks for UFC 73:
Edgar over Bocek
Lytle over Gilliam
Gurgel over Saraiva
Bonnar over Nickels
Florian over Robinson
Nog over Herring
Sherk over Franca
Tito over Rashad
Silva over Marquardt
A few thoughts on the PPV:
-I am not a big fan of either Bonnar or Florian, so my heart wouldn’t be broken to see either one lose. How gay are their nicknames, too: “The American Psycho” and “Ken-Flo?”
-Sherk and Franca should be a treat.
-It will be interesting to see what happens with Tito regardless of the outcome as his contract with the UFC is about to expire.
-I hope Silva wins so Franklin can have his revenge!
-First of all it looks like Sanchez vs. Fitch at 76 on Sept. 22. Diego comes off his first loss to face the man who has replaced him as the rising undefeated welterweight. I think this will be a good fight. As always we won’t find out until fight night how much each fighter has changed since our last viewing snd what the gameplan is. It’s hard to gauge how a fighter will do against top competition by watching him dismantle losers. Fitch is good a weathering the storm, which he will probably have to do to survive and give himself a chance to win. How will Sanchez bounce back from a disappointing defeat and a staph infection? If he is out there thinking too much instead of flying around like he’s supposed to I could see him getting caught in a bad position, possibly gettign subbed. If not he’s probably a small favorite to win by decision. If he can stop the resilient and well-rounded Fitch it will make a pretty big statement. He needs to win, but Fitch is on the fence right now too despite being undefeated. Sounds like everyone in the division doesn’t it? Anyway this rumor could easily be bullshit. I also read Parysian-Fitch on the Serra-Hughes card. Who fuckin knows?
-I think Florian is gonna put on a clinic tomorrow. Punishing strikes and a submission that gets locked in when his opponent gets tired of getting hit and wants a way out. Early stoppage in this one. Florian doesn’t have elite talent and may never take the belt but he is a serious opponent for anyone.
-Minotauro might end Herring’s life.
-Franca thinks that Sherk will eventually make a mistake over the course of their 25-minute fight and become open for a knockout or submission. I tend to agree but that doesn’t mean Hermes will close the deal. For one thing we hear a lot hoe certain guys want to wait out a decision just to see them bash a guy’s head in. Sherk may be a wrestler but if Franca tires a barrage of straight punches and downward elbows could easily be enough to end it. Hermes is great at unloading haymakers in transition- as the clinch breaks, as the fighters are getting up, etc. He’s also a BJJ blackbelt and will be looking to slap something on during ground transitions. Sherk’s short arms and no neck will really help him here. I don’t think Franca will be able to sink in a decisive submission, but I do think he can land a big shot that will lead to the end. I expect Sherk to control 80%+ of the action but Hermes will eventually land one that will turn the tide. Franca KO round 4.
-Evans hasn’t fought what you would call a crafty veteran no matter how you slice it. When you fight Jason Lambert or Stephan Bonnar you can win on talent- not that that’s an easy task but ther is still a difference. Tito won’t allow Evans to survive a handful of takedowns like he did against Salmon. In one way this pairing reminds me of Koscheck-Sanchez- coming in we can only wonder what either fighter will do if he gets in trouble on his back. Tito was always struck to death standing and Rashad just hasn’t been tested period. For Ortiz to win he needs a smart gameplan and patient execution. Evans has got to come in confident but restrained. An Evans highlight reel KO will really vault his career. Only because it’s a three rounded I think it goes to decision. Almost too close to call but for the perposes of a prediction I’ll take Tito, split decision that the crowd hates.
-Marquardt can muscle Silva to the ground- I have no doubt of that. He can score one takedown, wear him out, and take the belt. I’m taking Silva because he only needs that one exchange to end the fight. This is another long fight where one looks to grind out a cautious but effective assault, while the other waits for an opening. But unlike Sherk, I think Marquadt has less talent and ability as his opponent. Silva by TKO, round 3.
So, only one pick that can be called an upset. I read a UFC-wagering article before each PPV, and the author thinks the best play this month was Marquardt +185, which is now down to +140 in some places. He believes that there is a strong chance that Silva gets muscled and worn down. Again, this is the key for bothe Nate and Sherk- beat the explosiveness out of the Brazillians. When the explosion is there those elbows, knees, and submissions strike like a cobra attack.
-Florian has added another club to his bag- judo. I’ve said he’s a personal favorite and a dangerous, ever-improving professional. His opponent had some skills tonight, but Kenny hurts people very effectively as he uses efficient position control to set up sharp strikes. Let’s call Florian Skinny Kenny. And……….he just mauled him to the point of tapping as I type this. Nice quick anhilation.
-Big Nog. Wow. Talk about a Cro Cop Gonzaga flashback. I’m glad to see he rebounded to score the win. We don’t need anymore shakeups.
-Franca-Sherk played out the way I thought it would in a lot of ways. Sherk controlled the tempo and position, and was better than Franca for even more than the 80% of the time that I predicted. He also opened himself up for potential fight-ending strikes and submission holds. As expected those holds were unable to do the job as Sherk slipped out of them quickly with the help of his stubby midget arms and absentee neck. The hole in my prediction cost Franca the fight- he was unable to make those precision knees put Sherk to sleep and, unfortunately, those were the only opportunities he had. It pisses me off when these fights stay on the ground the whole time, but Sherk certainly earned the right to keep it there with his stellar conditioning and skills. The announcers sucked his balls a little excessively for my tastes but they beat home one serious point- who’s gonna take out Sean Sherk? He’s going to need some serious takedown defense and standup because I really think the champ’s just too compact to submit (can you picture a kimura that he couldn’t just rip out of?). Who the hell meets that description?*
-Anderson Silva is one of my favorites to watch. He’s a true striker in a sport under attack from wrestlers, as I will discuss later. While it would have been fun to watch a few more flying kicks and knees, he ended Marquardt quickly with his lethal reach and venomous power. The man just snaps off his strikes like a King Cobra. In fact that’s gonna be his new nickname. I think he will destroy Franklin again in the fall. The Cobra bows to his opponents and then assassinates them- what’s not to like?**
-I always said I’d come out to Method Man’s Release Yo Delf if I were in the UFC. Other than that not much to like about this fight. First of all I think the point deduction was legit and I think that foul cost Evans a slam or two moreso than it cost Tito the decision. I suppose my prediction of too close to call was somewhat on the mark, but not for the reasons we all hoped. I felt like Rashad needed to come in under control, but like a lot of TUF veterans he was way too restrained- this is an annoying trend. Rashad looked nervous and just danced too much. I disagreed with the announcers and Tito’s corner who felt he was doing well. i thought they both sucked. This is an example of why I think fights should go 5 rounds. I’d say the top 5 fights on each card should go 5- or even better go 4 and if it’s even go for a 5th. I’m glad it was a draw, and I think more of these shit fights should have no winner. If the fans are losers so should the fighters. Do we want to see a rematch? No. But I think Evans will be able to turn it around. Tito just doesn’t look that dangerous, even though he is huge for 205. As Rogan points out Evans is smaller than Rich Franklin. A move to 185 could come if he has teouble taking the next step. His skill set is not complete and he has to change his approach, but he’s another wrestler who looks poised to become a great mixed martial artist.
Some other thoughts:
-As I alluded to I think there is a trend emerging in MMA that concerns me. Elite wrestlers are finding that their routine translates well to MMA training. A lot of these guys, Koscheck, Evans, and Sherk come to mind, simply need to integrate a few tools intot he bag before becoming a top contender. Why do I think this is bad? Because these skills are used to hang in there against boxing, mui thai, judo, and brazillian and jui jitsu long enough to take the fight to the ground and lay around. I can’t fault these guys for their strategies. The goal is winning for one, and this is also the smartest way to survive the UFC until the other their skills come around. But I’d rather watch Karo Parysian throw people, Drew McMedries drop bombs, and Anderson Silva unleash violence. Wrestlers are very effective, and if their discipline dominates MMA like BJJ did once I can’t really complain. But I’ll be a little salty and watch a little less, and think a lot of new fans will be lost.
-I think Dana White needs to stop assigning the winner of certain fights certain rewards before they compete. I’d like to hear “the winner of this fight *could* be chosen to fight for the belt next *if* he looks great tonight.” Something has to be done to force action. This was a solid event but we can’t forget that the last one ate shit. I noticed that John McCarthy and another ref stood fighters up rather quickly more than once tonight. I like that- this is entertainment, and I don’t care if the guy was about to improve his position. Do it quicker next time.
-I’d still like to see a 10-8 round or worse, more rounds if no one has found satisfaction, more and greater financial incentives to finish fights and incite the crowd, and anything else to take the excitement up a notch. I think we’re all tired of hearing Mike Goldberg gush about how great a card has been or what a clinic a fighter is putting on, and then looking around to try to figure out what the hell he’s been watching.
*Seriously who the hell can get after that lightweight belt? Stevenson- sort of a poor man’s Sherk. Florian- already failed once, but Skinny Ken has added some weapons. I’m still skeptical but 25 minutes is a long time to open up a cut or lock up a leg (the one limb that doesn’t look mutant). Huerta- I’m less impressed than the announcers. That usually means he’s a marketing fav. Fisher- I’d like to see this one quite a bit. Penn- definitely meets the two qualifications- defense, standup, and also has some slither from his back. Could happen soon.
**And Silva? Let’s see: Franklin- many fans crave redemption for Ace, but I don’t see it. I think Franklin was hyped by the UFC as a mega-star before the talent was consolidated. I love the guy but I think he’s overrated. But he could win and then he’d truly earn the respect he’s given. McFedries- I addressed him this high because he’s got that great KO power- and a puncher’s chance is looking the most promising against Silva. Grove- No. Herman- this guy is my dark horse. In my mind he’s a better Travis Lutter, and I think he’d be a live dog.
Remember, Franklin, Hughes, and Liddell were all invincible at one time. Now we debate if they belong in the top 5. It is a rollercoaster sport, so let’s enjoy these guys while they are king and remember that tonight could have been the tallest hill on the ride.
It has been over a month and a half since we have had any major UFC action, so I am aching to see how tonight’s PPV plays out. Here’s one guy’s opinion:
Aurelio over Guida
Mir over Hardonk
Sobral over Heath
Leites over Jensen
Grove over Cote
Stevenson over Pellegrino
St. Pierre over Koscheck
Huerta over Crane
Couture over Gonzaga
First off, great show put on by Razor Rob McCullough tonight on the WEC show on Versus. McCullough, part of Tito Ortiz’s Team Punishment, smacked the shit out of the challenger to his Lightweight WEC title. For those of you not familiar with the WEC, I suggest you check it out; the WEC is almost a minor-league of sorts for the UFC, owned and operated by the same fellas that own the UFC (Dana White and the Fertitta boys).
With that being said, UFC 75 kicks off on Saturday FREE on Spike TV. My predictions follow:
Liaudin over Torres
Siver over Kotani
Silva over Drwal
Tibau over Etim
Alexander over Sakara
Davis over Taylor
Cro Cop over Kongo
Hammill over Bisping
Henderson over Jackson
New season of TUF (Hughes vs Serra) coming up, UFC 76: Liddell vs Jardine on the 22nd, and there are reports circulating that Fedor will be at UFC 75 Saturday with UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture for what is being called a promotional appearance, since both men have sponsorship deals with the Affliction clothing line. Could all the recent comments by Emelianenko’s management and Dana White himself that contract talks have stalled be just a smokescreen to save a really, really big announcement for UFC 75?
A new season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts this week. Not only is that good news for fans of UFC’s groundbreaking reality series, but it also means there will be a live UFC Fight Night from Las Vegas leading into the debut episode on Wednesday. Fight Night 11 is the third of four UFC events within a crazy one-month period, which started with Randy Couture’s title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga on Aug. 25 and will wrap up this Saturday as Chuck Liddell faces Keith Jardine at UFC 76.
To help viewers get into TUF mode, the card for Fight Night 11 is loaded with TUF alumni, including season one’s Kenny Florian in the main event against TUF 4 cast member Din Thomas in a battle of talented, versatile lightweights. Florian stepped into the main event slot as a replacement for Spencer Fisher, who had to pull out of his originally scheduled fight with Thomas after he acquired a staph infection during training.
My predictions for the evening follow:
Hazelett over Goulet
Alves over Hironaka
Maynard over Veres
Miller over Garcia
Cummo over Crocota
Quarry over Sell
Assuncao over Diaz
Leben over Martin
Thomas over Florian
Not too shabby of a 7-2 record from Fight Night 11, but I did miss 2 of the 3 biggest fights…probably because I hate both Diaz and Florian and will probably never pick either to ever win (Who knows what happens, by the way, if Thomas doesn’t get hurt going for the shoot against Ken-Flo – worst nickname in sports, by the way).
The Ultimate Fighter should be sweet this season. Gotta like how my boy Mac Danzig looked in the first episode; he’s originally from the Burgh, you know? Daniel Barrera looks like a physical beast, but I’m gonna stick with my pre-season prediction of Danzig taking home the guaranteed contract.
As for this weekend, it is no doubt going to be a big PPV. You’ve got Liddell and Sanchez trying to get back into the title picture in their respective weight classes, while the fight that I am anticipating the most pits Shogun Rua vs. Forrest Griffin. If Chuck wins his fight, then it looks like he will get Wanderlei Silva…which would be sweet.
My picks:
Johnson over Clementi
Wiman over Omigawa
Wellisch over Junk
Saraiva over Stephens
Griffin over Tavares
Machida over Nakamura
Sanchez over Fitch
Rua over Griffin
Liddell over Jardine (KO)
Wow, it seemed like quite a night of fights, eh? My thoughts, post UFC 76:
-Even though he lost to Jardine, Liddell must fight Wanderlei Silva in December. This has long been a dream fight for MMA fans, and with Chuck seemingly headed toward the end of his career, I say it’s better late than never. Furthermore, the December PPV is usually one of the larger ones for UFC, and this match would still draw a hefty buy rate.
-As for Jardine, I think that we need to see a rematch with Forrest Griffin. I am still amazed that Griffin was beat by the DEAN OF MEAN (next to Ken-Flo, the 2nd worst nickname of all time). Griffin is more popular and appears to be the more polished fighter, especially after stopping Shogun. Let’s see him get a chance at redemption against Jardine before potentially pushing him toward a title shot (I’d love to see him get a rematch with Tito, too).
-Shogun’s loss is just the latest in a string of unimpressive performances by former PRIDE stars. Except for Rampage, the studs that have come over (Cro Cop, Nog, Shogun) have all disappointed. It remains to be seen what’s left in the tank for Wanderlei, but we need Fedor in UFC.
-Diego Sanchez on a losing streak, eh? Not sure where Diego goes from here. Maybe a rubber match with Kos?
-UFC 77 is next up on Oct. 20th in Cincy. Hometown favorite Rich Franklin gets his rematch with Anderson Silva. Additionally, Brandon Vera makes his return to the octagon, taking on Tim Sylvia, with the winner positioning himself for a HW title shot.
-The rumors for the UFC 78 fight card include a rematch between Tito and Rashad and an appearance by Karo.
-How about Randy Couture? He just continues to correctly pick the upsets, correctly choosing both Griffin and Fitch to win their respective matches from the weekend.
-Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik next Saturday night, along with the 2nd episode of The Ultimate Fighter on Wednesday.
76 Thoughts: I thought the Fitch fight would go down just as it did, perhaps with a little more boxeo by Fitch. As he said though he felt comfortable in the clinch and on the ground and wanted to avoid takedowns. Nice clean win, and now he’s in line.
Jardine has very nice kicks, but othewise he is sloppy and unimpressive. I can’t believe Chuck couldn’t put him away. I hope he’s been underpreparing because a loss to Jardine is a bad loss.
Griffin looked very skilled and doesn’t make many mistakes despite what’s viewed as a wild style. Shogun had his moments but really gassed. I think Shogun will be heard from again soon.
Tyson Griffin impressed me quite a bit. Tavares is an elite submission guy with plenty of speed and athleticism. Griffin gets less publicity than Fisher, Huerta, Florian and Stevenson, but I think he’s pretty legit.
Machida reminds me of Yushin Okami- he’s boring but he’ll crush most of the division.
Randy quit, and it’s a pretty interesting situation if you haven’t been following. mmajunkie.com and sherdog.com have some worthwhile info to read.
Dana White is getting a lot of heat. In my view this is why you don’t act like a jackass in public when you are the president of a visable, fan and media-driven company. When the he-said-she-said starts you have no credibility.
Lots of boring things going on in the UFC right now. Franklin-Silva is Cincy is intriguing, but the MW division is dead on the vine after that matchup. WW has been waiting forever for Hughes-Serrs. St. Pierre and the rest of the division are just wasting away. HW obviously just got raped, and LHW just suffered losses by the biggest names. LW was looking good until the champ tested up for roids. What a mess. I think the organization is more vulnerable than people think.
Black over Grice
Burkman over Petz
Jensen over Maia
Gurgel over Robinson
Okami over MacDonald
Belcher over Starnes
Schafer over Bonnar
Vera over Sylvia (KO)
Franklin over Silva (Decision)
With all of this talk about Randy and Fedor, and a Playboy article about the popularity of Chuck Liddell, it got me to thinking…Who is the greatest MMA artist of all time? Let’s take a look at some of the contenders:
Mark Coleman: 15-8 career record
-Following his amateur career, Coleman made the transition to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, winning his first two tournaments, UFC 10 where he beat defending champion and fellow superstar, Don Frye and UFC 11 in 1996, and becoming the UFC’s first Heavyweight Champion when he submitted Dan Severn via neck crank at UFC 12. He also won the Pride 2000 open-weight Grand Prix tournament.
Randy Couture: 16-8 career record
-Couture is the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions of the UFC, as well as the only five-time champion in UFC history, earning him the nicknames “The Natural” and, later, “Captain America”. He is considered by many to be the most popular fighter in MMA history, and is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Fedor Emelianenko: 27-1 career record
-Emeliananeko has been considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world. In addition to holding notable wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filipović, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman and, most recently, over Matt Lindland, he has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the PRIDE 2004 Grand Prix, and the World Combat Sambo Championship on three occasions.
Don Frye: 17-6 career record
-Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments. Also defeated Ken Shamrock at PRIDE 19.
Takanori Gomi: 27-3 career record
-Gomi is considered by many to be one of the best MMA lightweights in the world, with notable wins over Hayato Sakurai, Jens Pulver, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Luiz Azeredo, and Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett.
Royce Gracie: 14-3 career record
-The best of the famous Gracie brothers, he won 11 matches between 1993 and 1994 by submission and was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4. He also fought to a draw with Ken Shamrock in the Superfight at UFC 5. These results contributed to the movement towards grappling, cross-training and MMA. Demonstrating that skill and style can beat strength and size, he produced notable wins over Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, and Kimo Leopoldo.
Dan Henderson: 22-6 career record
-Was the only MMA fighter holding titles in two weight classes at the same time. He has notable wins over: Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Kazuo Misaki, Murilo Bustamante, Yuki Kondo, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Murilo Rua, Renato Sobral, Gilbert Yvel and Carlos Newton.
Jeremy Horn: 79-16 career record
-One of the most experienced fighters in the world, he has beaten such notable fighters as: Forrest Griffin, Josh Burkman, David Loiseau, Dean Lister, Vernon White, Gilbert Yvel and Chuck Liddell
Matt Hughes: 41-5 career record
-A former 2-time UFC World Welterweight Champion, he holds notable wins over BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Frank Trigg, Royce Gracie, Hayato Sakurai, and Sean Sherk.
Quinton Jackson: 28-6 career record
-He has wins over: Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Arona, Igor Vovchanchyn, Murilo Rua, Matt Lindland, Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson. Outside the ring, “Rampage” is known for his humor and colorful personality
Chuck Liddell: 20-5 career record
-”The Iceman” holds notable wins over Jeff Monson, Guy Mezger, Vernon White, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn, and Randy Couture.
Pat Miletich: 28-7 career record
-He is the founder of Miletich Fighting Systems, which trained some of the most talented and popular fighters in MMA, such as former UFC Welterweight champion Matt Hughes, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, and ICON Sport middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: 30-4 career record
-The more accomplished of the Nogueira twins, “Minotauro” holds wins over notable fighters such as Mirko Filipović, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Mark Coleman, Sergei Kharitonov, Fabricio Werdum, Semmy Schilt, Ricco Rodriguez, Bob Sapp and Jeremy Horn.
Tito Ortiz: 15-5 career record
-As a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion (2000-2003), Ortiz emerged as one of the sport’s biggest stars, becoming 2006’s hottest consistent ticket seller in the entire pay per view business.
Pedro Rizzo: 16-7 career record
-Considered to be one of the best strikers in MMA history, Rizzo holds notable wins over Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Mark Coleman, Jeff Monson, Dan Severn and Ricco Rodriguez.
Bas Rutten: 28-4 career record
-He was a three time King of Pancrase, former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion, and is a certified MTBN Thai Boxing instructor, Pancrase instructor, a 5th Degree Black Belt in Kyokushin karate and a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He holds notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Kevin Randleman, Guy Mezger and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
Dan Severn: 79-14 career record
-”The Beast” was the first world-class wrestler to enter the UFC, winning the UFC 5 Championship, UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Championship, and the UFC 9 Superfight Championship. He is also a UFC Hall of Famer.
Kazushi Sakuraba: 21-10 career record
-One of the most popular mixed martial artists of all time, he also has the distinction of competing in the longest mixed martial arts bout on record, having beaten Royce Gracie over a 90 minute stretch in 2000. The most prominent English-language mixed martial arts web-site, Sherdog, rates him as the greatest Japanese mixed martial artist of all time in their power rankings while Michael Coughlin of the Wrestling Observer has cited him as the top mixed martial artist to date from any nation, across weight-classes.
Ken Shamrock: 26-12 career record
-Known almost as much for his professional wrestling career as his MMA career, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” was the first-ever UFC Superfight Champion and a UFC Hall of Fame Inductee.
Wanderlei Silva: 31-7 career record
-He holds notable wins over Kazushi Sakuraba, Ricardo Arona, Dan Henderson, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Yuki Kondo. He is the former PRIDE middleweight (205 lb) champion and the PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix champion, among others.
When it’s all said and done and you take everything into account, I think that my Top 5 MMA Fighters of All-Time would have to be:
1. Royce Gracie: His loss to Hughes a few years ago notwithstanding, Royce is THE legend of MMA, specifically in the UFC. With the recent poor showings of some of PRIDE’s most accomplished fighters, I think it is more apparent than ever that the best fighters in the world have long resided in the UFC. Royce was the winner of UFC 1, 2, and 4 (he voluntarily withdrew from UFC 3), and fought to a draw in the UFC Superfight with Shamrock at UFC 5. After the fight with Shamrock, Royce retired from the sport, in his prime mind you. Each time he has come back (to fight Sakuraba and Hughes), he has been that much older (34 when he first fough Sakuraba and 40 when he fought Hughes).
2. Kazushi Sakuraba: I really have no problem putting Sakuraba at #2 on my list. The “Gracie Hunter,” as it has been mentioned, is the greatest Japanese MMA fighter of all-time. He does indeed have a few more losses than you would expect, but, once again, many of those losses came after Sakuraba was in his prime while others (Wanderlei, Nog, Cro Cop) were in the midst of theirs.
3. Randy Couture: In my opinion, “The Natural” is the greatest American MMA fighter of all-time. An argument could certainly be made in favor of Chuck Liddell here, but I feel like Couture’s body of work is more impressive than Liddell’s. As was mentioned, Couture is probably the most popular MMA fighter ever, as well.
4. Fedor Emelianenko: I don’t personally like him, but it’s hard to argue against the success that Fedor has experienced through the course of his career. The guy just doesn’t lose.
5. Wanderlei Silva: Silva gets the nod at #5 over Liddell, Rampage, and Henderson. Once again, I feel like Silva’s body of work is more impressive than that of the three guys I mentioned.
A few additional thoughts:
-Obviously, Liddell, Rampage, and Henderson, I feel, just miss out on the Top 5 list.
-I feel like guys like Shamrock and Ortiz were more popular than they were good.
-There’s a lot of potential for guys fighting today (GSP, B.J. Penn, Nogueira) to stamp themselves in MMA history.
-No matter what Dean says, I think that Dana White is the man!
I look forward to your responses, especially Dean’s!
-Does Anderson Silva own Rich Franklin or does Anderson Silva own Rich Franklin?
-Huge news about the Brock Lesnar signing. He isn’t expected to compete until 2008, but hopefully he does well in his initial fight to quickly earn a HW title opportunity. Lesnar is very intriguing.
-Very disappointed in the performance from Brandon Vera. I am not a Tim Sylvia fan, and with Randy Couture relinquishing the HW title, it’s disappointing that a guy like Vera couldn’t step up to the plate. Sylvia, meanwhile, has called out Cheick Kongo.
-So what now for “The Spider?” With the loss, Franklin certainly tumbles down the list of MW title contenders. Who’s next in line? It could be Yushin Okami, himself a winner at UFC 77. I think it would be interesting to see Paulo Filho, the WEC (little brother of UFC) MW champion, get a shot.
-As for the HW title, there clearly needs to be a title bout to determine a new champion. Sylvia certainly made his case with his win last night, as did Kongo with his win over Cro Cop at UFC 75. Kongo is supposed to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 79 in December, and the winner should certainly get a crack at Sylvia in a possible HW title match. There’s no real reason to think that Gabriel Gonzaga or Andrei Arlovski deserve a shot at this point.
-UFC 79 card has the potential to be HUGE! Already confirmed is Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes for the WW title (with Hughes hopefully destroying Serra and setting up a rubber match with GSP down the line). It doesn’t look like the LW title match (Penn vs Sherk or Stevenson) will be until January’s PPV, but it does look like Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell could be a possibility. If that happens, along with Big Nog vs Kongo, then UFC 79 will indeed be “The Biggest Card of The Year!”
Great fight last night on The Ultimate Fighter between Dan and Ben. I couldn’t agree more with Dana and Hughes that the fight should have gone to a 3rd Round. It was cool of Dana to give them both $5,000 for their efforts. I think this isn’t the last you will see from Dan, either.
Hughes getting more and more pissed every week is hysterical. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely pulling for Hughes to defeat Serra in December, but it’s just funny how his guys keep on losing. I really want to see J-Rock fight, though.
I still think that Mac is the best of the bunch on the show, but I must also say that I am very impressed with Ben. George was an early pick of Serra’s, so I am expecting him to be good, as well as the aforementioned J-Rock. I don’t know what to think of the War Machine. The due is built like a house, has “Haver” in his last name, and has a bunch of sweet tats. But he wasn’t apart of the initial roster, so how good could he possibly be?
In any case, I think TUF is just going to continue to be TOOO SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
We’re down to the Elite Eight in this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Here’s how I stack the remaining contenders against each other:
1. Mac Danzig: It has been awhile since we have seen Mac in the Octagon, but I am still sticking with the former ‘Burgh-er to win the contract.
2. George Sotiropoulos: Very impressive win over J-Rock last week. George just seems to want this competition more than anyone else.
3. Tommy Speer: My sleeper pick to win the competition, Tommy simply has a big heart and the ability to listen to Hughes’ direction. That should only help him move through the tournament.
4. Ben Saunders: Definitely the tallest fighter left, Ben was impressive in his win over Barrera. His bitching about not having George wake him up was annoying, though.
5. Troy Mandaloniz: I don’t really like any of the remaining fighters, so I’m going with who annoys me the least. Thus, Troy gets this spot.
6. Matt Arroyo: I think he has annoyed me more than anyone else since he fought. He looks like a little fag, and always says the dumbest shit when he’s on camera.
7. Richie Hightower: The purple hair just isn’t doing it for me.
8. John Kolosci: If Billy didn’t totally freeze up when he entered the Octagon, then this dipshit would have been eliminated a long time ago.
Additionally, I haven’t changed my stance that I fully expect Hughes to destroy Serra when they match-up at December’s PPV.
If you’re Matt Serra, how do you want to set-up the Quarterfinal matches? I’m guessing that he wants Mac to fight Tommy in order to eliminate Hughes’ team, but I’m also guessing that Dana’s not gonna let that happen. My plan:
George vs. John
Ben vs. Richie
Troy vs. Tommy
Matt vs. Mac
If I’m Serra, I want to try and advance my best guys through. As a result, I’m trying to keep George and Ben away from Mac and Tommy, if possible. Take your chances with some of your middle-of-the-road guys against Hughes’ studs and see what happens.
No matter what happens, it should be a sweet finish to this season!
Gono over McCrory
Aurelio over Caudillo
Lauzon over Reinhardt
Alves over Lytle
Fisher over Edgar
Parisyan over Chonan
Doerksen over Herman
Alexander over Silva
Evans over Bisping
I haven’t done anything UFC-related in awhile, so I think it’s time for a state of the organization address.
Here’s what the next few months look like, some rumored but mostly confirmed:
12/6 TUF Finale, Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida (LW)
12/29 UFC 79, Serra vs. Hughes (WW Title), Liddell vs. W. Silva (LHW), Machida vs. Sokoudjou (LHW), Clementi vs. Guillard, plus Manny Gamburyan
1/19 UFC 80 (England), Penn vs. Stevenson (LW Title), Gonzaga vs. Werdum (HW), plus Marcus Davis, Kendall Grove, Terry Etim, Paul Taylor
1/23 UFN 12, Cote vs. McFedries (MW), Jeremy Stephens vs. Cole Miller (LW), plus Mike Swick’s WW debut, Thiago Tavares, Corey Hill
2/2 UFC 81, Mir vs. Lesner (HW), Ty Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau (LW), Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites (MW)
3/1 UFC 82, A Silva vs. Henderson (MW Title), plus Fitch and Koscheck in seperate matches
The welter and lightweight divisions will get back on track in the next two months. The winner of Hughes-Serra will face St. Pierre sometime in the Spring, ideally in April. If ready quick enough, the loser of the could potentially fight on the March card against Fitch or Koscheck. I expect Mike Swick to have a winnable fight in January, and with a win he will join Karo Parysian, Marcus Davis, Thiago Alves as second tier contender with momentum. Fitch-Karo could be a #1 contender match with the rest falling into place based on timing, but a lot depends on what they plan to do with the Hughes-Serra winner, as well as any possible concerns regarding bad style matchups or exposing a marketable fighter.
The Penn-Stevenson fight is technically for the interim lightweight championship with Sean Sherk’s steroid suspension still up in the air, but since whoever holds that designation when will likely face Sherk anyway upon his return anyway, who really cares? A month before that fight, the Guida-Huerta winner will gain some nice momentum on the TUF Finale. While both are exciting and popular contenders, Huerta is still unbeaten, and a win by him would have a greater impact on the title picture. Kenny Florian will also be in the mix in 2008, and Frankie Edgar is rising fast after his impressive win Saturday over Spencer Fisher, who I considered close to the top 5. Jeremy Stephens can get in the mix with a win over Cole Miller in January and Melvin Guillard looks to bounce back into the picture in his December comeback from his coke suspension. Diego Sanchez might enter the picture as well, and the UFC would probably put him on the fast track.
Matt Serra threw out his back, and we will get Hughes-St. Pierre III for the interim title at UFC 79. Whoever holds this title will face Serra when he returns to unify the belts. This makes a possible title fight a few months closer for all of the welterweight contenders.
It sounds like Koscheck will face Dustin Hazelett (3-1) March 1 at UFC 82. This booking makes it more likely that Kos’s teammate Jon Fitch will face Karo Parysian that same day in a title elimination match, although you can never be sure what’s going on behind the scenes with the UFC. Koscheck finds himself in the same sort of no-win situation that Parysian was in at UFC 78, where he is expected to win and has no real way to help himself besides a flash finish. Like Parysian, Koscheck isn’t really a finisher. I don’t know much about Hazelett other than that BJJ is his strength and he trains under Jorge Gurgel. I’d imagine that the UFC brass expects Koscheck to be able control the fight wherever it goes.
In my mind, Koscheck (should he win) will be joined by the loser of the Hughes-St. Pierre III interim title match next month in a group just a hair below challenger status. Should Hughes lose as many expect, a Hughes-Koscheck fight sometime in the summer would draw some interest as the fight to determine the best wrestler at 170. Should Parysian lose to Fitch, he could also get the fight with Hughes he has been waiting for since an injury forced him out of his title shot a couple years ago. As I mentioned, Koscheck and Fitch train together, and are unlikely to fight each other in anything less than a title bout. GSP and Kos met in July, so that rematch would also be unlikely should GSP fall to Hughes.
Other guys who would love to climb the ranks and face one of these established contenders include Marcus Davis (fighting at UFC 80 in Jan.), Mike Swick (also trains at AKA w/ Kos/Fitch)and his opponent in his welterweight debut on the Jan. 23 Fight Night, Josh Burkman. One under-the-radar match that I expect to be a great fight is between Englishmen Paul Kelly vs. Paul Taylor in Newcastle at UFC 80. The winner will probably face a name fighter at UFC’s next stop in the UK.
….some quick thoughts on Mike Swick, former 185 contender who has will make his debut at 170 after struggling with stronger middleweights, particularly Yushin Okami: I think there are a lot of unknowns here. On one hand I think it’s fair to say that Swick’s match against Okami might as well have been in a different sport compared to what his fights at 170 will look like. He was under Okami’s control for most of the 15 minutes. On the other hand, just because a fighter drops in weight doesn’t mean he will automatically eliminate any strength issues. I can imagine Hughes or Fitch burying him on the mat much like Okami did.
It will be interesting to find out: A. If Swick will be able to keep the fight where he wants it against lighter opponents, and B. How will his power and quickness translate, and will his striking will be simply competitive or truely feared?
I suppose it’s possible that Swick will prove to be a KO waiting to happen in this division, and his opponents will be desperate to get him down from the start. But it’s also possible that his quickness will not be on another level down here, as it seemed at times at 185, or that he won’t have unmatched power, as some seem to suspect at 170.
Either way I fully expect that we will get answers. During the Okami fight, those watching were just itching for him to get up and get those hands free. But he never did, and we never found out how deadly his strikes would have been. I like this move because win or lose I don’t expect the same frustrating problem. The fun part of these weight class moves are the questions that arise and the answers that eventually follow.(by the way I copied this paragraph over from a post I made on mmajunkie.com, which is a decent site for keeping up with and digging into mma)
It might just be me, but I think that this season’s Ultimate Fighter has been the best one since the first season that saw Forrest Griffin and Diego Sanchez come out victorious. The season with Shamrock and Tito was sweet just to see the two of them going at it, but the 1st season was the best.
Hell, I’m bored at work now…how about a closer look, obviously followed by rankings, for the seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.
Season 1:
-Featured fighters like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Mike Swick, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Nathan Quarry, and Chris Leben.
-Coaches were Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, who went on to fight 2 more times after the show was completed.
-Winners were Griffin and Sanchez.
-Finale also saw Rich Franklin defeat Ken Shamrock in the Main Event.
Season 2:
-Featured fighters like Joe Stevenson, Luke Cummo, Josh Burkman, Jorge Gurgel, Keith Jardine, and Rashad Evans.
-Coaches were Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin.
-Winners were Stevenson and Evans.
-Finale also saw Diego Sanchez defeat Nick Diaz in the Main Event.
Season 3:
-Featured fighters like Kendall Grove, Kalib Starnes, Ed Herman, Michael Bisping, Matt Hamill, and Mike Nickels.
-Coaches were Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, who went on to fight 2 more times after the show was completed.
-Winners were Grove and Bisping.
-Finale also saw Kenny Florian defeat Sam Stout in the Main Event. Additionally, Randy Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and Jens Pulver was re-introduced to the UFC.
Season 4:
-Featured fighters like Travis Lutter, Rich Clementi, Pete Spratt, Pete Sell, Matt Serra, Patrick Cote, Chris Lytle, and Din Thomas.
-No coaches this season, but trainers included the biggest names in the UFC (Couture, GSP, Franklin, Liddell, Hughes).
-Winners were Lutter, who went on to lose to Anderson Silva in a title shot, and Serra, who went on to defeat Georges St. Pierre in a title shot.
-Finale was pretty much nothing but the contestants fighting each other since all of these guys were already established UFC vets.
Season 5:
-Featured fighters like Gary Maynard, Matt Wiman, Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz, Manny Gamburyan, and Cole Miller.
-Coaches were B.J. Penn and Jens Pulver, who fought in the Main Event (won by Penn) in the Finale.
-Winner was Diaz.
-Finale also saw Rogert Huerta defeat Doug Evans and Thales Leites defeat Floyd Sword.
Season 6:
-Features fighters like Dan Barrera, Mac Danzig, Billy Miles, Jared Rollins, Tommy Speer, Matt Arroyo, Jon Koppenhaver, Ben Saunders, and George Sotiropoulos.
-Coaches are Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, who were scheduled to fight at UFC 79 before an injury to Serra forced GSP into action against Hughes.
-Final Four are Danzig, Arroyo, Sotiropoulos, and Speer.
-Finale will also see Clay Guida take on Roger Huerta.
My Rankings of the Best TUF Seasons:
1. Season 1: The allure of the show was established in Season 1. The fact that the Coaches were going to fight at the end was huge and set the backdrop for the entire season. Some great fighters were found in this season, and the finale saw the emergence of another star (Franklin).
2. Season 6: Only time will tell how good the fighters from this season are, but I have enjoyed this season as much as any season that the UFC has had of the show. I don’t think that you can underscore how great it is when the Coaches eventually fight at the end of the show, as Hughes and Serra were supposed to do. Additionally, Guida-Huerta should be a good show in the Finale.
3. Season 3: Kendall Grove, Michael Bisping, and Matt Hamill have all gone on to some relative success in UFC, but, clearly, the key to this season was Tito vs. Shamrock. Their constant jabbing and competition, culminated in a 3rd win in 3 matches for Tito and a reconciliation between the two, was fantastic TV watching.
4. Season 2: The main thing that this season lacked, in my opinion, was the absence of any hostility between Hughes and Franklin. The season has, though, produced some solid dudes (Evans, Jardine, Stevenson).
5. Season 5: While the contestants have yet to really accomplish anything in the UFC (though I think that Lauzon is gonna be a good one), the Penn-Pulver rivalry was real solid and made for a good Finale.
6. Season 4: In my opinion, this season, while sweet, was definitely the worst of the 6. The lack of coaches was gay, as was the basic premise of the show (“The Comeback”), although I give Dana White credit for trying something different. His philosophy obviously worked, too, when Serra defeated GSP for the title.
My Rankings of the Best TUF Fighters (I’m not going to include anyone from Season 4 since those guys were already established):
1. Forrest Griffin: My personal favorite all-time TUF-er, I will ignore Griffin’s loss to Jardine for the purpose of these rankings. Forrest seems to have the best shot at a title shot (I just said shot 2 times in one sentence), and is clearly the most popular of the TUF fighters.
2. Josh Koscheck: Kos, as the kids call him, gets the nod here over Diego due to his head-to-head win over The Nightmare. Kos has risen the ranks to the point that he earned a match against GSP.
3. Diego Sanchez: I am still gonna put Diego here even though he’s in a 2-match losing streak. Diego holds an impressive win over Karo Parisyan, and the inevitable rubber match between him and Kos (he defeated Kos on the TUF show) should be sweet, whenever it occurs.
4. Joe Stevenson: Daddy has earned himself a title shot, well at least an interim one, against B.J. Penn for the Lightweight Title. For that reason alone, he has to make the Top 5.
5. Keith Jardine: The Dean of Mean, as much as I don’t particularly like him, does own wins over both Griffin and Chuck Liddell, the latter of which has to put him in the Top 5.
Just outside the Top 5: Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans, Kenny Florian, Kendall Grove, Matt Hamill
As I mentioned, I think it’s too early to tell for some guys, including Joe Lauzon and Mac Danzig.
I’m not a huge TUF fan but I have watched it on and off since season 3, and I watched all of 5 and 6. I’d like to see something different in incoming seasons. My idea is to have camps face off.
There are several recognizable camps: Xtreme Couture, American Top Team, American Kickboxing Academy, Brazilian Top Team, Chute Box, Miletich Fighting Systems Elite, Jackson Submission Fighting, Team Quest, Red Devil Sports Club, etc.
For the purposes of decent television I’d have two camps square off against one another. Since the trainers are mostly unknown, it would make sense to have a top fighter from each camp scheduled to fight at the end of the show to give a face to each team. Both camps would gather 8 guys and show up in Vegas for the show. For the trainers the exposure of the show would make up for time spent away from their gym. Plus the competing camps could be announced a year in advance to boost enrollment with UFC hopefuls. To spice things up, two more-established fighter could compete at the beginning or during the show to earn certain fights.
Here’s an example:
American Kickboxing Academy vs. Greg Jackson’s Camp
Main Event: Jon Fitch (AKA) vs. Georges St. Pierre (Jackson), for welterweight championship
Part way through the season: Mike Swick (AKA) vs. Nate Marquardt (Jackson), winning team chooses semi-finals, winner earns a middleweight title shot
Various fighters and/or coaches from both camps could appear at the Finale, providing more incentive for the camps to participate.
There are a lot of different twists you could put on this but that’s the general idea.
American Kickboxing Academy- Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Cung Lee, Paul Buentello, Phil Baroni
American Top Team- Din Thomas, Thiago Alves, Denis Kang, JZ Cavalcante, Benji Radach (plus several tuf alumni)
Troy Mandaloniz defeats Richie Hightower
Roman Mitichyan defeats Dorian Price
Jonathan Goulet defeats Paul Georgieff
Ben Saunders defeats Dan Barrera (Wish this were televised)
Jared Rollins defeats Jon Koppenhaver
Mac Danzig defeats Tommy Speer
Roger Huerta defeats Clay Guida
It looks like these 2 fights are going to be added, too:
-Matt Arroyo vs. John Kolosci
-George Sotiropoulous vs. Billy Miles
I like Arroyo and George to win their respective fights if they do indeed happen. The George vs. Billy fight is intriguing in the respect that Billy looked like he was going to be a world-beater until he froze up and lost to Kolosci, while George looked great until he froze up and got knocked the hell out by Tommy.
-Huge win for Huerta. Considering the depth of the division, and that this was his first legitimate opponent, a loss would have been devastating. And it sure looked like a loss might be coming after two rounds. As expected Huerta had a small edge in the standup, but Guida was swarming on the ground and did enough on his feet to be the clear winner after two rounds. As great as a lot of these UFC battles have been, you don’t see comeback KOs and submissions all that often. Heard a rumor that Huerta is next for the Penn-Stevenson winner, but I question that. I think Kenny Florian or frankie Edgar would be a more logical opponent. New lightweight rankings, in terms of who’s on the cusp of a shot, probably look something like:
Lots a question marks- Sherk has been stripped of the belt but is eligible to return next month. Guillard and Franca also returning from suspension, although Franca not until late summer. Last season’s TUF produced Diaz, Gamburyan, Lauzon and Maynard, and now Mac Danzig (an possibly others) will drop to join them. Fisher, Pellgrino, Stout, Stephens, Tavares and Tibau remain in the mix as well.
Predictions:
-I think Danzig is better than Diaz and co.
-Penn over Stevenson convincingly
Great stuff, as always, from the MMA expert Tim Dean! I agree that Penn is going to beat up Stevenson, and I also agree that Danzig is better than the guys from last season’s TUF.
Speaking of TUF, the Finale on Saturday was, in a word, awesome. Some great fights were seen, in my opinion. War Machine vs. J-Rock was great, as was the Huerta-Guida fight. Rude Boy vs. Hightower ended up being better than I ever could have imagined. While the actual Finale was a bit disappointing (although I’m excited about what Tommy Speer can bring to the Welterweight division, especially if he sticks with Hughes), I thought the show was pretty solid. I didn’t both paying for the Mayweather-Hatton fight (sounds like it was pretty damn entertaining, too), but I think it would have been hard pressed to be as good as UFC. And you know Kevin James agrees with me because he was octagon-side.
Some other things that caught my attention this weekend:
-Burkman vs. Swick is official for UFC Fight Night on Jan. 23rd. Also signed for the show are what should be explosive bouts between middleweights Drew McFedries and Patrick Cote, and lightweights Thiago Tavares and Michihiro Omigawa.
-Big John McCarhy has retired!?!?
-CBS Rumor: Terry Martin vs. Marvin Eastman on Feb. 2nd on CBS???
-New TUF Coaches: Forrest Griffin and Rampage. Forrest vs. Rampage for the title once the show is over. SWEET!
-Bob Sapp fighting again on Feb. 23rd.
-Fedor might be fighting Pedro Rizzo in April.
-Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe close to a fight.
-Let’s give it up for the WWE and its 15 year anniversary of Monday Night Raw. Last night’s big 3-hour episode was great, especially for the fact that the Hulkster and Stone Cold came back for the festivities. Remember that Ken Shamrock, the UFC legend, served his time in the WWE, too.
-Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell on Sports Unfiltered tonight on Versus after the Pens-Flyers game!
-Finally, big WEC on Wednesday on Versus featuring Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver.
Mayweather-Hatton was a throwback in alot of ways. First of all the 24/7 preview series on HBO is awesome, and is the best marketing tool in sports right now. While it made Hatton seem like more of a threat than he probably was, it still generated plenty of interest to the fight. Secondly thousands of fans flooded over from the UK and turned the MGM into Hatton’s backyard. There were trumpets and drums in the arena and the Hatton theme song went all night, including when he was knocked out. And lastly the contrast between the two fighters, which contributed to the intensity of the show and the Hatton fans, was great. Mayweather is the most talented and pedigreed man in the fight game right now and hatton grew up in a pub. The personality clash added a lot to the drama.
As for the fight, many thought this would be a tough task for Hatton because he had height and reach (6″) disadvantages to deal with while trying to get inside on Mayweather. Well he did eat some crisp counters but he succeeded in making a brawl of it. The ringside judges scored the fight heavily for Mayweather, but some felt Hatton had scored enough on the inside to be in the mix for a decision at the halfway point. To me it depended on what you valued more- an active assault with a ton of punches thrown and a few landed to the neck, arms, and ribs, or a defensive approach coupled with the 4-5 most precise shots of the round. Either way, hatton did enough to keep his fans hopes up, which made all the difference for the atmosphere. Floyd had the lead by the 10th, by which time Hatton had stopped moving his head on his way inside. He kept coming even as each Mayweather punch snapped his head, but finally walked directly into a left hook and went down. A couple punches later and it was finished.
Mayweather came with the retirement talk immediately. Heard that before. Hatton’s ready to get back in the ring. Oscar is a possibility in May, and the next step for Floyd would seem to be Miguel Cotto.
TUF finale was the better overall card of action (the boxing undercard sucked). But for me it gets no bigger and more intense than a big time boxing match. I think the UFC puts together better cards and offers more consistent entertainment though.
The WEC card on versus is definitely worth a watch. 3 belts will be on the line (FW, MW,LHW). Paulo Fihlo is seen by many as the best middleweight in the world, and considering how thin the UFC is at 185 we may see Fihlo in a year or two. I saw Doug Marshall get crushed by UFC also-ran James Irvin a couple years ago in a local California show, and I see him as a paper champion at 205. The featherweight division is interesting as it has no UFC counterpart, and Faber has become a relatively big star. He did lose to Tyson Griffin, but there’s no embarrassment in that. My guess is that Pulver may see him soon if he gets by Swanson. The show’s not a must-see, but it’s worth a look.
Predictions for the WEC event tonight on Versus (coming off an 8-1 record for the TUF Finale)…
Brian Bowles over Marcos Galvao
Ian McCall over Charlie Valencia
Alex Karalexis over Ed Ratcliff
Bryan Baker over Eric Schambari
John Alessio over Todd Moore
Doug Marshall over Ariel Gandulla
Paulo Filho over Chael Sonnen
Jens Pulver over Cub Swanson
Urijah Faber over Jeff Curran
-I’m really looking forward to the Filho fight. As Dean recently suggested (and as I did the same awhile back), Filho seems poised to make the jump to UFC in the very near future as Anderson Silva is running out of opponents.
-Faber seems to be THE MAN of the WEC, so I fully expect a solid showing from him tonight. With that being said, I wonder if the reverse of what might happen to Filho could be true…could the UFC possibly send additional Lightweights (in addition to Jens) to the WEC to compete in their featherweight division?
-Speaking of Jens, I think he might have a few fights left in him. While Swanson seems to represent a formidable foe, I think that Dana and the boys know that a little string of victories for Jens would be good for the WEC promotion as far as exposure is concerned. Maybe Jens runs off a few victories before taking on Faber down the road?
During an interview today with MMANews.com’s own Chris Howie, Jason “MayheM” Miller gave his thoughts on a possible rematch with Frank Trigg. “I get an erection just thinking about fighting him again. I’d love it.” The two locked up in Miller’s first title defense of the ICON Sport Middleweight title. Miller was a favorite to win that fight but was TKO’d in the second round. With both fighters now fighting with HDNet Fights it could be a possibility that they will get it on once again in the future.
-I was impressed with Faber. He looks to be the real deal, and I still can’t believe he only weighs 145 lbs. After Pulver’s quick work of Swanson, it looks like WEC fans will be treated to a Faber-Pulver match for Faber’s title.
-I was less impressed with Filho. After watching him struggle in his match, I am convinced that he isn’t quite yet ready for primetime. He needs a few more fights, maybe against some of the lesser ranked UFC opponents, before he can be considered for a title shot with Anderson Silva.
-Watching the event, you just get a minor-league feel from WEC, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I believe that UFC treats the WEC as a minor-league of sorts, which is great considering that their biggest fight cards are televised on Versus. The production, the announcers, and clearly the fighters are simply a notch below what has become expected from the UFC. That said, I will definitely be tuning in in February to catch the WEC’s next fight card on Versus.
-I also caught the replay on UFC Unleashed on SPIKE last night between Huerta and Garcia. Wow, what a battle, eventually won by Huerta!
-Another prediction true? At the beginning of this season’s TUF, I preicted that Mac Danzig would be victorious. Cha-ching!
Fihlo was getting a lot of hype, which is the point of promoting I guess, and didn’t look very good in front of what I think was his first major Americaqn audience. Not what Zuffa needed. I was surprised they would pit him againts such a game opponent, although I bet they didn’t expect this outcome. Condit (WEC welterweight champ), and especially Marshall strike me as guys who would be lucky to crack the top ten at their weight. Marshall in particular isn’t good at all. Not that this is a big deal- I agree that the WEC should be viewed as a UFC minor league, and Zuffa is doing the right thing by giving these guys soft challenges. Showcasing visable champions on impressive winning streaks is the best way to draw viewers in my opinion. Faber looked good again, and I think it would be great to see his next wave of challengers come from the smaller 155s from the UFC. His lone loss is to Tyson Griffin by the way. I would expect guys around the Frankie Edgar level to beat Faber, but those guys on the outskirts of the top ten could make for ideal challengers. No matter how it unfolds I think I will watch the next event as well.
-Doug Evans over Mark Bocek
-Tony DeSouza over Roan Carneiro
-Dean Lister over Jordan Radev
-Manny Gamburyan over Nate Mohr
-James Irvin over Luis Cane
-Eddie Sanchez over Sao Palelei
-Melvin Guillard over Rich Clementi
-”Lyoto” Ryoto Machida over Sokoudjou
-Chuck Liddell over Wanderlei Silva
-Georges St. Pierre over Matt Hughes
http://mmafightvideos.blogspot.com/ is a sit you need to visit by the way. They have both of Soko’s pride upsets as part of their extensive library of free mma videos.
A lot of people feel that Machida will win this one. It’s a reasonable prediction considering his undefeated record and Soko’s limited track record. One factor that makes this fight exciting to me is that Soko’s KOs have come very early in the first round while Machida generally goes to decision. My thinking is that even if Machida’s defensive style is good enough to frustrate Soko, he still will need to avoid the big shot for 15 minutes. He’s more of a standup defender than a lay-and-pray artist as well, so it’s not as if Soko will spend a ton of time on his back. Soko has a judo background and has trained at Quest with Henderson and Lindland, so I think he will stay on his feet even if Machida decides he’d rather go to the ground. This isn’t to say that I fully expect an upset, but I do think Machida will have to do damage and slow Soko if he is to fend off trouble for all 3 rounds. Soko is one of the few artists to actually have the “heavy hands” that Rogan and Goldberg credit to seemingly everyone. Machida’s karate and bjj background versus Soko’s judo and freakish power is exactly the kind of style clash that the UFC was built to showcase.
-GSP won the rubber match with Hughes. Hughes might be finished, although he still wants to beat down Serra before retiring.
-Liddell beat Silva. I wonder if Chuck will get the winner of Rampage and Forrest, although Rampage has already “whooped Chuck’s ass” twice. What’s next for Wanderlei? Keith Jardine?
-Machida took care of Sokoudjou. Maybe Machida gets the next title shot? Shogun Rua is out there, too.
-Nog vs. Sylvia for the HW title is a good move for Dana and the UFC. If Randy doesn’t want to fight anyone but Fedor, then the promotion needs to move forward.
-Dana said he wants Takanori Gomi in the UFC. I think he’d be a solid addition to the LW division.
-Once GSP beats down Serra, who challenges? Fitch?
-Spider vs. Dan Henderson is gonna be sweet.
UFC 80 (1/19): Stevenson vs. Penn
UFN 12 (1/23): Swick vs. Burkman
UFC 81 (2/2): Sylvia vs. Nog, Mir vs. Brock
WEC (2/13): Condit/McCullough in action
UFC 82 (3/1): Silva vs. Henderson
TUF 7 (Spring ‘08): Forrest vs Rampage
Where do you stand on the Chuck-Silva fight? Some are saying it was am amazing, high level MMA match, and others think it was a glorified bar fight. Personally I don’t think it can be both. No question that styles make fights, and when both men are happy to slug it out sometimes it turns into a fight that lacks the dimensions and transitions of other classic battles. But when I watched this fight I didn’t really feel like I was watching a “great” MMA match. The striking was slow and sloppy in my opinion and I kept thinking that a guy like Machida would destroy either man.
Rumor has it that a Machida-Ortiz fight is on the table and has been accepted by Machida.
Other fights that could work for him:
-Thiago Silva: both undefeated and rolling. The nice thing about such matchups is that barring a snoozer one guy will gain validation. Of course the loser loses steam but that’s always the case unless it’s a can anyway. Winner could be a fight away from a shot. Paersonally I don’t think Thiago is as high on the pecking order but the win over Alexander was high profile.
-Liddell: kind of do or die for Chuck though.
-Shogun: see Chuck above. But it would be a great test for Machida and a great style clash for fans.
I really think UFC wants to find wins for Chuck, Shogun, and probably Wandy too. I think they see Jardine as established but expendable as a sacrificial lamb (in other words I think they’d be okay with someone knocking his ass out and gaining momentum). Sokodjou and Alexander and Thiago are exciting guys who will get fights but won’t be pampered, and I think they will let the chips fall as they may with Evans, as well as Bonnar and the rest of the crew. I’m very interested to see which matchups get made. It’s always fun to try to figure out why.
If it were me….
WSilva-Sokodjou, Liddell-TSilva, Shogun-Alexander, and Machida-Jardine would be in the works.
I didn’t see the Chuck-Wanderlei fight, but I, too, read that it was a pretty entertaining fight. I’ll take your word, though, that it sounds like it might have been a bit overrated.
-I really don’t like Jardine much, even if he did beat Forrest and Chuck. With that in mind, I think Chuck needs to fight Jardine, avenge his loss, and knock his ass out.
-I really like watching Houston Alexander.
-How long before Arona makes his appearance in UFC. In April, it will be a year since he last fought.
-Tito-Machida would be sweet, but I almost feel like Tito (and Chuck and Wanderlei to a point) are at the points in their careers where I would like to see them fight the younger guys (Rashad Evans, Jardine, etc.) to see where some of these younger guys stack up. Tito and Rashad definitely need to fight again.
-It’s a long way off, but I wonder who the UFC will push as its next contender. Obviously, if Forrest upsets Rampage, then I am sure that Rampage would deserve a rematch. But if Rampage beats Forrest, then who steps up? It can’t be Chuck, who has been knocked out twice by Rampage. Machida?
Fights that I would like to see happen:
Rampage-Griffin for the title
Machida-Rua for #1 contender
Liddell-Jardine II
Ortiz-Evans II
Wanderlei-Sokoudjou/Alexander
-I am still wondering who will get GSP once he beats Serra? Could Dana bring in Sakurai to fight him? Fitch? Karo? Kos? Diego? I think we really need to see some elimination bouts. Fitch wants to fight Karo, so Dana should make it happen. I would love to see a Diego-Kos rubber match, too.
As for the next LHW contender……hard to say. I think they’d like to see Shogun and Chuck keep winning. I think Rashad is a wild card. I think he sucks personally, but he deserves a top matchup at this point. Wandy’s loss designates him as an entertaining, brawl-style, 3rd fight on the card-type of guy imo, but he can get right back in the mix with a great KO.
Really you could put names in hats and get some good, significant fights. A win or loss would have major implications for virtually everyone. A lackluster loss by Thiago Silva puts him at the back of the line but a KO of Evans, Jardine, Liddell, or whoever and we’d start hearing title shot talk. If Shogun loses again he’s CroCop, but a violent win would put him right into a #1 contenders match.
I think the UFC needs to just check people’s schedules and get these guys fighting. Maybe I want to see Chuck-Shogun, or Machida-Thiago, but really it doesn’t make much difference. All these guys just need to start fightin and things will work out. If the fights stay within the top 10 any 2 fight winning streak will be enough for a shot at this point.
I’ll be rooting for Shogun, Wandy, Sokodjou and Alexander to get back on the winning side, and I hope Liddell can get a nice quick KO soon. I wouldn’t mind Evans or Jardine being the victim for any of these guys.
As for GSP and 170…
I’d say Fitch looks like the cleanest fit for the title shot. He’s big and tough and the fight would probably go awhile. Karo is a solid guy but I see him as 2nd tier- I think GSP kills him but I;d like to see it. A Karo-Fitch showdown would be nice, but I’ve heard it’s going to be Koscheck-Hazlett and Fitch-Gono at UFC 82. I think that blows but whatever. Alves and Davis are on the horizon I guess as well, but what seemed like a super deep and even division a year ago is still deep but really has a well-defined pecking order.
I think the biggest two GSP fights will come from other divisions. BJ Penn gave Georges his best fight besides his losses to Hughes and Serra- and only BJ hung with him for 15 minutes. If Penn gets on a nice little roll at 155 I think it could work. Stevenson, then Sherk shortly after would probably leave him with whoever has been winning at that point between Huerta, Florian, Edgar, etc. If he beats that guy as he would be favored to do the LW division would start to seem a lot like the WW.
When I really got into MMA Hughes and Franklin seemed unbeatable and I thought they should go at it. Now it’s GSP and Anderson Silva who are getting the P4P talk. Georges is a big 170 so it could work. But just like Franklin and Hughes, what a difference a year can make. The beauty of MMA is that the fighters are always improving. Who knows who will be the next big threat at 155, 170, or 185?
Good stuff, as always, Dean. I, too, would love to see Penn take on GSP. But, I wanna see B.J. dominate the LW division for a year or two like I know he is capable of. After that, perhaps it will indeed be time to take a step up to fight GSP.
Middleweight is thin at the top but has some decent fights that can be made in the middle ranks.
1. Andersn Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Yushin Okami
5. Martin Kampman
6. Drew McFedries
7. Patrick Cote
8. Nate Marquardt
9. Jason McDonald
10. Kendall Grove
11. Alan Belcher
12. Ed Herman
13. Chris Leben
14. Nate Quarry
15. Terry Martin
-If Henderson loses to Silva decisively in March he will join Rich Franklin in the uncomfortable category of 185ers who are top shelf but can’t match up with the reigning champ. And I can’t think of a better fight with less imlications than Franklin-Henderson. Both are ultra-popular All-American fighters, and also elite middleweights. Franklin is crisper on the feet and Henderson is crisper on the ground, but both can do damage anywhere. Great matchup.
-185 is also a great weight for a slug-fest. The fighters are fast and fit enough to land steady leather without gassing, but they also have to power to break faces. Drew McFedries is probably the most dangerous 1-punch knockout threat outside of the champ. Kampman, a terrific kickboxer who submitted McF after eating a ton of leather, Cote and Belcher ar diverse strikers with some pop, and Leben, Martin, and Quarry will happily stand and trade hands for 15 minutes. Mcfedries and Cote face off later in January, and Belcher has a fight at UFC 81 in March.
-Evan Tanner returns shortly and Michael Bisping is dropping down to join the ranks.
Evan Tanner was a tough guy who held the belt before passing the torch to Franklin. (Remember the beating Franklin put on his grill? At that moment it was hard to imagine him losing.) He’d be a tough mcth for anyone which explains the rumors that nobody wants him. I’d put him in there with someone who likes to throw down- the Leben-Quarry-Martin category sounds about right.
Bispbing can put on a good fight against the right opponent. I don’t believe he would do much against a tactician like Okami or even McDonald. My choice would be either Herman or Belcher. Belcher has the mui thai to make for an exciting brawl and Herman has the submission skills to test the Count and the toughness to trade with him and absorb a beating if need be.
1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Yushin Okami
5. Martin Kampman
-I refuse to go any further than #5.
-The UFC really needs to step it up in this divison, in my opinion. Sure, there are some decent younger guys (Grove, Herman, etc.) that could be marketed, but Silva is going to run out of opponents if he beats Henderson. I have to believe it’s only a matter of time before Paulo Filho is “called up” from WEC to the UFC. Could Matt Hughes’ buddy Robbie Lawler be on his way back to UFC at some point? What about Frank Shamrock?
-The MW division is one that I think the UFC does NOT necessarily have complete domination over the MMA world. As I mentioned, there are some solid guys in other promotions who could stake their claim as a Top 5 MW.
-I agree with Dean that the MW division is extremely capable of producing some exciting fights. It will be up to Dana and the UFC to provide us fans with such fights.
-With that in mind, I would love to see Henderson vs. Franklin should Henderson lose to Silva. If Henderson beats Silva, then a rematch would certainly be in order. Other than that, I am completely open to whatever the MMA world wants to offer us. I want to see Filho, Lawler, Shamrock, etc. (even Frank Trigg) in the UFC.
Marcus Davis vs. Jess Liaudin (UFC 80)
Mike Swick vs. Josh Burkman (Jan. UFN)
Chris Lytle vs. some newcomer (81)
Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono (82)
Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett (82)
Karo Parysian vs. Thiago Alves (84)
Serra vs. St. Pierre (84)
Diego Sanchez is also expected to have a fight in April or thereabouts.
If Davis can get a win he’ll be looking at the winners of some of these other matchups. Lytle is a tough guy but he’s not close to contention. Fitch and Kos will be big favorites at UFC 82. Parysian-Alves is probably the matchup with the most on the line and it will be a big win for somebody.
By the end of April a lot will be sorted out. It’s highly possible that GSP will be champion and Jon Fitch will be next assuming he gets by Gono. Contenders coming off wins could include Koscheck, Karo/Alves and Davis, wih Serra coming off a loss and Diego Sanchez somewhere in the mix. Davis, Swick and Burkman will probably be the only ones who would be ready for a second fight between now and then, and I think any of them would make an interesting opponent for Sanchez. A lot of people will be calling for Koscheck vs. the Karo-Alves winner as well.
1. Gesrges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Matt Hughes
5. Mike Swick
6. Karo Parysian
7. Thiago Alves
8. Matt Serra
9. Marcus Davis
10. Diego Sanchez
Comments:
-I obviously have Mike Swick higher than he has earned since he hasn’t fought yet in the division. We will find out a lot against Josh Burkman in a couple of weeks. Burkman is a legitimate opponent and he just missed this tightly bunched top 10.
-Matt Serra is tough to gauge. His best win in the division pre-GSP was Chris Lytle, and it was a close split decision. He’s lost to Parysian and I think he would again, but I couldn’t put him ahead of guys like Marcus Davis who don’t hold a top ten win.
-Hughes is also a tough one. He looked finished against St. Pierre but who doesn’t? It wouldn’t surprise me to see him dominate a lot of this list, but I think the style matchups will be critical in the rest of his fights.
-It’s too bad the only scheduled matchups on this list are Alves-Parysian and Serr-St. Pierre. I think we will see 5-6 more though by year end.
***
In other news- Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin at UFC 84. Irvin will stand and bang so this one is not to be missed.
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Matt Hughes
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Jon Fitch
5. Diego Sanchez
6. Karo Parisyan
7. Matt Serra
8. Thiago Alves
9. Marcus Davis
10. Mike Swick
-I still have Hughes at #2 as he hasn’t lost to anyone except GSP and B.J. Penn. He may be pretty much done, but I still like Hughes as the 2nd best.
-While I agree that Fitch is probably the more established and the more deserving of a title shot of the two, I still have Kos ranked higher. It will be interesting to see how Kos responds after his loss to GSP.
-I still hold Diego in high regard, too. While he is on a 2-match losing streak, both of those losses came in a decision (a split decision to Fitch). A year-and-a-half ago, he beat Karo. I can’t wait to see who he fights next.
-I, too, couldn’t put Serra too low considering he is indeed the champ, although he’s much more of a Hashim Rahman than he is a Lennox Lewis.
-Swick is certainly intriguing as he makes the move down from MW, but I need to see it before I start drinking the Kool-Aid.
-As far as matches are concerned, I hope that Hughes just holds out for a match with Serra once GSP exacts his revenge. I would love to see Diego-Karo II, as well as Diego-Kos III. I agree, though, that Fitch is probably next in line for a title shot, provided he beats Gono at UFC 82.
In a completely unrelated matter, WEC has announced part of its card for its next show on Versus on Feb. 13th:
WW Champ Carlos Condit vs. Carlo Prater
LW Champ Rob McCullough vs. Jamie Varner
BW Champ Chase Beebe vs. Miguel Torres
Manny Tapia vs. Antonio Banuelos
On the WEC front, I’m really looking forward to the possible Faber-Pulver fight, as well as what’s next on the horizon for Paulo Filho.
-Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva, possibly in May. I think I like it. Evans is athletic enough to play good defense and Silva is aggressive. Both are undefeated (doesn’t it seem like Evans has lost though due to boringness?) I’ll be rooting for Silva. Winner’s gotta be top 5 in terms of title contention, right there with Liddell and Machida. Sherk’s shot at the lightwieght title could come on the same card.
-Joe Lauzon vs. Ken Florian at the UFN which kicks off the next TUF. This is pretty much confirmed. It surprises me that Lauzon would get a fight like this so soon, and also that Florian would get such a no-win fight when he’s on such a roll.
-Spencer Fisher vs. Marcus Aurelio is on the same card. I was surprised by how easily Fisher was controlled by Frankie Edgar in his last fight. He’s beginning to look a lot like a guy who can be counted on to put on a good war against middle-tier lightweights (particularly those who prefer to stand) or test up-and-comers, but that’s it. If the UFC wanted an explosive showcase fight for Florian I think Fisher might have made more sense. Aurelio is a veteran with a track record of excitement despite a lackluster UFC debut against Guida. This will be a good fight.
-On the subject of Fisher, I think the Fisher-Edgar bout was one of those fights from which you really learn a lot about a division. Fisher looked *really* strong in his rematch against Sam Stout, to the point where he put on a standup display the likes of which is just not often seen in MMA. And Edgar just dominated him. Unless Fisher was sick or injured (or something was missing from his gatorade) his ceiling looked a lot lower after that fight. Edgar’s performance basically announced that top-tier takedowns are Fisher’s cryptonite while he stamped his own name in the division’s top 5.
-The rest of April 2nd’s UFN: Matt Hammil vs. Stefan Bonnar and Tommy Speer vs. Anthony Johnson. Don’t mark this down as a victory for Speer. If you missed Johnson’s KO of Chad Reiner in his UFC debut (in what was maybe his 3rd pro fight?), it was a brutal one. He put some heat on Rich Clementi in his next fight before being subbed, so he could be vulnerable against the wrestling of Speer, but this could be over quick. I give Bonnar the edge over Hammil, but this should be a good test. I still think Bonnar beat Griffin the first time too. He’s a good fighter but he’s having a tough time moving up in such a stacked division. At some point I’d like to see some of these guys move in for a title shot in the WEC.
-Speaking of Sam Stout, his next fight will be in England Jan. 19 against new-comer Per Eklund. If he looks sharp I have a suggestion for his next fight: three months later, in his homeland of Canada, against Melvin Guillard at UFC 84 in Montreal. Melvin is an explosive puncher and Stout is a tough-as-nails kickboxing champ, but let’s face it- these guys aren’t in the mix right now at 155. In my mind this would be just the kind of style and personality clash needed to kick off what should be a great card on the UFC’s first visit to Canada. Alves-Parysian is expected to be on the card, along with the return of Shogun.
-But who will Shogun fight? Evans and Thigo are out. So are Bonnar, Hammil, Alexander and Irvin. Wandelei is doubtful since they are (were?) teammates. Would he get Chuck or Machida? I’m thinking Keith Jardine or Sokodjou, but we’ll have to wait and see….
-Lots of exciting things going on. You know what’s not? UFC 82. Headlined by Sylvia vs. Nogueira- yawn. Preceded by the debut of Brock Lesnar against Frank Mir- yawn. They just added Jeremy Horn to face Nate Marquardt- yawn. Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau is our only hope for a greta fight. I buy almost all of them, but not this one.
Penn over Stevenson
Gonzaga over Werdum
Davis over Liaudin
Lambert over Gouveia
Grove over Rivera
Hardonk over Robinson
Taylor over Kelly
Lee over Sakara
Stout over Eklund
Gono pulled out of the Fitch fight with a bad hand. Here’s hoping Marcus Davis gets the call. I never understood why guys needed months to prepare, especially when they sustained zero damage in their last fight.
-Sam Stout vs. Rich Clementi at UFC 84 in Canada. Should be a good fight- Stout has the edge in standup and Clementi has the edge on the ground.
-Werdum will get the next HW title shot. Yuck.
-BJ Penn smashed Stevenson for every second of that fight. Total blood-spilling domination. The best three fighters right now in my eyes are Penn, St. Pierre, and Anderson Silva. And they all have belts now. After a few years of unrest I think we’re heading back to the days of the dominant champions. Heard that before though….
Didn’t get to see the UFN last night, but from what I read, it doesn’t sound like I missed much. Looking forward to all of the sweet upcoming UFC action, even the HW showdown between Sylvia and Nog…Dean is SO pumped for that one!
Fight Night was mediocre. Cote-McFedries was great though. Highlight reel KO for Cote. Nate Diaz got a quick win. Tavares looked weak, no standup despite getting the win. Swick looked tenative.
Check out http://www.onepunchKO.com All kinds of free fights, usually up a few minutes after they take place. Totally free.
Nogueira over Sylvia
Lesnar over Mir
Marquardt over Horn
Almeida over Yundt
Griffin over Tibau
Lytle over Bradley
Martin over Eastman
Boetsch over Heath
Nakamura over Emerson
The fights are up on http://www.onepunchko.com. I watched it live and it wasn’t as boring as I expected:
-Sylvia did some seriois damage to Nog, but it too Nog less than 30 seconds to sweep and lock in a guillotine once he pulled guard early in the 3rd.
-Lesnar overwhelmed Mir and was close to finishing when Mazzagatti stood them up and took a put for blow to the bakc of the head. It’s been a point of contorversy ever since, adn Mir was clearly on his way out. Either way, Lesnar got him down almost immediately and looked for the finish again before Mir grabbed a leg and finished it with a knee bar. We knew Mir could do this so while it’s a big win I don’t see it as a big stepping stone for him. Lesnar on the other hand looked like a bull and I think he’ll run through the lower end of the division. Puzzling that they’d put him in with a submission guy considering that’s usually the most vulnerable area for an inexperienced fighter.
-Gotta love Horn. He tooka nice beating before working for a gogplata, then transitioning to an omoplata for the sweep into top position as the first round ended. That was it though, as Marquardt almost ripped his head of in the 2nd.
Silva over Henderson
Kongo over Herring
Sakara over Leben
Okami over Tanner
Fitch over Wilson
Arlovski over O’Brien
Fioravanti over Cummo
Koscheck over Hazelett
Sanchez over Bielkheden
Gurgel over Halverson
The December PPV is annually one of UFC’s biggest of the year, if not THE biggest of the year. DO you think we’ll see Anderson Silva fight either Georges St. Pierre or Quinton Jackson in December? I sure as hell hope so.
Of the two, I would prefer a fight with St. Pierre. I think we’re all going to be seeing a lot of Rampage in the coming months as he will serve as a coach on the next episode of The Ultimate Fighter. St. Pierre, meanwhile, should dispose of Matt Serra on April 19th (my birthday, by the way) to set-up a massive match with Silva.
The UFC, of course, wouldn’t have to wait until December if they didn’t want to. The only reason I suggest December, however, is the emphasis that the company places on its December PPV. The company could, of course, elect to have St. Pierre and Silva fight sooner, leaving the December PPV to Rampage (assuming he beats Forrest Griffin) against some opponent, Liddell against someone, etc.
It will also be interesting to see what happens with Dan Henderson. I wouldn’t mind seeing him square off with Rich Franklin to determine, for all intents and purposes, the 2nd best at 185 in the world.
Looking at all of the weight classes…
-Penn is fighting Sherk for the LW title. Could the Florian/Lauzon winner be next in line?
-GSP fights Serra for the WW title. Fitch could be next in line for a title shot after his impressive performance last night.
-Who knows what’s next for Silva? Franklin fights Lutter on the 19th.
-Rampage fights Griffin for the LHW title, while Jardine squares off with Wanderlei and Liddell tangles with Rua and Tito goes at it with Machida. Any news on Sokoudjou? Could he be next in line for Henderson?
-Have they announced who is next for Big Nog? I know Dana wants Couture to fight him, but who knows? Mark Coleman is next in line for Brock Lesnar, while guys like Herring, Sylvia, Arlovski, Gonzaga, etc. sit around and wait to see who they get to fight next. I still wish Fedor would have just joined the UFC!
Don’t forget…WEC has a card this month on Versus (March 26th) featuring the rematch of Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen and LHW champion Doug Marshall. The following blurb is from the WEC’s website…
Their first fight captivated the mixed martial arts world and the end result was debated for weeks. But on Wednesday, March 26, WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho wants to leave no doubts in the minds of anyone, especially challenger Chael Sonnen, about who the superior fighter is when these two 185-pound standouts square off for a second time in the main event of the latest World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC™) card. But that’s not all, as WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Doug ‘The Rhino’ Marshall puts his belt on the line for the second time against unbeaten Brian ‘All-American’ Stann in one of the most highly anticipated bouts in WEC history.
By the way, WEC stud Urijah Faber is supposed to defend his title on Versus against Jens Pulver this summer.
Lauzon over Florian
Parisyan over Alves
Diaz over Pellegrino
Hamill over Boetsch
Maynard over Edgar
Alexander over Irvin
Speer over Johnson
Sotiropoulos over Mitichyan
Aurelio over Roberts
Thomas over Neer
Guida over Schiavo
Gamburyan over Cox
Wow…what a HUGE card! 3 full hours tonight on SPIKE!
After UFN is the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest. While I fully expect Rampage to defeat Forrest after the completion of the series, I will definitely be pulling for Forrest to pull the upset (not that I don’t think Rampage is awesome and amazingly entertaining).
After correctly picking Mac Danzig to win the last season of The Ultimate Fighter, I am going to press my luck (no whammy, no whammy) and see if I can predict this season’s winner, too. As many of you probably know, there are 32 fighters in this season’s tournament, with the winners of the first round being invited to stay at the house in Las Vegas. With that being said, I am going to go with Brandon Sene as my predicted winner, assuming he is indeed on the show. The following is from his Wikipedia profile:
“Brandon “Sweet Dreams” Sene is an American professional mixed martial artist currently known for fighting in the MMA World Fighting Championships and being sponsored by High Octane Fight Gear. He is rumored to be featured on the upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship reality television show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest scheduled to premiere on April 2, 2008 on Spike TV. He fights out of Tampa, Florida with Gracie Tampa North, under Royce Gracie black belt Rob Kahn, alongside The Ultimate Fighter 5 contestant Allen Berube and The Ultimate Fighter 6 semifinalist and Gracie Tampa South instructor Matt Arroyo.”
-One day, I’ll learn to stop picking against Kenny Florian. His nickname (Ken-Flo) is retartded and he looks like a little bitch, but Florian simply dominates the 2nd tier competition in the Lightweight Division. The only problem with Ken-Flo, however, is that he isn’t quite up to snuff with the likes of Penn and Sherk. With that in mind, where does he turn? He already tried his hand at Welterweight and got demolished by Diego Sanchez. Perhaps Florian just passes his time at the Lightweight Division and sees what happens. Or maybe a jump over to WEC to see what they have to offer?
-I wasn’t a real big fan of the quick stoppage in the Karo-Alves fight, but nevertheless, it’s a big win for Alves. The Welterweight Division is a competitive one, and this win certainly jumps Alves over Karo in the pecking order. A rematch, though, should be in the cards somewhere. I’m sticking by my wish for a GSP-Anderson Silva match (assuming GSP beats Serra and Silva doesn’t decide to spend all of his time in a boxing ring with Roy Jones Jr.), but I would have to think that Jon Fitch is next in line for a title shot.
-Speaking of Welterweights, before Matt Hughes decides to hang ‘em up, I really hope we can see Hughes and Matt Serra go at it. Beating Serra would be a great send-off for one of the most decorated champions in UFC history.
-Speaking of Hughes, his boy Tommy Speer got knocked the hell out last night. Let’s see how he responds before we write him off, though.
-Speaking of knockouts, what has happened to Houston Alexander? The dude looked amazing in defeating Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara before losing his last fight to Thiago Silva and now this fight to James Irvin. Regardless, though, Alexander’s fights are exciting, win or lose, as they always seem to end in a KO of some variety.
-TUF alums Gray Maynard, Nate Diaz, Matt Hamill, Manny Gamburyan, and George Sotiropoulos were all impressive in wins last night.
-Looking forward to UFC 83 on April 19th (my birthday) in Montreal. GSP should take care of Serra, Franklin needs a win against Lutter, and Mac Danzig is back in action. UFC 84 in May should be even better with Penn-Sherk, Silva-Jardine, and Ortiz-Machida.
-On the WEC front, I can’t wait for the Faber vs. Pulver fight on June 1st on Versus, undoubtedly the biggest fight in the history of the WEC.
Penn over Sherk
Silva over Jardine
Machida over Ortiz
Silva over Mendes
Gouveia over Reljic
Salaverry over Palhares
Sokoudjou over Nakamura
Clementi over Etim
Koppenhaver over Yoshida
Kim over Tan
Carwin over Wellisch
Wow, Raible still make predictions on here and good ones at that. I just read all 94 of the UFC posts. Raibs loves Ken-Flo. You guys really thought Silva would lose to Rich Franklin? Who wouldn’t get an erection when thinking about Frank Trigg? There was a little too much Koppen and not enough Haver. Brandon “Sweet Dreams” Sene? Go Rampage!
While many people think that Coutore-Sylvia will be the best fight of the night, I’m not sure it will be that exciting. Sylvia really slows down the fight and is happy to go the distance for the decision.
No, the fight I’m looking forward to is Rich Franklin vs. Jason McDonald. This mark’s Franklin’s return to the ring after surrendering his second defeat of his career losing his Middlewight belt to Anderson ” The Spider” Silva, arguably the best striker in the UFC. Franklin had no answer for Silva’s Muy Thai clinch which resulted in repeated knees to the face and a TKO after he broke his nose.
However, the last time Jason McDonald was thrown-in to the ring as a rebound guy he submitted Ed Hermann in the 1st rd, while registering a TKO against Chris Leben in the 2nd. McDonald has been a pleasant surprise so far for UFC Prez Dana White and could give Franklin a real fight.
In my opinion, Franklin bounces back and gets closer to a rematch with Silva.
Wells
March 1, 2007
This one is going to be a yawner. The next great UFC battle will be Sanchez v. Koscheck in April. Will the winner go straight to St. Pierre or face Hughes for the privedge?
Also on the April card are stepping stone matches for Grove and Swick at 185. The Franklin v. McDonald fight is a win/win proposition for the UFC- either Franklin re-establishes himself or McDonald joins the elite 185s. Silva can look invincible but has some holes and will always be in interesting fights. I’d also like to see Loiseau split a few more foreheads.
At light heavyweight Bisping, Rampage, and Evans will each get a few more gimmes before one will be dismantled by Liddell. No drama here until Silva comes over, although any Jardine fight is watchable.
There won’t be an interesting fight at heavyweight until Cro Cop annihilates someone for the title, although watching Coture pester dopey Silvia will be mildly amusing.
Lightweight won’t get interesting until Penn drops down and Pulver returns. I wonder if they have any plans to promote that.
thegreatawakening
March 1, 2007
Notes on the Division
This is probably the most interesting weight class in the UFC. Matching any two of the fighters listed here would be worthy of a top undercard at least. Histories and style contrasts make the future of the division facsinating.
One subplot invovles Penn and Hughes who have beaten and hate one another. Penn moved up from 155 and won by a 1st round submission in ‘04, considered one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Hughes broke Penn’s rib and scored a TKO in ‘06, although he was saved from a second submission by an early round bell. Hughes has won and lost to GSP, most recently getting out-struck and put to bed. Penn inflicted plenty of damage but lost a split decision to GSP in a bout that was very even and too short at only three rounds. Another fight between the two contenders would vault the victor to top contender status and put the loser’s future in question. Penn would likely drop back to 155, which may happen anyway after he coaches against Jens Pulver in the upcoming TUF season.
Sanchez and Koscheck have steamrolled almost every test to this point, but have yet to be tested by the elite. The TUF participants fought to a split decision during the show, which the still-undefeated Sanchez won. Koscheck is newer to MMA but his potential is impossible not to notice and he has best-in-class wrestling skills to fall back on. The question with Josh is a recurring theme in MMA- how far have the other areas of his game come and how will they hold up against a top fighter’s attack. While Koscheck will probably have the edge in grapling when the bell rings, Diego’s relentless ambush tends to knock opponents out of their element. Neither has been out-wrestled or shaken by strikes to date in the UFC- one or both will quickly be fighting in unfamiliar territory. The winner seems to be in line for a title shot, as the champ will defend his title minutes after their fight. The loser has plenty of upside and is likely to remain near the top this list.
Parysian is a bit of a wild card at 170. Quite experienced for a 24-year old, he has fought and lost to both GSP and Diego Sanchez, but has also been flawless against the 2nd tier of fighters- Drew Fickett, Nick Diaz, Chris Lytle, and Matt Serra. His offense, particularly judo throws, were successful against the usually well-defended Sanchez, and he survived a nice beating. He has proven he has the poise and chin to stand and throw with anyone to go along with his natural strength, heavy hands, and judo skill. He may get lost in the shuffle, but strikes me as someone who will always be in the mix like BJ Penn. He won’t go quickly or quietly and has a chance to win anytime he enters the octagon. He will likely earn a title shot a some point.
As for St. Pierre, he is clearly the best right now at 170. He uses a wider array of leg, body, and head kicks than his competition along with a diverse boxing repotoire to stun and finish opponents. His takedown defense is sufficient to keep the fight on foot if it suits him. If not, his takedowns are only a shade below Hughes and Koscheck, and his elbows and fists are deadly on the ground. Submissions are a viable option at all times. His only loss was due to a Hughes armbar in a fight he came in to tenatively. He explained his mistakes and promised to regroup and enter his rematch with more confidence. He did and he dominated. Anyone can be beaten, particularly in a 25 minute championship bout. Submissions and cuts are always a risk from the crowd GSP will be dealing with over the next couple years. A Sanchez win could set up a title shot, which I expect be the most anticipated fight of the year. Hughes and Penn could both be in the mix for highly anticipated rematches as well. Although I consider Matt Serra to be a favorable matchup for GSP, he is experienced and will look to sink something in from the bell. Equaling Matt Hughes’ recent run of six successful defenses will be difficult.
The rankings:
1. Georges St. Pierre, 25
Trains in BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling
Excellent conditioning, strength, speed, agility and overall athleticism. Precise kicks, punches, knees, elbows, takedowns, submissions and takedown and ground defense.
Holds wins over Hughes and Penn
2. Diego Sanchez, 25
Gaidojutsu Black belt, former state HS wrestling champ
Raw strength and quickness. Relentless ground and pound and vicious rear chokes.
Undefeated in UFC.
3. B.J. Penn, 28
BJJ black belt, only non-Brazilian BJJ champion.
Probably the most agile and flexible fighter in the UFC. Great stand up and better submissions. Accused of poor conditioning.
Former champ has submitted Hughes and beaten current challenge Matt Serra. His split decision loss to
St. Pierre was probably determined by a couple late takedowns by a bloodied, battered GSP. Injured rib in loss to Hughes in fall of ’06 cost him the belt and months of recovery time.
“I want to smash his face so bad,” says Penn. “I don’t think about anything else except smashing Hughes’ face. I don’t like him at all.”
4. Matt Hughes, 33
Four time collegiate All-American wrestler.
No stronger fighter in the division, top notch takedowns, great ground and pound as well as submissions. Stand up proven to be inferior to the elite of the division. At his best when he is bouncing opponents off the ground.
Wins and losses versus GSP and Penn, steam-rolled the division pre-GSP.
5. Karo Parysian, 24
Judo Black belt, excels at grappling/judo throws, arm bars.
Good natural strength, heavy hands, work habits have been questioned, but a battle-tested warrior.
Has gone the distance with St. Pierre and Sanchez, also holds wins over Lytle, Serra, Diaz and Fickett.
6. Josh Koscheck, 29
National Champion Wrestler
Considered the best wrestler in UFC. Great takedowns, ground and pound, and defense.
Lost split decision to Sanchez during TUF. Has only been in the sport for a year and a half.
“I just don’t see how he could beat me now. Honestly, I think Diego would be an easy win.”
The Others: A mix of solid pros and up-and-comers, but there’s a fine line between both species and of the ‘professional opponent’. Fickett, Lytle, Serra, Riggs, Diaz, Fitch…….they all kind of run together for me. You’ve heard of them………..you might hear of them again…………you don’t really care.
In Conclusion: I don’t expect GSP to go 5-0 if he faces the rest of this list over the next few years. It also wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he lost to Koscheck or Sanchez, only to turn around and dominate the rematch. GSP loses to Sanchez, who loses to Penn, who loses to Hughes, who loses to GSP wouldn’t surprise me either. MMA is a sport of strategy and adjustment. Styles make fights. There are many different ways to achieve victory even when an opponent is superior on the given day. 5 fights I would like to see:
1. Hughes vs. Koscheck: Top-shelf wrestling.
2. Parysian vs. Penn: a technical battle between black belts.
3. GSP vs. Serra: Nobody actually wants to see this. Why is this happening?
4. Sanchez vs. Anderson Silva: Why not?
5. GSP vs. Sanchez: Probably going to happen eventually.
thegreatawakening
March 2, 2007
I’m looking forward to the return of The Natural, who is probably my 2nd favorite Mixed Martial Artist ever (behind only Ken Shamrock). I want to see Randy knock the crap out of The Maniac!
Raible
March 3, 2007
I know I should watch more, but it always seems to me like everyone is the freakin same these days. Everything is so regulated and everyone looks the same. I loved in the old days when guys with completely different styles (Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Don Frye, Kimo, etc). One thing that I love remains constant. Big John McCarthy.
Haver
March 3, 2007
That’s why the welterweights are the best. Although the rules favor the wrestlers in all weights, there are still competitors of different styles on display in this division. GSP is probably more boxer/kickboxer than wrestler, although he’s so well rounded that it depends on the fight. BJ Penn is pure BJJ, and seems to invent a new defense or submission every couple minutes. Did you see Penn-GSP? The guy is double-jointed in every joint. Karo Parysian makes effective use of judo throws against even the best opponents. Hughes and Koscheck are pure wrestlers, but it’s still interesting to see them trying to adapt. Diego is an ex-wrestler too but uses his knees like David Loisseau uses his bows.
thegreatawakening
March 3, 2007
I think that Sylvia probably deserves a rematch with Couture at some point being that he was “dominating” the Heavyweight Division until the Old Man came in and kicked the crap out of him. I think that The Natural vs Cro Cop would be extremely intriguing and is probably not too far away. I don’t think that Arlovski deserves a shot more than Sylvia after losing 2 of 3 to The MAINE-IAC. I don’t really want to see Couture beat Sylvia’s ass again, so I’m hoping for a match with Cro Cop.
By the way, why is Anderson Silva fighting Marquardt? Why don’t they give the fans what they want, a rematch between Ace and the Spider?!?!
Raible
March 8, 2007
The next title to change hands will be the Middleweight Belt, currently owned by Anderson Silva. It is my opinion that The Spider will be losing his belt to Rich “Ace” Franklin when the two meet for their rematch, presumably before the end of the year.
There is a decent chance that Randy Couture could lose his Heavyweight title before Silva loses his belt, especially if Couture’s next fight is indeed against Mirko Cro Cop. But I am gonna stick with both The Natural and Ace and say that both will be champs at the end of 2007.
Raible
March 25, 2007
BREAKING NEWS- Liddell fights Rampage May 26.
After that last PPV I think UFC will want to milk the Couture era as long as they can without losing credibility. I think he’ll end up in a matchup that will favor him, and I would like to see Liddell move up to challenge him after that.
In his first interview after the Rampage fight was made, Chuck said “This is the last loss on my record that I have to avenge so I want to put that behind me and then look at new challenges.” I think the new challenge is the heavyweight division. After Chuck beats Randy the UFC would be set up to make the biggest fight possible- Liddell-Cro Cop.
As far as the middle-weights go, I think Franklin-Silva is still the biggest fight, and I don’t think they will pass on it. But I’m also looking forward to seeing Swick in action next week and I think he could jump on the fast track if he looks good.
I can’t wait to post my picks for Shootout…….
thegreatawakening
March 26, 2007
OK I put together a new article on my blog and tried to cross-post it here but it didn’t happen. Feel free to check it out.
thegreatawakening
April 2, 2007
WOW, what interesting implications we will have from the fallout of UFC’s latest PPV. Matt Serra is the new Welterweight Champion, Josh Koscheck basically manhandled the previously unbeaten Diego Sanchez, and yet more PRIDE fighters seem to be heading to the octagon as witnessed by the appearance of Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.
What happens to the Welterweight Division?
Do Kos and Diego go for the Rubber Match?
How crazy is the UFC about to get with all of the new guys?
Will Chuck answer Mayweather’s boxing challenge?
Raible
April 9, 2007
Yea that was wild. Looks like everyone’s upset pick hit no matter who it was.
-Kos-Sanchez: I think Rogan said it best when he said that these guys hate each other so much that they didn’t want to leave an opening for the other. I thought the standup might go like this but I figured it would open up when they both went for a takedown. Kos slammed him once right at the end of the first, obviously by design, and when Diego reversed him at the bell it was the only time he had an advantage. Why would Kos bother to do it again?
-Serra-GSP: Don’t want to downplay the win by saying it was a lucky punch because it was a great overall performance. We should have remembered how bad Georges got beat up by BJ Penn. Still I’ll happily lay 3:1 on a rematch. I really don’t think the UFC even had a contingency plan for this result. On one hand you’d like to build up a few stars rather than have the belt change hands three times a year, but this opens up a lot of fights. I think Koscheck deserves the first shot, barring a quick rematch. Did you see how happy Hughes was? I think he knows GSP is a bad matchup for him and, like everyone else, wants to get a crack at Serra before the belt is in more capable hands. It’s going to take another win for Serra to shake that reputation. Let’s look at the options:
1. Rematch: GSP is popular and looked like a top 5 lb for lb before Saturday. Obviously got stunned early and couldn’t recover. This fight proved that anyone can be beaten. Rematches after the underdog wins will always sell.
2. Hughes: I hate Hughes but he’s really popular. What a boring fight this would be. I’d rather see Hughes-GSP for a title shot.
3. Koscheck: I was pretty jacked for Koscheck-GSP. I definitely think this is our next champ if he gets the fight.
Interesting debate- UFC has been a little heavy on the rematches in other weight classes but that was due to lack of challengers. I hope Kos gets first crack with Hughes-GSP on the undercard. This single loss really buried Sanchez, but he’ll definitely earn a rematch, and hopefully it’ll be for the belt next time.
I’d love to see Liddell-Mayweather in some form.
thegreatawakening
April 9, 2007
Wow, Joe and I waited to watch this PPV until tonight. I did not see that coming from Serra, but you can;t take anything away from him. This division is wide open and i love it.
First, how sweet would Huerta- Florian be?
Next, Koscheck deserves a shot at the belt. Although this match was boring it was great strategy by Koz.
I was surprised Swick lost his fight, but Ogami has very good mat skills. Ogami-Grove would be interesting.
I think if Lidell-Mayweather go at it they should do one in the ring and one in the octago. Although, I don’t think Chuck could last very long in the ring STAMINA-wise.
Wells
April 11, 2007
Well it looks like the coming Cro Cop-Gonzaga matchup will be a #1 contender match with the winner facing Couture. Give the UFC credit here for not fucking around. They could have esily put Randy in with a stiff for a cheap PPV, but instead look even more committed to putting on only great fights. Everyone is picking Cro Cop, exclusively on his repuation for most of us, becasue Gonzaga is relatively unknown. Rogan says not to sleep on him but what else would he say. After Serra it’s tough to be overconfident in anyone. With all the mayhem inside the octogon it’s always possible to sink in a submission or land a big shot.
None of the other fights on this card are of much interest to me although I like Bisping’s style and I’m interested to see how quickly he is promoted.
I’m excited for Chuck-Rampage, as I’m sure everyone is, but I wish they’d waited until summer. Is Evans next in line, or would they consider Jardine? Always possible are fighters outside the UFC as well. Karo Parysian appears on the undercard and is always entertaining to watch.
I agreed with the Koscheck title shot at first but now I expect a Hughes-Serra matchup simply because Hughes was and is so popular. It’s also tough to argue with a title shot for a fighter who dominated for so long. I read a rumor somewhere about GSP-Kos and that would be just insane- I really think those are the two best in the division.
Lightweight is going to be out of control. I thi nk the UFC made an error holding a title bout so quickly. I think a tournament would have been an incredibly popular move, and we have the fighters to support it. Can you really argue with title shots for Stevenson, Florian, Huerta or Franca? Actually I’ll do a quick rank-job when I get around to it………….
thegreatawakening
April 13, 2007
Who will win the Ultimate Fighter? Until I see him beaten (which will obviously eliminate him from the competition anyway), I’ve got “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon. He might be young (22), but Lauzon was very impressive in his dismantling of Brian Geraghty in his first fight on the show. To boot, and it has been well documented, Lauzon defeated coach Jens Pulver at UFC 63.
Raible
May 12, 2007
I think this question should have probably been posted AFTER this first round is over. The quarter finals are like two fights away and we have yet to see like 4 fighters. All the guys have been impressive so far though, and I think as Corey Hill goes from raw talent to polished fighter, he will be tough to beat. (Kinda like Sylvia was for a while) His first fight was anything but impressive and if Emerson wasn’t such a tool he probably would have won.
I’m interested in seeing Gray and Matt Wiman fight before I make any predictions though.
Wells
May 13, 2007
There’s 2 fights that no one seems to be talking much about this weekend, and they’re not in the world of MMA.
I’m talking about Jermain Taylor vs Cory Spinks and, on its undercard, Edison Miranda vs Kelly Pavlik, the winner of which could get a shot at Taylor should he defeat Spinks as he is supposed to. The action will be coming live from Memphis, TN and will be televised for “free” on HBO.
Let me get right to the point: I love Taylor! For my money, there is nothing better than a great Middleweight; at Middleweight, you get the best of both worlds: Power like Heavyweight but also Quickness like a Lightweight. While Floyd Mayweather Jr. is widely considered to be the best Pound-for-Pound boxer in the world at Junior Middleweight, it is Taylor who I find to be completely entertaining and a joy to watch.
Taylor, of course, was the Bronze medalist at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Since then, “Bad Intentions” has amassed a record of 26-0-1, with 17 wins coming by KO. Among his victims are Raul Marquez, William Joppy, Daniel Edouard, and Bernard Hopkins (twice). Taylor’s record also features a draw against Winky Wright, largely considered to be among the best Pound-for-Pound boxers not named Mayweather.
The winner of Miranda-Pavlik could certainly get a shot at Taylor’s titles, especially since the camps from Taylor and Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe have had difficulties setting something up between the two. If it comes down to Miranda or Pavlik, here’s hoping for Miranda; the following article pretty much sums up my feelings for why: http://www.mmanews.com/boxing/Taylor-Banters-With-Miranda-Before-Fight-With-Spinks.html
If you are near a TV on Saturday night and are in the mood to watch some guys beating each other up, tune in to HBO!
Raible
May 19, 2007
Well, I watched the Jermaine Taylor “fight” last night. A few thoughts:
-Boxing is dead.
-Taylor needs to change his nickname. His intentions are to get the fight over with without breaking a sweat.
-Why does he keep fighting weak punchers from lower weight classes?
-Why do boxers act like they can’t wait to kill the guy leading up to the fight and at the press conference, and then get in there and do nothing?
-I bet Taylor ends up avoiding Pavlik- just a hunch.
-Boxing is dead. Dead.
In a brighter note, there is a nice card tonight for UFC Fight Night, which sets up next weekends Liddell-Rampage card. Maybe they will each throw 4-5 punches per round and then celebrate and hollar into the camera when its over about how great they are. On second thought maybe they will actually fight, since that is what they love to do and get paid to do.
thegreatawakening
May 20, 2007
“Who’s going to look good with Cory Spinks?” said Emanuel Steward, Taylor’s trainer. “All you want to do is get the win and move on. Cory Spinks was jabbing, and before the punch got out, he’s running back already.”
For the record, I like UFC more than Boxing, too, and can’t wait for Iceman-Rampage next weekend!
Raible
May 20, 2007
You’re right about Spinks, but at the same time Taylor never wins definitively against anyone. Winky basically beat him and Hopkins could have gone either way.
And why make a fight against a guy who won’t provide a good fight? The sport is dying and this is what they came up with? A boring, easy fight with little chance of excitement or an upset?
Similarly, the one decent fight of the year (Hoya-Maywaether) has no undercard? How else do you get up-and-comers into the spotlight? The one and only chance the sport had to get the attention of the casual fan and they offer one boring fight for $55.
The UFC does well because one company essentially owns the sport. There is no bickering between promoters or holding out for bigger pay days.
thegreatawakening
May 21, 2007
I like Liddell to get his revenge against Rampage.
I am also looking forward to Burkman-Parisyan, and I think that Karo will outclass “The People’s Warrior.”
Other predictions:
Salaverry over Martin
Jardine over Alexander
Leben over Starnes
Silva over Irvin
Belcher over Salmon
Thomas over Stephens
Gouveia over Marrero
Raible
May 24, 2007
My picks for tonight:
Wiman over Geraghty
Garcia over Berube
Maynard over Emerson
Miller over Wang
Lauzon over Melendez
Leites over Sword
Huerta over Evans
Gamburyan over Diaz
Penn over Pulver
Raible
June 23, 2007
My picks for tonight:
Geraghty over Wiman
Berube over Garcia
Emerson over Maynard
Wang over Miller
Melendez over Lauzon
Sword over Leites
Evans over Huerta
Diaz over Gamburyan
Pulver over Penn
Get it????? For real now I’ve currently been watching 6 straight hours of The Ultimate Fighter and I’m pretty pumped up for tonight. Not Tim Dean pumped up, but pumped nonetheless.
Haver
June 23, 2007
After picking pretty well for the TUF 5 Finale, I am going to try my luck with my picks for UFC 73:
Edgar over Bocek
Lytle over Gilliam
Gurgel over Saraiva
Bonnar over Nickels
Florian over Robinson
Nog over Herring
Sherk over Franca
Tito over Rashad
Silva over Marquardt
A few thoughts on the PPV:
-I am not a big fan of either Bonnar or Florian, so my heart wouldn’t be broken to see either one lose. How gay are their nicknames, too: “The American Psycho” and “Ken-Flo?”
-Sherk and Franca should be a treat.
-It will be interesting to see what happens with Tito regardless of the outcome as his contract with the UFC is about to expire.
-I hope Silva wins so Franklin can have his revenge!
Raible
July 6, 2007
-First of all it looks like Sanchez vs. Fitch at 76 on Sept. 22. Diego comes off his first loss to face the man who has replaced him as the rising undefeated welterweight. I think this will be a good fight. As always we won’t find out until fight night how much each fighter has changed since our last viewing snd what the gameplan is. It’s hard to gauge how a fighter will do against top competition by watching him dismantle losers. Fitch is good a weathering the storm, which he will probably have to do to survive and give himself a chance to win. How will Sanchez bounce back from a disappointing defeat and a staph infection? If he is out there thinking too much instead of flying around like he’s supposed to I could see him getting caught in a bad position, possibly gettign subbed. If not he’s probably a small favorite to win by decision. If he can stop the resilient and well-rounded Fitch it will make a pretty big statement. He needs to win, but Fitch is on the fence right now too despite being undefeated. Sounds like everyone in the division doesn’t it? Anyway this rumor could easily be bullshit. I also read Parysian-Fitch on the Serra-Hughes card. Who fuckin knows?
-I think Florian is gonna put on a clinic tomorrow. Punishing strikes and a submission that gets locked in when his opponent gets tired of getting hit and wants a way out. Early stoppage in this one. Florian doesn’t have elite talent and may never take the belt but he is a serious opponent for anyone.
-Minotauro might end Herring’s life.
-Franca thinks that Sherk will eventually make a mistake over the course of their 25-minute fight and become open for a knockout or submission. I tend to agree but that doesn’t mean Hermes will close the deal. For one thing we hear a lot hoe certain guys want to wait out a decision just to see them bash a guy’s head in. Sherk may be a wrestler but if Franca tires a barrage of straight punches and downward elbows could easily be enough to end it. Hermes is great at unloading haymakers in transition- as the clinch breaks, as the fighters are getting up, etc. He’s also a BJJ blackbelt and will be looking to slap something on during ground transitions. Sherk’s short arms and no neck will really help him here. I don’t think Franca will be able to sink in a decisive submission, but I do think he can land a big shot that will lead to the end. I expect Sherk to control 80%+ of the action but Hermes will eventually land one that will turn the tide. Franca KO round 4.
-Evans hasn’t fought what you would call a crafty veteran no matter how you slice it. When you fight Jason Lambert or Stephan Bonnar you can win on talent- not that that’s an easy task but ther is still a difference. Tito won’t allow Evans to survive a handful of takedowns like he did against Salmon. In one way this pairing reminds me of Koscheck-Sanchez- coming in we can only wonder what either fighter will do if he gets in trouble on his back. Tito was always struck to death standing and Rashad just hasn’t been tested period. For Ortiz to win he needs a smart gameplan and patient execution. Evans has got to come in confident but restrained. An Evans highlight reel KO will really vault his career. Only because it’s a three rounded I think it goes to decision. Almost too close to call but for the perposes of a prediction I’ll take Tito, split decision that the crowd hates.
-Marquardt can muscle Silva to the ground- I have no doubt of that. He can score one takedown, wear him out, and take the belt. I’m taking Silva because he only needs that one exchange to end the fight. This is another long fight where one looks to grind out a cautious but effective assault, while the other waits for an opening. But unlike Sherk, I think Marquadt has less talent and ability as his opponent. Silva by TKO, round 3.
So, only one pick that can be called an upset. I read a UFC-wagering article before each PPV, and the author thinks the best play this month was Marquardt +185, which is now down to +140 in some places. He believes that there is a strong chance that Silva gets muscled and worn down. Again, this is the key for bothe Nate and Sherk- beat the explosiveness out of the Brazillians. When the explosion is there those elbows, knees, and submissions strike like a cobra attack.
thegreatawakening
July 7, 2007
Let’s take a look at the results….
-Florian has added another club to his bag- judo. I’ve said he’s a personal favorite and a dangerous, ever-improving professional. His opponent had some skills tonight, but Kenny hurts people very effectively as he uses efficient position control to set up sharp strikes. Let’s call Florian Skinny Kenny. And……….he just mauled him to the point of tapping as I type this. Nice quick anhilation.
-Big Nog. Wow. Talk about a Cro Cop Gonzaga flashback. I’m glad to see he rebounded to score the win. We don’t need anymore shakeups.
-Franca-Sherk played out the way I thought it would in a lot of ways. Sherk controlled the tempo and position, and was better than Franca for even more than the 80% of the time that I predicted. He also opened himself up for potential fight-ending strikes and submission holds. As expected those holds were unable to do the job as Sherk slipped out of them quickly with the help of his stubby midget arms and absentee neck. The hole in my prediction cost Franca the fight- he was unable to make those precision knees put Sherk to sleep and, unfortunately, those were the only opportunities he had. It pisses me off when these fights stay on the ground the whole time, but Sherk certainly earned the right to keep it there with his stellar conditioning and skills. The announcers sucked his balls a little excessively for my tastes but they beat home one serious point- who’s gonna take out Sean Sherk? He’s going to need some serious takedown defense and standup because I really think the champ’s just too compact to submit (can you picture a kimura that he couldn’t just rip out of?). Who the hell meets that description?*
-Anderson Silva is one of my favorites to watch. He’s a true striker in a sport under attack from wrestlers, as I will discuss later. While it would have been fun to watch a few more flying kicks and knees, he ended Marquardt quickly with his lethal reach and venomous power. The man just snaps off his strikes like a King Cobra. In fact that’s gonna be his new nickname. I think he will destroy Franklin again in the fall. The Cobra bows to his opponents and then assassinates them- what’s not to like?**
-I always said I’d come out to Method Man’s Release Yo Delf if I were in the UFC. Other than that not much to like about this fight. First of all I think the point deduction was legit and I think that foul cost Evans a slam or two moreso than it cost Tito the decision. I suppose my prediction of too close to call was somewhat on the mark, but not for the reasons we all hoped. I felt like Rashad needed to come in under control, but like a lot of TUF veterans he was way too restrained- this is an annoying trend. Rashad looked nervous and just danced too much. I disagreed with the announcers and Tito’s corner who felt he was doing well. i thought they both sucked. This is an example of why I think fights should go 5 rounds. I’d say the top 5 fights on each card should go 5- or even better go 4 and if it’s even go for a 5th. I’m glad it was a draw, and I think more of these shit fights should have no winner. If the fans are losers so should the fighters. Do we want to see a rematch? No. But I think Evans will be able to turn it around. Tito just doesn’t look that dangerous, even though he is huge for 205. As Rogan points out Evans is smaller than Rich Franklin. A move to 185 could come if he has teouble taking the next step. His skill set is not complete and he has to change his approach, but he’s another wrestler who looks poised to become a great mixed martial artist.
Some other thoughts:
-As I alluded to I think there is a trend emerging in MMA that concerns me. Elite wrestlers are finding that their routine translates well to MMA training. A lot of these guys, Koscheck, Evans, and Sherk come to mind, simply need to integrate a few tools intot he bag before becoming a top contender. Why do I think this is bad? Because these skills are used to hang in there against boxing, mui thai, judo, and brazillian and jui jitsu long enough to take the fight to the ground and lay around. I can’t fault these guys for their strategies. The goal is winning for one, and this is also the smartest way to survive the UFC until the other their skills come around. But I’d rather watch Karo Parysian throw people, Drew McMedries drop bombs, and Anderson Silva unleash violence. Wrestlers are very effective, and if their discipline dominates MMA like BJJ did once I can’t really complain. But I’ll be a little salty and watch a little less, and think a lot of new fans will be lost.
-I think Dana White needs to stop assigning the winner of certain fights certain rewards before they compete. I’d like to hear “the winner of this fight *could* be chosen to fight for the belt next *if* he looks great tonight.” Something has to be done to force action. This was a solid event but we can’t forget that the last one ate shit. I noticed that John McCarthy and another ref stood fighters up rather quickly more than once tonight. I like that- this is entertainment, and I don’t care if the guy was about to improve his position. Do it quicker next time.
-I’d still like to see a 10-8 round or worse, more rounds if no one has found satisfaction, more and greater financial incentives to finish fights and incite the crowd, and anything else to take the excitement up a notch. I think we’re all tired of hearing Mike Goldberg gush about how great a card has been or what a clinic a fighter is putting on, and then looking around to try to figure out what the hell he’s been watching.
*Seriously who the hell can get after that lightweight belt? Stevenson- sort of a poor man’s Sherk. Florian- already failed once, but Skinny Ken has added some weapons. I’m still skeptical but 25 minutes is a long time to open up a cut or lock up a leg (the one limb that doesn’t look mutant). Huerta- I’m less impressed than the announcers. That usually means he’s a marketing fav. Fisher- I’d like to see this one quite a bit. Penn- definitely meets the two qualifications- defense, standup, and also has some slither from his back. Could happen soon.
**And Silva? Let’s see: Franklin- many fans crave redemption for Ace, but I don’t see it. I think Franklin was hyped by the UFC as a mega-star before the talent was consolidated. I love the guy but I think he’s overrated. But he could win and then he’d truly earn the respect he’s given. McFedries- I addressed him this high because he’s got that great KO power- and a puncher’s chance is looking the most promising against Silva. Grove- No. Herman- this guy is my dark horse. In my mind he’s a better Travis Lutter, and I think he’d be a live dog.
Remember, Franklin, Hughes, and Liddell were all invincible at one time. Now we debate if they belong in the top 5. It is a rollercoaster sport, so let’s enjoy these guys while they are king and remember that tonight could have been the tallest hill on the ride.
thegreatawakening
July 8, 2007
Oh WOW!
http://www.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10262443
Raible
July 20, 2007
It has been over a month and a half since we have had any major UFC action, so I am aching to see how tonight’s PPV plays out. Here’s one guy’s opinion:
Aurelio over Guida
Mir over Hardonk
Sobral over Heath
Leites over Jensen
Grove over Cote
Stevenson over Pellegrino
St. Pierre over Koscheck
Huerta over Crane
Couture over Gonzaga
Raible
August 25, 2007
Nobody fucks with Dana White…
http://www.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10324634
Raible
August 30, 2007
First off, great show put on by Razor Rob McCullough tonight on the WEC show on Versus. McCullough, part of Tito Ortiz’s Team Punishment, smacked the shit out of the challenger to his Lightweight WEC title. For those of you not familiar with the WEC, I suggest you check it out; the WEC is almost a minor-league of sorts for the UFC, owned and operated by the same fellas that own the UFC (Dana White and the Fertitta boys).
With that being said, UFC 75 kicks off on Saturday FREE on Spike TV. My predictions follow:
Liaudin over Torres
Siver over Kotani
Silva over Drwal
Tibau over Etim
Alexander over Sakara
Davis over Taylor
Cro Cop over Kongo
Hammill over Bisping
Henderson over Jackson
New season of TUF (Hughes vs Serra) coming up, UFC 76: Liddell vs Jardine on the 22nd, and there are reports circulating that Fedor will be at UFC 75 Saturday with UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture for what is being called a promotional appearance, since both men have sponsorship deals with the Affliction clothing line. Could all the recent comments by Emelianenko’s management and Dana White himself that contract talks have stalled be just a smokescreen to save a really, really big announcement for UFC 75?
Raible
September 6, 2007
A new season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts this week. Not only is that good news for fans of UFC’s groundbreaking reality series, but it also means there will be a live UFC Fight Night from Las Vegas leading into the debut episode on Wednesday. Fight Night 11 is the third of four UFC events within a crazy one-month period, which started with Randy Couture’s title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga on Aug. 25 and will wrap up this Saturday as Chuck Liddell faces Keith Jardine at UFC 76.
To help viewers get into TUF mode, the card for Fight Night 11 is loaded with TUF alumni, including season one’s Kenny Florian in the main event against TUF 4 cast member Din Thomas in a battle of talented, versatile lightweights. Florian stepped into the main event slot as a replacement for Spencer Fisher, who had to pull out of his originally scheduled fight with Thomas after he acquired a staph infection during training.
My predictions for the evening follow:
Hazelett over Goulet
Alves over Hironaka
Maynard over Veres
Miller over Garcia
Cummo over Crocota
Quarry over Sell
Assuncao over Diaz
Leben over Martin
Thomas over Florian
Raible
September 19, 2007
Big fights this weekend.
Some fighters being introduced to the UFC and some trying to get back on track.
What are your guys predictions?
Mine:
Liddell KO
Diego TKO
Shogun TKO
Can’t find the rest of the card on UFC.com
Wells
September 21, 2007
Not too shabby of a 7-2 record from Fight Night 11, but I did miss 2 of the 3 biggest fights…probably because I hate both Diaz and Florian and will probably never pick either to ever win (Who knows what happens, by the way, if Thomas doesn’t get hurt going for the shoot against Ken-Flo – worst nickname in sports, by the way).
The Ultimate Fighter should be sweet this season. Gotta like how my boy Mac Danzig looked in the first episode; he’s originally from the Burgh, you know? Daniel Barrera looks like a physical beast, but I’m gonna stick with my pre-season prediction of Danzig taking home the guaranteed contract.
As for this weekend, it is no doubt going to be a big PPV. You’ve got Liddell and Sanchez trying to get back into the title picture in their respective weight classes, while the fight that I am anticipating the most pits Shogun Rua vs. Forrest Griffin. If Chuck wins his fight, then it looks like he will get Wanderlei Silva…which would be sweet.
My picks:
Johnson over Clementi
Wiman over Omigawa
Wellisch over Junk
Saraiva over Stephens
Griffin over Tavares
Machida over Nakamura
Sanchez over Fitch
Rua over Griffin
Liddell over Jardine (KO)
Raible
September 21, 2007
Liddell KO
Shogun Dec
Fitch Dec
Tavares Submission
Stephens KO
Omigawa Submission
thegreatawakening
September 21, 2007
Wow, it seemed like quite a night of fights, eh? My thoughts, post UFC 76:
-Even though he lost to Jardine, Liddell must fight Wanderlei Silva in December. This has long been a dream fight for MMA fans, and with Chuck seemingly headed toward the end of his career, I say it’s better late than never. Furthermore, the December PPV is usually one of the larger ones for UFC, and this match would still draw a hefty buy rate.
-As for Jardine, I think that we need to see a rematch with Forrest Griffin. I am still amazed that Griffin was beat by the DEAN OF MEAN (next to Ken-Flo, the 2nd worst nickname of all time). Griffin is more popular and appears to be the more polished fighter, especially after stopping Shogun. Let’s see him get a chance at redemption against Jardine before potentially pushing him toward a title shot (I’d love to see him get a rematch with Tito, too).
-Shogun’s loss is just the latest in a string of unimpressive performances by former PRIDE stars. Except for Rampage, the studs that have come over (Cro Cop, Nog, Shogun) have all disappointed. It remains to be seen what’s left in the tank for Wanderlei, but we need Fedor in UFC.
-Diego Sanchez on a losing streak, eh? Not sure where Diego goes from here. Maybe a rubber match with Kos?
-UFC 77 is next up on Oct. 20th in Cincy. Hometown favorite Rich Franklin gets his rematch with Anderson Silva. Additionally, Brandon Vera makes his return to the octagon, taking on Tim Sylvia, with the winner positioning himself for a HW title shot.
-The rumors for the UFC 78 fight card include a rematch between Tito and Rashad and an appearance by Karo.
-How about Randy Couture? He just continues to correctly pick the upsets, correctly choosing both Griffin and Fitch to win their respective matches from the weekend.
-Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik next Saturday night, along with the 2nd episode of The Ultimate Fighter on Wednesday.
Raible
September 24, 2007
76 Thoughts: I thought the Fitch fight would go down just as it did, perhaps with a little more boxeo by Fitch. As he said though he felt comfortable in the clinch and on the ground and wanted to avoid takedowns. Nice clean win, and now he’s in line.
Jardine has very nice kicks, but othewise he is sloppy and unimpressive. I can’t believe Chuck couldn’t put him away. I hope he’s been underpreparing because a loss to Jardine is a bad loss.
Griffin looked very skilled and doesn’t make many mistakes despite what’s viewed as a wild style. Shogun had his moments but really gassed. I think Shogun will be heard from again soon.
Tyson Griffin impressed me quite a bit. Tavares is an elite submission guy with plenty of speed and athleticism. Griffin gets less publicity than Fisher, Huerta, Florian and Stevenson, but I think he’s pretty legit.
Machida reminds me of Yushin Okami- he’s boring but he’ll crush most of the division.
thegreatawakening
September 25, 2007
Randy quit, and it’s a pretty interesting situation if you haven’t been following. mmajunkie.com and sherdog.com have some worthwhile info to read.
Dana White is getting a lot of heat. In my view this is why you don’t act like a jackass in public when you are the president of a visable, fan and media-driven company. When the he-said-she-said starts you have no credibility.
Lots of boring things going on in the UFC right now. Franklin-Silva is Cincy is intriguing, but the MW division is dead on the vine after that matchup. WW has been waiting forever for Hughes-Serrs. St. Pierre and the rest of the division are just wasting away. HW obviously just got raped, and LHW just suffered losses by the biggest names. LW was looking good until the champ tested up for roids. What a mess. I think the organization is more vulnerable than people think.
thegreatawakening
October 13, 2007
UFC 77 Predictions:
Black over Grice
Burkman over Petz
Jensen over Maia
Gurgel over Robinson
Okami over MacDonald
Belcher over Starnes
Schafer over Bonnar
Vera over Sylvia (KO)
Franklin over Silva (Decision)
Raible
October 16, 2007
With all of this talk about Randy and Fedor, and a Playboy article about the popularity of Chuck Liddell, it got me to thinking…Who is the greatest MMA artist of all time? Let’s take a look at some of the contenders:
Mark Coleman: 15-8 career record
-Following his amateur career, Coleman made the transition to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, winning his first two tournaments, UFC 10 where he beat defending champion and fellow superstar, Don Frye and UFC 11 in 1996, and becoming the UFC’s first Heavyweight Champion when he submitted Dan Severn via neck crank at UFC 12. He also won the Pride 2000 open-weight Grand Prix tournament.
Randy Couture: 16-8 career record
-Couture is the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions of the UFC, as well as the only five-time champion in UFC history, earning him the nicknames “The Natural” and, later, “Captain America”. He is considered by many to be the most popular fighter in MMA history, and is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Fedor Emelianenko: 27-1 career record
-Emeliananeko has been considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world. In addition to holding notable wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filipović, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman and, most recently, over Matt Lindland, he has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the PRIDE 2004 Grand Prix, and the World Combat Sambo Championship on three occasions.
Don Frye: 17-6 career record
-Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments. Also defeated Ken Shamrock at PRIDE 19.
Takanori Gomi: 27-3 career record
-Gomi is considered by many to be one of the best MMA lightweights in the world, with notable wins over Hayato Sakurai, Jens Pulver, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Luiz Azeredo, and Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett.
Royce Gracie: 14-3 career record
-The best of the famous Gracie brothers, he won 11 matches between 1993 and 1994 by submission and was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4. He also fought to a draw with Ken Shamrock in the Superfight at UFC 5. These results contributed to the movement towards grappling, cross-training and MMA. Demonstrating that skill and style can beat strength and size, he produced notable wins over Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, and Kimo Leopoldo.
Dan Henderson: 22-6 career record
-Was the only MMA fighter holding titles in two weight classes at the same time. He has notable wins over: Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Kazuo Misaki, Murilo Bustamante, Yuki Kondo, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Murilo Rua, Renato Sobral, Gilbert Yvel and Carlos Newton.
Jeremy Horn: 79-16 career record
-One of the most experienced fighters in the world, he has beaten such notable fighters as: Forrest Griffin, Josh Burkman, David Loiseau, Dean Lister, Vernon White, Gilbert Yvel and Chuck Liddell
Matt Hughes: 41-5 career record
-A former 2-time UFC World Welterweight Champion, he holds notable wins over BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Frank Trigg, Royce Gracie, Hayato Sakurai, and Sean Sherk.
Quinton Jackson: 28-6 career record
-He has wins over: Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Arona, Igor Vovchanchyn, Murilo Rua, Matt Lindland, Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson. Outside the ring, “Rampage” is known for his humor and colorful personality
Chuck Liddell: 20-5 career record
-”The Iceman” holds notable wins over Jeff Monson, Guy Mezger, Vernon White, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn, and Randy Couture.
Pat Miletich: 28-7 career record
-He is the founder of Miletich Fighting Systems, which trained some of the most talented and popular fighters in MMA, such as former UFC Welterweight champion Matt Hughes, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, and ICON Sport middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: 30-4 career record
-The more accomplished of the Nogueira twins, “Minotauro” holds wins over notable fighters such as Mirko Filipović, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Mark Coleman, Sergei Kharitonov, Fabricio Werdum, Semmy Schilt, Ricco Rodriguez, Bob Sapp and Jeremy Horn.
Tito Ortiz: 15-5 career record
-As a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion (2000-2003), Ortiz emerged as one of the sport’s biggest stars, becoming 2006’s hottest consistent ticket seller in the entire pay per view business.
Pedro Rizzo: 16-7 career record
-Considered to be one of the best strikers in MMA history, Rizzo holds notable wins over Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Mark Coleman, Jeff Monson, Dan Severn and Ricco Rodriguez.
Bas Rutten: 28-4 career record
-He was a three time King of Pancrase, former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion, and is a certified MTBN Thai Boxing instructor, Pancrase instructor, a 5th Degree Black Belt in Kyokushin karate and a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He holds notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Kevin Randleman, Guy Mezger and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
Dan Severn: 79-14 career record
-”The Beast” was the first world-class wrestler to enter the UFC, winning the UFC 5 Championship, UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Championship, and the UFC 9 Superfight Championship. He is also a UFC Hall of Famer.
Kazushi Sakuraba: 21-10 career record
-One of the most popular mixed martial artists of all time, he also has the distinction of competing in the longest mixed martial arts bout on record, having beaten Royce Gracie over a 90 minute stretch in 2000. The most prominent English-language mixed martial arts web-site, Sherdog, rates him as the greatest Japanese mixed martial artist of all time in their power rankings while Michael Coughlin of the Wrestling Observer has cited him as the top mixed martial artist to date from any nation, across weight-classes.
Ken Shamrock: 26-12 career record
-Known almost as much for his professional wrestling career as his MMA career, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” was the first-ever UFC Superfight Champion and a UFC Hall of Fame Inductee.
Wanderlei Silva: 31-7 career record
-He holds notable wins over Kazushi Sakuraba, Ricardo Arona, Dan Henderson, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Yuki Kondo. He is the former PRIDE middleweight (205 lb) champion and the PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix champion, among others.
When it’s all said and done and you take everything into account, I think that my Top 5 MMA Fighters of All-Time would have to be:
1. Royce Gracie: His loss to Hughes a few years ago notwithstanding, Royce is THE legend of MMA, specifically in the UFC. With the recent poor showings of some of PRIDE’s most accomplished fighters, I think it is more apparent than ever that the best fighters in the world have long resided in the UFC. Royce was the winner of UFC 1, 2, and 4 (he voluntarily withdrew from UFC 3), and fought to a draw in the UFC Superfight with Shamrock at UFC 5. After the fight with Shamrock, Royce retired from the sport, in his prime mind you. Each time he has come back (to fight Sakuraba and Hughes), he has been that much older (34 when he first fough Sakuraba and 40 when he fought Hughes).
2. Kazushi Sakuraba: I really have no problem putting Sakuraba at #2 on my list. The “Gracie Hunter,” as it has been mentioned, is the greatest Japanese MMA fighter of all-time. He does indeed have a few more losses than you would expect, but, once again, many of those losses came after Sakuraba was in his prime while others (Wanderlei, Nog, Cro Cop) were in the midst of theirs.
3. Randy Couture: In my opinion, “The Natural” is the greatest American MMA fighter of all-time. An argument could certainly be made in favor of Chuck Liddell here, but I feel like Couture’s body of work is more impressive than Liddell’s. As was mentioned, Couture is probably the most popular MMA fighter ever, as well.
4. Fedor Emelianenko: I don’t personally like him, but it’s hard to argue against the success that Fedor has experienced through the course of his career. The guy just doesn’t lose.
5. Wanderlei Silva: Silva gets the nod at #5 over Liddell, Rampage, and Henderson. Once again, I feel like Silva’s body of work is more impressive than that of the three guys I mentioned.
A few additional thoughts:
-Obviously, Liddell, Rampage, and Henderson, I feel, just miss out on the Top 5 list.
-I feel like guys like Shamrock and Ortiz were more popular than they were good.
-There’s a lot of potential for guys fighting today (GSP, B.J. Penn, Nogueira) to stamp themselves in MMA history.
-No matter what Dean says, I think that Dana White is the man!
I look forward to your responses, especially Dean’s!
Raible
October 18, 2007
-Does Anderson Silva own Rich Franklin or does Anderson Silva own Rich Franklin?
-Huge news about the Brock Lesnar signing. He isn’t expected to compete until 2008, but hopefully he does well in his initial fight to quickly earn a HW title opportunity. Lesnar is very intriguing.
-Very disappointed in the performance from Brandon Vera. I am not a Tim Sylvia fan, and with Randy Couture relinquishing the HW title, it’s disappointing that a guy like Vera couldn’t step up to the plate. Sylvia, meanwhile, has called out Cheick Kongo.
-So what now for “The Spider?” With the loss, Franklin certainly tumbles down the list of MW title contenders. Who’s next in line? It could be Yushin Okami, himself a winner at UFC 77. I think it would be interesting to see Paulo Filho, the WEC (little brother of UFC) MW champion, get a shot.
-As for the HW title, there clearly needs to be a title bout to determine a new champion. Sylvia certainly made his case with his win last night, as did Kongo with his win over Cro Cop at UFC 75. Kongo is supposed to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 79 in December, and the winner should certainly get a crack at Sylvia in a possible HW title match. There’s no real reason to think that Gabriel Gonzaga or Andrei Arlovski deserve a shot at this point.
-UFC 79 card has the potential to be HUGE! Already confirmed is Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes for the WW title (with Hughes hopefully destroying Serra and setting up a rubber match with GSP down the line). It doesn’t look like the LW title match (Penn vs Sherk or Stevenson) will be until January’s PPV, but it does look like Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell could be a possibility. If that happens, along with Big Nog vs Kongo, then UFC 79 will indeed be “The Biggest Card of The Year!”
Raible
October 21, 2007
Great fight last night on The Ultimate Fighter between Dan and Ben. I couldn’t agree more with Dana and Hughes that the fight should have gone to a 3rd Round. It was cool of Dana to give them both $5,000 for their efforts. I think this isn’t the last you will see from Dan, either.
Hughes getting more and more pissed every week is hysterical. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely pulling for Hughes to defeat Serra in December, but it’s just funny how his guys keep on losing. I really want to see J-Rock fight, though.
I still think that Mac is the best of the bunch on the show, but I must also say that I am very impressed with Ben. George was an early pick of Serra’s, so I am expecting him to be good, as well as the aforementioned J-Rock. I don’t know what to think of the War Machine. The due is built like a house, has “Haver” in his last name, and has a bunch of sweet tats. But he wasn’t apart of the initial roster, so how good could he possibly be?
In any case, I think TUF is just going to continue to be TOOO SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
Raible
October 25, 2007
We’re down to the Elite Eight in this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Here’s how I stack the remaining contenders against each other:
1. Mac Danzig: It has been awhile since we have seen Mac in the Octagon, but I am still sticking with the former ‘Burgh-er to win the contract.
2. George Sotiropoulos: Very impressive win over J-Rock last week. George just seems to want this competition more than anyone else.
3. Tommy Speer: My sleeper pick to win the competition, Tommy simply has a big heart and the ability to listen to Hughes’ direction. That should only help him move through the tournament.
4. Ben Saunders: Definitely the tallest fighter left, Ben was impressive in his win over Barrera. His bitching about not having George wake him up was annoying, though.
5. Troy Mandaloniz: I don’t really like any of the remaining fighters, so I’m going with who annoys me the least. Thus, Troy gets this spot.
6. Matt Arroyo: I think he has annoyed me more than anyone else since he fought. He looks like a little fag, and always says the dumbest shit when he’s on camera.
7. Richie Hightower: The purple hair just isn’t doing it for me.
8. John Kolosci: If Billy didn’t totally freeze up when he entered the Octagon, then this dipshit would have been eliminated a long time ago.
Additionally, I haven’t changed my stance that I fully expect Hughes to destroy Serra when they match-up at December’s PPV.
Raible
November 8, 2007
If you’re Matt Serra, how do you want to set-up the Quarterfinal matches? I’m guessing that he wants Mac to fight Tommy in order to eliminate Hughes’ team, but I’m also guessing that Dana’s not gonna let that happen. My plan:
George vs. John
Ben vs. Richie
Troy vs. Tommy
Matt vs. Mac
If I’m Serra, I want to try and advance my best guys through. As a result, I’m trying to keep George and Ben away from Mac and Tommy, if possible. Take your chances with some of your middle-of-the-road guys against Hughes’ studs and see what happens.
No matter what happens, it should be a sweet finish to this season!
Raible
November 8, 2007
UFC 78 Predictions:
Gono over McCrory
Aurelio over Caudillo
Lauzon over Reinhardt
Alves over Lytle
Fisher over Edgar
Parisyan over Chonan
Doerksen over Herman
Alexander over Silva
Evans over Bisping
Raible
November 12, 2007
6-3 record isn’t too bad. Glad to see that Evans beat Bisping. Disappointed that Alexander got knocked out.
Raible
November 18, 2007
I haven’t done anything UFC-related in awhile, so I think it’s time for a state of the organization address.
Here’s what the next few months look like, some rumored but mostly confirmed:
12/6 TUF Finale, Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida (LW)
12/29 UFC 79, Serra vs. Hughes (WW Title), Liddell vs. W. Silva (LHW), Machida vs. Sokoudjou (LHW), Clementi vs. Guillard, plus Manny Gamburyan
1/19 UFC 80 (England), Penn vs. Stevenson (LW Title), Gonzaga vs. Werdum (HW), plus Marcus Davis, Kendall Grove, Terry Etim, Paul Taylor
1/23 UFN 12, Cote vs. McFedries (MW), Jeremy Stephens vs. Cole Miller (LW), plus Mike Swick’s WW debut, Thiago Tavares, Corey Hill
2/2 UFC 81, Mir vs. Lesner (HW), Ty Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau (LW), Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites (MW)
3/1 UFC 82, A Silva vs. Henderson (MW Title), plus Fitch and Koscheck in seperate matches
The welter and lightweight divisions will get back on track in the next two months. The winner of Hughes-Serra will face St. Pierre sometime in the Spring, ideally in April. If ready quick enough, the loser of the could potentially fight on the March card against Fitch or Koscheck. I expect Mike Swick to have a winnable fight in January, and with a win he will join Karo Parysian, Marcus Davis, Thiago Alves as second tier contender with momentum. Fitch-Karo could be a #1 contender match with the rest falling into place based on timing, but a lot depends on what they plan to do with the Hughes-Serra winner, as well as any possible concerns regarding bad style matchups or exposing a marketable fighter.
The Penn-Stevenson fight is technically for the interim lightweight championship with Sean Sherk’s steroid suspension still up in the air, but since whoever holds that designation when will likely face Sherk anyway upon his return anyway, who really cares? A month before that fight, the Guida-Huerta winner will gain some nice momentum on the TUF Finale. While both are exciting and popular contenders, Huerta is still unbeaten, and a win by him would have a greater impact on the title picture. Kenny Florian will also be in the mix in 2008, and Frankie Edgar is rising fast after his impressive win Saturday over Spencer Fisher, who I considered close to the top 5. Jeremy Stephens can get in the mix with a win over Cole Miller in January and Melvin Guillard looks to bounce back into the picture in his December comeback from his coke suspension. Diego Sanchez might enter the picture as well, and the UFC would probably put him on the fast track.
*I’ll finish this post later today*
thegreatawakening
November 22, 2007
UPDATE:
Matt Serra threw out his back, and we will get Hughes-St. Pierre III for the interim title at UFC 79. Whoever holds this title will face Serra when he returns to unify the belts. This makes a possible title fight a few months closer for all of the welterweight contenders.
thegreatawakening
November 25, 2007
The December PPV is freakin’ HUGE! I vote that we either all watch it with Bonnie and Ed, or we go and watch it with Vinnie and his Pies!!!
Raible
November 27, 2007
***Post Continued***
Back to the welterweights:
It sounds like Koscheck will face Dustin Hazelett (3-1) March 1 at UFC 82. This booking makes it more likely that Kos’s teammate Jon Fitch will face Karo Parysian that same day in a title elimination match, although you can never be sure what’s going on behind the scenes with the UFC. Koscheck finds himself in the same sort of no-win situation that Parysian was in at UFC 78, where he is expected to win and has no real way to help himself besides a flash finish. Like Parysian, Koscheck isn’t really a finisher. I don’t know much about Hazelett other than that BJJ is his strength and he trains under Jorge Gurgel. I’d imagine that the UFC brass expects Koscheck to be able control the fight wherever it goes.
In my mind, Koscheck (should he win) will be joined by the loser of the Hughes-St. Pierre III interim title match next month in a group just a hair below challenger status. Should Hughes lose as many expect, a Hughes-Koscheck fight sometime in the summer would draw some interest as the fight to determine the best wrestler at 170. Should Parysian lose to Fitch, he could also get the fight with Hughes he has been waiting for since an injury forced him out of his title shot a couple years ago. As I mentioned, Koscheck and Fitch train together, and are unlikely to fight each other in anything less than a title bout. GSP and Kos met in July, so that rematch would also be unlikely should GSP fall to Hughes.
Other guys who would love to climb the ranks and face one of these established contenders include Marcus Davis (fighting at UFC 80 in Jan.), Mike Swick (also trains at AKA w/ Kos/Fitch)and his opponent in his welterweight debut on the Jan. 23 Fight Night, Josh Burkman. One under-the-radar match that I expect to be a great fight is between Englishmen Paul Kelly vs. Paul Taylor in Newcastle at UFC 80. The winner will probably face a name fighter at UFC’s next stop in the UK.
Gotta run again.
***To be continued***
thegreatawakening
November 28, 2007
***I’ll continue soon, but first…..***
….some quick thoughts on Mike Swick, former 185 contender who has will make his debut at 170 after struggling with stronger middleweights, particularly Yushin Okami: I think there are a lot of unknowns here. On one hand I think it’s fair to say that Swick’s match against Okami might as well have been in a different sport compared to what his fights at 170 will look like. He was under Okami’s control for most of the 15 minutes. On the other hand, just because a fighter drops in weight doesn’t mean he will automatically eliminate any strength issues. I can imagine Hughes or Fitch burying him on the mat much like Okami did.
It will be interesting to find out: A. If Swick will be able to keep the fight where he wants it against lighter opponents, and B. How will his power and quickness translate, and will his striking will be simply competitive or truely feared?
I suppose it’s possible that Swick will prove to be a KO waiting to happen in this division, and his opponents will be desperate to get him down from the start. But it’s also possible that his quickness will not be on another level down here, as it seemed at times at 185, or that he won’t have unmatched power, as some seem to suspect at 170.
Either way I fully expect that we will get answers. During the Okami fight, those watching were just itching for him to get up and get those hands free. But he never did, and we never found out how deadly his strikes would have been. I like this move because win or lose I don’t expect the same frustrating problem. The fun part of these weight class moves are the questions that arise and the answers that eventually follow.(by the way I copied this paragraph over from a post I made on mmajunkie.com, which is a decent site for keeping up with and digging into mma)
thegreatawakening
November 30, 2007
It might just be me, but I think that this season’s Ultimate Fighter has been the best one since the first season that saw Forrest Griffin and Diego Sanchez come out victorious. The season with Shamrock and Tito was sweet just to see the two of them going at it, but the 1st season was the best.
Hell, I’m bored at work now…how about a closer look, obviously followed by rankings, for the seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.
Season 1:
-Featured fighters like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Mike Swick, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Nathan Quarry, and Chris Leben.
-Coaches were Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, who went on to fight 2 more times after the show was completed.
-Winners were Griffin and Sanchez.
-Finale also saw Rich Franklin defeat Ken Shamrock in the Main Event.
Season 2:
-Featured fighters like Joe Stevenson, Luke Cummo, Josh Burkman, Jorge Gurgel, Keith Jardine, and Rashad Evans.
-Coaches were Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin.
-Winners were Stevenson and Evans.
-Finale also saw Diego Sanchez defeat Nick Diaz in the Main Event.
Season 3:
-Featured fighters like Kendall Grove, Kalib Starnes, Ed Herman, Michael Bisping, Matt Hamill, and Mike Nickels.
-Coaches were Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, who went on to fight 2 more times after the show was completed.
-Winners were Grove and Bisping.
-Finale also saw Kenny Florian defeat Sam Stout in the Main Event. Additionally, Randy Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and Jens Pulver was re-introduced to the UFC.
Season 4:
-Featured fighters like Travis Lutter, Rich Clementi, Pete Spratt, Pete Sell, Matt Serra, Patrick Cote, Chris Lytle, and Din Thomas.
-No coaches this season, but trainers included the biggest names in the UFC (Couture, GSP, Franklin, Liddell, Hughes).
-Winners were Lutter, who went on to lose to Anderson Silva in a title shot, and Serra, who went on to defeat Georges St. Pierre in a title shot.
-Finale was pretty much nothing but the contestants fighting each other since all of these guys were already established UFC vets.
Season 5:
-Featured fighters like Gary Maynard, Matt Wiman, Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz, Manny Gamburyan, and Cole Miller.
-Coaches were B.J. Penn and Jens Pulver, who fought in the Main Event (won by Penn) in the Finale.
-Winner was Diaz.
-Finale also saw Rogert Huerta defeat Doug Evans and Thales Leites defeat Floyd Sword.
Season 6:
-Features fighters like Dan Barrera, Mac Danzig, Billy Miles, Jared Rollins, Tommy Speer, Matt Arroyo, Jon Koppenhaver, Ben Saunders, and George Sotiropoulos.
-Coaches are Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, who were scheduled to fight at UFC 79 before an injury to Serra forced GSP into action against Hughes.
-Final Four are Danzig, Arroyo, Sotiropoulos, and Speer.
-Finale will also see Clay Guida take on Roger Huerta.
My Rankings of the Best TUF Seasons:
1. Season 1: The allure of the show was established in Season 1. The fact that the Coaches were going to fight at the end was huge and set the backdrop for the entire season. Some great fighters were found in this season, and the finale saw the emergence of another star (Franklin).
2. Season 6: Only time will tell how good the fighters from this season are, but I have enjoyed this season as much as any season that the UFC has had of the show. I don’t think that you can underscore how great it is when the Coaches eventually fight at the end of the show, as Hughes and Serra were supposed to do. Additionally, Guida-Huerta should be a good show in the Finale.
3. Season 3: Kendall Grove, Michael Bisping, and Matt Hamill have all gone on to some relative success in UFC, but, clearly, the key to this season was Tito vs. Shamrock. Their constant jabbing and competition, culminated in a 3rd win in 3 matches for Tito and a reconciliation between the two, was fantastic TV watching.
4. Season 2: The main thing that this season lacked, in my opinion, was the absence of any hostility between Hughes and Franklin. The season has, though, produced some solid dudes (Evans, Jardine, Stevenson).
5. Season 5: While the contestants have yet to really accomplish anything in the UFC (though I think that Lauzon is gonna be a good one), the Penn-Pulver rivalry was real solid and made for a good Finale.
6. Season 4: In my opinion, this season, while sweet, was definitely the worst of the 6. The lack of coaches was gay, as was the basic premise of the show (“The Comeback”), although I give Dana White credit for trying something different. His philosophy obviously worked, too, when Serra defeated GSP for the title.
My Rankings of the Best TUF Fighters (I’m not going to include anyone from Season 4 since those guys were already established):
1. Forrest Griffin: My personal favorite all-time TUF-er, I will ignore Griffin’s loss to Jardine for the purpose of these rankings. Forrest seems to have the best shot at a title shot (I just said shot 2 times in one sentence), and is clearly the most popular of the TUF fighters.
2. Josh Koscheck: Kos, as the kids call him, gets the nod here over Diego due to his head-to-head win over The Nightmare. Kos has risen the ranks to the point that he earned a match against GSP.
3. Diego Sanchez: I am still gonna put Diego here even though he’s in a 2-match losing streak. Diego holds an impressive win over Karo Parisyan, and the inevitable rubber match between him and Kos (he defeated Kos on the TUF show) should be sweet, whenever it occurs.
4. Joe Stevenson: Daddy has earned himself a title shot, well at least an interim one, against B.J. Penn for the Lightweight Title. For that reason alone, he has to make the Top 5.
5. Keith Jardine: The Dean of Mean, as much as I don’t particularly like him, does own wins over both Griffin and Chuck Liddell, the latter of which has to put him in the Top 5.
Just outside the Top 5: Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans, Kenny Florian, Kendall Grove, Matt Hamill
As I mentioned, I think it’s too early to tell for some guys, including Joe Lauzon and Mac Danzig.
Raible
November 30, 2007
I’m not a huge TUF fan but I have watched it on and off since season 3, and I watched all of 5 and 6. I’d like to see something different in incoming seasons. My idea is to have camps face off.
There are several recognizable camps: Xtreme Couture, American Top Team, American Kickboxing Academy, Brazilian Top Team, Chute Box, Miletich Fighting Systems Elite, Jackson Submission Fighting, Team Quest, Red Devil Sports Club, etc.
For the purposes of decent television I’d have two camps square off against one another. Since the trainers are mostly unknown, it would make sense to have a top fighter from each camp scheduled to fight at the end of the show to give a face to each team. Both camps would gather 8 guys and show up in Vegas for the show. For the trainers the exposure of the show would make up for time spent away from their gym. Plus the competing camps could be announced a year in advance to boost enrollment with UFC hopefuls. To spice things up, two more-established fighter could compete at the beginning or during the show to earn certain fights.
Here’s an example:
American Kickboxing Academy vs. Greg Jackson’s Camp
Main Event: Jon Fitch (AKA) vs. Georges St. Pierre (Jackson), for welterweight championship
Part way through the season: Mike Swick (AKA) vs. Nate Marquardt (Jackson), winning team chooses semi-finals, winner earns a middleweight title shot
Various fighters and/or coaches from both camps could appear at the Finale, providing more incentive for the camps to participate.
There are a lot of different twists you could put on this but that’s the general idea.
American Kickboxing Academy- Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Cung Lee, Paul Buentello, Phil Baroni
American Top Team- Din Thomas, Thiago Alves, Denis Kang, JZ Cavalcante, Benji Radach (plus several tuf alumni)
thegreatawakening
December 4, 2007
Wow, I love the idea Deano. This would allow Dana to give the show a little twist, too, like he did with “The Comebacl.”
You should check out the first few seasons of TUF, if you get a chance. Season 1 was simply unbelievabale!
Raible
December 4, 2007
Predictions for the TUF Finale:
Troy Mandaloniz defeats Richie Hightower
Roman Mitichyan defeats Dorian Price
Jonathan Goulet defeats Paul Georgieff
Ben Saunders defeats Dan Barrera (Wish this were televised)
Jared Rollins defeats Jon Koppenhaver
Mac Danzig defeats Tommy Speer
Roger Huerta defeats Clay Guida
Raible
December 6, 2007
It looks like these 2 fights are going to be added, too:
-Matt Arroyo vs. John Kolosci
-George Sotiropoulous vs. Billy Miles
I like Arroyo and George to win their respective fights if they do indeed happen. The George vs. Billy fight is intriguing in the respect that Billy looked like he was going to be a world-beater until he froze up and lost to Kolosci, while George looked great until he froze up and got knocked the hell out by Tommy.
Raible
December 6, 2007
Good TUF read:
http://www.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10511947/2
Raible
December 6, 2007
-Huge win for Huerta. Considering the depth of the division, and that this was his first legitimate opponent, a loss would have been devastating. And it sure looked like a loss might be coming after two rounds. As expected Huerta had a small edge in the standup, but Guida was swarming on the ground and did enough on his feet to be the clear winner after two rounds. As great as a lot of these UFC battles have been, you don’t see comeback KOs and submissions all that often. Heard a rumor that Huerta is next for the Penn-Stevenson winner, but I question that. I think Kenny Florian or frankie Edgar would be a more logical opponent. New lightweight rankings, in terms of who’s on the cusp of a shot, probably look something like:
1-2. Penn-Stevenson
3. Sherk?
4. Florian
5. Edgar
6. Griffin
7. Huerta
8. Guida
Lots a question marks- Sherk has been stripped of the belt but is eligible to return next month. Guillard and Franca also returning from suspension, although Franca not until late summer. Last season’s TUF produced Diaz, Gamburyan, Lauzon and Maynard, and now Mac Danzig (an possibly others) will drop to join them. Fisher, Pellgrino, Stout, Stephens, Tavares and Tibau remain in the mix as well.
Predictions:
-I think Danzig is better than Diaz and co.
-Penn over Stevenson convincingly
thegreatawakening
December 11, 2007
UPDATE:
Sherk vs. Penn/Stevenson confirmed
thegreatawakening
December 11, 2007
Great stuff, as always, from the MMA expert Tim Dean! I agree that Penn is going to beat up Stevenson, and I also agree that Danzig is better than the guys from last season’s TUF.
Speaking of TUF, the Finale on Saturday was, in a word, awesome. Some great fights were seen, in my opinion. War Machine vs. J-Rock was great, as was the Huerta-Guida fight. Rude Boy vs. Hightower ended up being better than I ever could have imagined. While the actual Finale was a bit disappointing (although I’m excited about what Tommy Speer can bring to the Welterweight division, especially if he sticks with Hughes), I thought the show was pretty solid. I didn’t both paying for the Mayweather-Hatton fight (sounds like it was pretty damn entertaining, too), but I think it would have been hard pressed to be as good as UFC. And you know Kevin James agrees with me because he was octagon-side.
Some other things that caught my attention this weekend:
-Burkman vs. Swick is official for UFC Fight Night on Jan. 23rd. Also signed for the show are what should be explosive bouts between middleweights Drew McFedries and Patrick Cote, and lightweights Thiago Tavares and Michihiro Omigawa.
-Big John McCarhy has retired!?!?
-CBS Rumor: Terry Martin vs. Marvin Eastman on Feb. 2nd on CBS???
-New TUF Coaches: Forrest Griffin and Rampage. Forrest vs. Rampage for the title once the show is over. SWEET!
-Bob Sapp fighting again on Feb. 23rd.
-Fedor might be fighting Pedro Rizzo in April.
-Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe close to a fight.
-Let’s give it up for the WWE and its 15 year anniversary of Monday Night Raw. Last night’s big 3-hour episode was great, especially for the fact that the Hulkster and Stone Cold came back for the festivities. Remember that Ken Shamrock, the UFC legend, served his time in the WWE, too.
-Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell on Sports Unfiltered tonight on Versus after the Pens-Flyers game!
-Finally, big WEC on Wednesday on Versus featuring Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver.
Raible
December 11, 2007
Mayweather-Hatton was a throwback in alot of ways. First of all the 24/7 preview series on HBO is awesome, and is the best marketing tool in sports right now. While it made Hatton seem like more of a threat than he probably was, it still generated plenty of interest to the fight. Secondly thousands of fans flooded over from the UK and turned the MGM into Hatton’s backyard. There were trumpets and drums in the arena and the Hatton theme song went all night, including when he was knocked out. And lastly the contrast between the two fighters, which contributed to the intensity of the show and the Hatton fans, was great. Mayweather is the most talented and pedigreed man in the fight game right now and hatton grew up in a pub. The personality clash added a lot to the drama.
As for the fight, many thought this would be a tough task for Hatton because he had height and reach (6″) disadvantages to deal with while trying to get inside on Mayweather. Well he did eat some crisp counters but he succeeded in making a brawl of it. The ringside judges scored the fight heavily for Mayweather, but some felt Hatton had scored enough on the inside to be in the mix for a decision at the halfway point. To me it depended on what you valued more- an active assault with a ton of punches thrown and a few landed to the neck, arms, and ribs, or a defensive approach coupled with the 4-5 most precise shots of the round. Either way, hatton did enough to keep his fans hopes up, which made all the difference for the atmosphere. Floyd had the lead by the 10th, by which time Hatton had stopped moving his head on his way inside. He kept coming even as each Mayweather punch snapped his head, but finally walked directly into a left hook and went down. A couple punches later and it was finished.
Mayweather came with the retirement talk immediately. Heard that before. Hatton’s ready to get back in the ring. Oscar is a possibility in May, and the next step for Floyd would seem to be Miguel Cotto.
TUF finale was the better overall card of action (the boxing undercard sucked). But for me it gets no bigger and more intense than a big time boxing match. I think the UFC puts together better cards and offers more consistent entertainment though.
thegreatawakening
December 11, 2007
The WEC card on versus is definitely worth a watch. 3 belts will be on the line (FW, MW,LHW). Paulo Fihlo is seen by many as the best middleweight in the world, and considering how thin the UFC is at 185 we may see Fihlo in a year or two. I saw Doug Marshall get crushed by UFC also-ran James Irvin a couple years ago in a local California show, and I see him as a paper champion at 205. The featherweight division is interesting as it has no UFC counterpart, and Faber has become a relatively big star. He did lose to Tyson Griffin, but there’s no embarrassment in that. My guess is that Pulver may see him soon if he gets by Swanson. The show’s not a must-see, but it’s worth a look.
thegreatawakening
December 11, 2007
Predictions for the WEC event tonight on Versus (coming off an 8-1 record for the TUF Finale)…
Brian Bowles over Marcos Galvao
Ian McCall over Charlie Valencia
Alex Karalexis over Ed Ratcliff
Bryan Baker over Eric Schambari
John Alessio over Todd Moore
Doug Marshall over Ariel Gandulla
Paulo Filho over Chael Sonnen
Jens Pulver over Cub Swanson
Urijah Faber over Jeff Curran
-I’m really looking forward to the Filho fight. As Dean recently suggested (and as I did the same awhile back), Filho seems poised to make the jump to UFC in the very near future as Anderson Silva is running out of opponents.
-Faber seems to be THE MAN of the WEC, so I fully expect a solid showing from him tonight. With that being said, I wonder if the reverse of what might happen to Filho could be true…could the UFC possibly send additional Lightweights (in addition to Jens) to the WEC to compete in their featherweight division?
-Speaking of Jens, I think he might have a few fights left in him. While Swanson seems to represent a formidable foe, I think that Dana and the boys know that a little string of victories for Jens would be good for the WEC promotion as far as exposure is concerned. Maybe Jens runs off a few victories before taking on Faber down the road?
Raible
December 12, 2007
What gives YOU an erection?
During an interview today with MMANews.com’s own Chris Howie, Jason “MayheM” Miller gave his thoughts on a possible rematch with Frank Trigg. “I get an erection just thinking about fighting him again. I’d love it.” The two locked up in Miller’s first title defense of the ICON Sport Middleweight title. Miller was a favorite to win that fight but was TKO’d in the second round. With both fighters now fighting with HDNet Fights it could be a possibility that they will get it on once again in the future.
Raible
December 12, 2007
Thoughts from last night…
-7-2 record wasn’t too shabby, eh?
-I was impressed with Faber. He looks to be the real deal, and I still can’t believe he only weighs 145 lbs. After Pulver’s quick work of Swanson, it looks like WEC fans will be treated to a Faber-Pulver match for Faber’s title.
-I was less impressed with Filho. After watching him struggle in his match, I am convinced that he isn’t quite yet ready for primetime. He needs a few more fights, maybe against some of the lesser ranked UFC opponents, before he can be considered for a title shot with Anderson Silva.
-Watching the event, you just get a minor-league feel from WEC, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I believe that UFC treats the WEC as a minor-league of sorts, which is great considering that their biggest fight cards are televised on Versus. The production, the announcers, and clearly the fighters are simply a notch below what has become expected from the UFC. That said, I will definitely be tuning in in February to catch the WEC’s next fight card on Versus.
-I also caught the replay on UFC Unleashed on SPIKE last night between Huerta and Garcia. Wow, what a battle, eventually won by Huerta!
-Another prediction true? At the beginning of this season’s TUF, I preicted that Mac Danzig would be victorious. Cha-ching!
Raible
December 13, 2007
Fihlo was getting a lot of hype, which is the point of promoting I guess, and didn’t look very good in front of what I think was his first major Americaqn audience. Not what Zuffa needed. I was surprised they would pit him againts such a game opponent, although I bet they didn’t expect this outcome. Condit (WEC welterweight champ), and especially Marshall strike me as guys who would be lucky to crack the top ten at their weight. Marshall in particular isn’t good at all. Not that this is a big deal- I agree that the WEC should be viewed as a UFC minor league, and Zuffa is doing the right thing by giving these guys soft challenges. Showcasing visable champions on impressive winning streaks is the best way to draw viewers in my opinion. Faber looked good again, and I think it would be great to see his next wave of challengers come from the smaller 155s from the UFC. His lone loss is to Tyson Griffin by the way. I would expect guys around the Frankie Edgar level to beat Faber, but those guys on the outskirts of the top ten could make for ideal challengers. No matter how it unfolds I think I will watch the next event as well.
thegreatawakening
December 13, 2007
Predictions for UFC 79:
-Doug Evans over Mark Bocek
-Tony DeSouza over Roan Carneiro
-Dean Lister over Jordan Radev
-Manny Gamburyan over Nate Mohr
-James Irvin over Luis Cane
-Eddie Sanchez over Sao Palelei
-Melvin Guillard over Rich Clementi
-”Lyoto” Ryoto Machida over Sokoudjou
-Chuck Liddell over Wanderlei Silva
-Georges St. Pierre over Matt Hughes
Raible
December 27, 2007
I’m really looking forward to Soko-Machida.
http://mmafightvideos.blogspot.com/ is a sit you need to visit by the way. They have both of Soko’s pride upsets as part of their extensive library of free mma videos.
A lot of people feel that Machida will win this one. It’s a reasonable prediction considering his undefeated record and Soko’s limited track record. One factor that makes this fight exciting to me is that Soko’s KOs have come very early in the first round while Machida generally goes to decision. My thinking is that even if Machida’s defensive style is good enough to frustrate Soko, he still will need to avoid the big shot for 15 minutes. He’s more of a standup defender than a lay-and-pray artist as well, so it’s not as if Soko will spend a ton of time on his back. Soko has a judo background and has trained at Quest with Henderson and Lindland, so I think he will stay on his feet even if Machida decides he’d rather go to the ground. This isn’t to say that I fully expect an upset, but I do think Machida will have to do damage and slow Soko if he is to fend off trouble for all 3 rounds. Soko is one of the few artists to actually have the “heavy hands” that Rogan and Goldberg credit to seemingly everyone. Machida’s karate and bjj background versus Soko’s judo and freakish power is exactly the kind of style clash that the UFC was built to showcase.
thegreatawakening
December 29, 2007
No real surprises from UFC 79:
-GSP won the rubber match with Hughes. Hughes might be finished, although he still wants to beat down Serra before retiring.
-Liddell beat Silva. I wonder if Chuck will get the winner of Rampage and Forrest, although Rampage has already “whooped Chuck’s ass” twice. What’s next for Wanderlei? Keith Jardine?
-Machida took care of Sokoudjou. Maybe Machida gets the next title shot? Shogun Rua is out there, too.
-Nog vs. Sylvia for the HW title is a good move for Dana and the UFC. If Randy doesn’t want to fight anyone but Fedor, then the promotion needs to move forward.
-Dana said he wants Takanori Gomi in the UFC. I think he’d be a solid addition to the LW division.
-Once GSP beats down Serra, who challenges? Fitch?
-Spider vs. Dan Henderson is gonna be sweet.
UFC 80 (1/19): Stevenson vs. Penn
UFN 12 (1/23): Swick vs. Burkman
UFC 81 (2/2): Sylvia vs. Nog, Mir vs. Brock
WEC (2/13): Condit/McCullough in action
UFC 82 (3/1): Silva vs. Henderson
TUF 7 (Spring ‘08): Forrest vs Rampage
UFC is sweet.
Raible
December 31, 2007
Where do you stand on the Chuck-Silva fight? Some are saying it was am amazing, high level MMA match, and others think it was a glorified bar fight. Personally I don’t think it can be both. No question that styles make fights, and when both men are happy to slug it out sometimes it turns into a fight that lacks the dimensions and transitions of other classic battles. But when I watched this fight I didn’t really feel like I was watching a “great” MMA match. The striking was slow and sloppy in my opinion and I kept thinking that a guy like Machida would destroy either man.
Anyway I’m curious to hear what you thought.
thegreatawakening
January 5, 2008
My LHW Rankings:
1. Rampage
2. Machida
3. Griffin
4. Shogun
5. Jardine
6. Liddell
7. Ortiz
8. T. Silva
9. W. Silva
10. Evans
11. Sokodjou
12. Alexander
13. Bonnar
14. Lambert
15. Gouveia
Rumor has it that a Machida-Ortiz fight is on the table and has been accepted by Machida.
Other fights that could work for him:
-Thiago Silva: both undefeated and rolling. The nice thing about such matchups is that barring a snoozer one guy will gain validation. Of course the loser loses steam but that’s always the case unless it’s a can anyway. Winner could be a fight away from a shot. Paersonally I don’t think Thiago is as high on the pecking order but the win over Alexander was high profile.
-Liddell: kind of do or die for Chuck though.
-Shogun: see Chuck above. But it would be a great test for Machida and a great style clash for fans.
I really think UFC wants to find wins for Chuck, Shogun, and probably Wandy too. I think they see Jardine as established but expendable as a sacrificial lamb (in other words I think they’d be okay with someone knocking his ass out and gaining momentum). Sokodjou and Alexander and Thiago are exciting guys who will get fights but won’t be pampered, and I think they will let the chips fall as they may with Evans, as well as Bonnar and the rest of the crew. I’m very interested to see which matchups get made. It’s always fun to try to figure out why.
If it were me….
WSilva-Sokodjou, Liddell-TSilva, Shogun-Alexander, and Machida-Jardine would be in the works.
thegreatawakening
January 6, 2008
I didn’t see the Chuck-Wanderlei fight, but I, too, read that it was a pretty entertaining fight. I’ll take your word, though, that it sounds like it might have been a bit overrated.
My LHW Rankings:
1. Rampage Jackson
2. Forrest Griffin
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Chuck Liddell
5. Wanderlei Silva
6. Shogun Rua
7. Sokoudjou
8. Ricardo Arona
9. Tito Ortiz
10. Keith Jardine
-I really don’t like Jardine much, even if he did beat Forrest and Chuck. With that in mind, I think Chuck needs to fight Jardine, avenge his loss, and knock his ass out.
-I really like watching Houston Alexander.
-How long before Arona makes his appearance in UFC. In April, it will be a year since he last fought.
-Tito-Machida would be sweet, but I almost feel like Tito (and Chuck and Wanderlei to a point) are at the points in their careers where I would like to see them fight the younger guys (Rashad Evans, Jardine, etc.) to see where some of these younger guys stack up. Tito and Rashad definitely need to fight again.
-It’s a long way off, but I wonder who the UFC will push as its next contender. Obviously, if Forrest upsets Rampage, then I am sure that Rampage would deserve a rematch. But if Rampage beats Forrest, then who steps up? It can’t be Chuck, who has been knocked out twice by Rampage. Machida?
Fights that I would like to see happen:
Rampage-Griffin for the title
Machida-Rua for #1 contender
Liddell-Jardine II
Ortiz-Evans II
Wanderlei-Sokoudjou/Alexander
-I am still wondering who will get GSP once he beats Serra? Could Dana bring in Sakurai to fight him? Fitch? Karo? Kos? Diego? I think we really need to see some elimination bouts. Fitch wants to fight Karo, so Dana should make it happen. I would love to see a Diego-Kos rubber match, too.
Raible
January 7, 2008
I hate Jardine too.
As for the next LHW contender……hard to say. I think they’d like to see Shogun and Chuck keep winning. I think Rashad is a wild card. I think he sucks personally, but he deserves a top matchup at this point. Wandy’s loss designates him as an entertaining, brawl-style, 3rd fight on the card-type of guy imo, but he can get right back in the mix with a great KO.
Really you could put names in hats and get some good, significant fights. A win or loss would have major implications for virtually everyone. A lackluster loss by Thiago Silva puts him at the back of the line but a KO of Evans, Jardine, Liddell, or whoever and we’d start hearing title shot talk. If Shogun loses again he’s CroCop, but a violent win would put him right into a #1 contenders match.
I think the UFC needs to just check people’s schedules and get these guys fighting. Maybe I want to see Chuck-Shogun, or Machida-Thiago, but really it doesn’t make much difference. All these guys just need to start fightin and things will work out. If the fights stay within the top 10 any 2 fight winning streak will be enough for a shot at this point.
I’ll be rooting for Shogun, Wandy, Sokodjou and Alexander to get back on the winning side, and I hope Liddell can get a nice quick KO soon. I wouldn’t mind Evans or Jardine being the victim for any of these guys.
As for GSP and 170…
I’d say Fitch looks like the cleanest fit for the title shot. He’s big and tough and the fight would probably go awhile. Karo is a solid guy but I see him as 2nd tier- I think GSP kills him but I;d like to see it. A Karo-Fitch showdown would be nice, but I’ve heard it’s going to be Koscheck-Hazlett and Fitch-Gono at UFC 82. I think that blows but whatever. Alves and Davis are on the horizon I guess as well, but what seemed like a super deep and even division a year ago is still deep but really has a well-defined pecking order.
I think the biggest two GSP fights will come from other divisions. BJ Penn gave Georges his best fight besides his losses to Hughes and Serra- and only BJ hung with him for 15 minutes. If Penn gets on a nice little roll at 155 I think it could work. Stevenson, then Sherk shortly after would probably leave him with whoever has been winning at that point between Huerta, Florian, Edgar, etc. If he beats that guy as he would be favored to do the LW division would start to seem a lot like the WW.
When I really got into MMA Hughes and Franklin seemed unbeatable and I thought they should go at it. Now it’s GSP and Anderson Silva who are getting the P4P talk. Georges is a big 170 so it could work. But just like Franklin and Hughes, what a difference a year can make. The beauty of MMA is that the fighters are always improving. Who knows who will be the next big threat at 155, 170, or 185?
thegreatawakening
January 7, 2008
Good stuff, as always, Dean. I, too, would love to see Penn take on GSP. But, I wanna see B.J. dominate the LW division for a year or two like I know he is capable of. After that, perhaps it will indeed be time to take a step up to fight GSP.
Raible
January 8, 2008
Middleweight is thin at the top but has some decent fights that can be made in the middle ranks.
1. Andersn Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Yushin Okami
5. Martin Kampman
6. Drew McFedries
7. Patrick Cote
8. Nate Marquardt
9. Jason McDonald
10. Kendall Grove
11. Alan Belcher
12. Ed Herman
13. Chris Leben
14. Nate Quarry
15. Terry Martin
-If Henderson loses to Silva decisively in March he will join Rich Franklin in the uncomfortable category of 185ers who are top shelf but can’t match up with the reigning champ. And I can’t think of a better fight with less imlications than Franklin-Henderson. Both are ultra-popular All-American fighters, and also elite middleweights. Franklin is crisper on the feet and Henderson is crisper on the ground, but both can do damage anywhere. Great matchup.
-185 is also a great weight for a slug-fest. The fighters are fast and fit enough to land steady leather without gassing, but they also have to power to break faces. Drew McFedries is probably the most dangerous 1-punch knockout threat outside of the champ. Kampman, a terrific kickboxer who submitted McF after eating a ton of leather, Cote and Belcher ar diverse strikers with some pop, and Leben, Martin, and Quarry will happily stand and trade hands for 15 minutes. Mcfedries and Cote face off later in January, and Belcher has a fight at UFC 81 in March.
-Evan Tanner returns shortly and Michael Bisping is dropping down to join the ranks.
The fights I’d make:
-Franklin-Henderson
-Okami-Henderson
-Franklin-McFedries
-Kampman-Belcher
-Kampman-Okami
-Henderson-McFedries
-Belcher-Cote
-Herman-Grove II
-Leben-Quarry
thegreatawakening
January 8, 2008
I forgot about the two new guys.
Evan Tanner was a tough guy who held the belt before passing the torch to Franklin. (Remember the beating Franklin put on his grill? At that moment it was hard to imagine him losing.) He’d be a tough mcth for anyone which explains the rumors that nobody wants him. I’d put him in there with someone who likes to throw down- the Leben-Quarry-Martin category sounds about right.
Bispbing can put on a good fight against the right opponent. I don’t believe he would do much against a tactician like Okami or even McDonald. My choice would be either Herman or Belcher. Belcher has the mui thai to make for an exciting brawl and Herman has the submission skills to test the Count and the toughness to trade with him and absorb a beating if need be.
thegreatawakening
January 8, 2008
My MW Rankings are the same as Dean’s:
1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Yushin Okami
5. Martin Kampman
-I refuse to go any further than #5.
-The UFC really needs to step it up in this divison, in my opinion. Sure, there are some decent younger guys (Grove, Herman, etc.) that could be marketed, but Silva is going to run out of opponents if he beats Henderson. I have to believe it’s only a matter of time before Paulo Filho is “called up” from WEC to the UFC. Could Matt Hughes’ buddy Robbie Lawler be on his way back to UFC at some point? What about Frank Shamrock?
-The MW division is one that I think the UFC does NOT necessarily have complete domination over the MMA world. As I mentioned, there are some solid guys in other promotions who could stake their claim as a Top 5 MW.
-I agree with Dean that the MW division is extremely capable of producing some exciting fights. It will be up to Dana and the UFC to provide us fans with such fights.
-With that in mind, I would love to see Henderson vs. Franklin should Henderson lose to Silva. If Henderson beats Silva, then a rematch would certainly be in order. Other than that, I am completely open to whatever the MMA world wants to offer us. I want to see Filho, Lawler, Shamrock, etc. (even Frank Trigg) in the UFC.
Raible
January 8, 2008
Welterweight is shaping up….
Marcus Davis vs. Jess Liaudin (UFC 80)
Mike Swick vs. Josh Burkman (Jan. UFN)
Chris Lytle vs. some newcomer (81)
Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono (82)
Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett (82)
Karo Parysian vs. Thiago Alves (84)
Serra vs. St. Pierre (84)
Diego Sanchez is also expected to have a fight in April or thereabouts.
If Davis can get a win he’ll be looking at the winners of some of these other matchups. Lytle is a tough guy but he’s not close to contention. Fitch and Kos will be big favorites at UFC 82. Parysian-Alves is probably the matchup with the most on the line and it will be a big win for somebody.
By the end of April a lot will be sorted out. It’s highly possible that GSP will be champion and Jon Fitch will be next assuming he gets by Gono. Contenders coming off wins could include Koscheck, Karo/Alves and Davis, wih Serra coming off a loss and Diego Sanchez somewhere in the mix. Davis, Swick and Burkman will probably be the only ones who would be ready for a second fight between now and then, and I think any of them would make an interesting opponent for Sanchez. A lot of people will be calling for Koscheck vs. the Karo-Alves winner as well.
Either way it will be an interesting 2008 at 170.
thegreatawakening
January 11, 2008
My Rankings…
1. Gesrges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Matt Hughes
5. Mike Swick
6. Karo Parysian
7. Thiago Alves
8. Matt Serra
9. Marcus Davis
10. Diego Sanchez
Comments:
-I obviously have Mike Swick higher than he has earned since he hasn’t fought yet in the division. We will find out a lot against Josh Burkman in a couple of weeks. Burkman is a legitimate opponent and he just missed this tightly bunched top 10.
-Matt Serra is tough to gauge. His best win in the division pre-GSP was Chris Lytle, and it was a close split decision. He’s lost to Parysian and I think he would again, but I couldn’t put him ahead of guys like Marcus Davis who don’t hold a top ten win.
-Hughes is also a tough one. He looked finished against St. Pierre but who doesn’t? It wouldn’t surprise me to see him dominate a lot of this list, but I think the style matchups will be critical in the rest of his fights.
-It’s too bad the only scheduled matchups on this list are Alves-Parysian and Serr-St. Pierre. I think we will see 5-6 more though by year end.
***
In other news- Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin at UFC 84. Irvin will stand and bang so this one is not to be missed.
thegreatawakening
January 11, 2008
My WW Rankings:
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Matt Hughes
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Jon Fitch
5. Diego Sanchez
6. Karo Parisyan
7. Matt Serra
8. Thiago Alves
9. Marcus Davis
10. Mike Swick
-I still have Hughes at #2 as he hasn’t lost to anyone except GSP and B.J. Penn. He may be pretty much done, but I still like Hughes as the 2nd best.
-While I agree that Fitch is probably the more established and the more deserving of a title shot of the two, I still have Kos ranked higher. It will be interesting to see how Kos responds after his loss to GSP.
-I still hold Diego in high regard, too. While he is on a 2-match losing streak, both of those losses came in a decision (a split decision to Fitch). A year-and-a-half ago, he beat Karo. I can’t wait to see who he fights next.
-I, too, couldn’t put Serra too low considering he is indeed the champ, although he’s much more of a Hashim Rahman than he is a Lennox Lewis.
-Swick is certainly intriguing as he makes the move down from MW, but I need to see it before I start drinking the Kool-Aid.
-As far as matches are concerned, I hope that Hughes just holds out for a match with Serra once GSP exacts his revenge. I would love to see Diego-Karo II, as well as Diego-Kos III. I agree, though, that Fitch is probably next in line for a title shot, provided he beats Gono at UFC 82.
In a completely unrelated matter, WEC has announced part of its card for its next show on Versus on Feb. 13th:
WW Champ Carlos Condit vs. Carlo Prater
LW Champ Rob McCullough vs. Jamie Varner
BW Champ Chase Beebe vs. Miguel Torres
Manny Tapia vs. Antonio Banuelos
On the WEC front, I’m really looking forward to the possible Faber-Pulver fight, as well as what’s next on the horizon for Paulo Filho.
Raible
January 12, 2008
More rumors:
-Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva, possibly in May. I think I like it. Evans is athletic enough to play good defense and Silva is aggressive. Both are undefeated (doesn’t it seem like Evans has lost though due to boringness?) I’ll be rooting for Silva. Winner’s gotta be top 5 in terms of title contention, right there with Liddell and Machida. Sherk’s shot at the lightwieght title could come on the same card.
-Joe Lauzon vs. Ken Florian at the UFN which kicks off the next TUF. This is pretty much confirmed. It surprises me that Lauzon would get a fight like this so soon, and also that Florian would get such a no-win fight when he’s on such a roll.
-Spencer Fisher vs. Marcus Aurelio is on the same card. I was surprised by how easily Fisher was controlled by Frankie Edgar in his last fight. He’s beginning to look a lot like a guy who can be counted on to put on a good war against middle-tier lightweights (particularly those who prefer to stand) or test up-and-comers, but that’s it. If the UFC wanted an explosive showcase fight for Florian I think Fisher might have made more sense. Aurelio is a veteran with a track record of excitement despite a lackluster UFC debut against Guida. This will be a good fight.
-On the subject of Fisher, I think the Fisher-Edgar bout was one of those fights from which you really learn a lot about a division. Fisher looked *really* strong in his rematch against Sam Stout, to the point where he put on a standup display the likes of which is just not often seen in MMA. And Edgar just dominated him. Unless Fisher was sick or injured (or something was missing from his gatorade) his ceiling looked a lot lower after that fight. Edgar’s performance basically announced that top-tier takedowns are Fisher’s cryptonite while he stamped his own name in the division’s top 5.
-The rest of April 2nd’s UFN: Matt Hammil vs. Stefan Bonnar and Tommy Speer vs. Anthony Johnson. Don’t mark this down as a victory for Speer. If you missed Johnson’s KO of Chad Reiner in his UFC debut (in what was maybe his 3rd pro fight?), it was a brutal one. He put some heat on Rich Clementi in his next fight before being subbed, so he could be vulnerable against the wrestling of Speer, but this could be over quick. I give Bonnar the edge over Hammil, but this should be a good test. I still think Bonnar beat Griffin the first time too. He’s a good fighter but he’s having a tough time moving up in such a stacked division. At some point I’d like to see some of these guys move in for a title shot in the WEC.
-Speaking of Sam Stout, his next fight will be in England Jan. 19 against new-comer Per Eklund. If he looks sharp I have a suggestion for his next fight: three months later, in his homeland of Canada, against Melvin Guillard at UFC 84 in Montreal. Melvin is an explosive puncher and Stout is a tough-as-nails kickboxing champ, but let’s face it- these guys aren’t in the mix right now at 155. In my mind this would be just the kind of style and personality clash needed to kick off what should be a great card on the UFC’s first visit to Canada. Alves-Parysian is expected to be on the card, along with the return of Shogun.
-But who will Shogun fight? Evans and Thigo are out. So are Bonnar, Hammil, Alexander and Irvin. Wandelei is doubtful since they are (were?) teammates. Would he get Chuck or Machida? I’m thinking Keith Jardine or Sokodjou, but we’ll have to wait and see….
-Lots of exciting things going on. You know what’s not? UFC 82. Headlined by Sylvia vs. Nogueira- yawn. Preceded by the debut of Brock Lesnar against Frank Mir- yawn. They just added Jeremy Horn to face Nate Marquardt- yawn. Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau is our only hope for a greta fight. I buy almost all of them, but not this one.
thegreatawakening
January 12, 2008
UFC 80 Predictions:
Penn over Stevenson
Gonzaga over Werdum
Davis over Liaudin
Lambert over Gouveia
Grove over Rivera
Hardonk over Robinson
Taylor over Kelly
Lee over Sakara
Stout over Eklund
Raible
January 18, 2008
Gono pulled out of the Fitch fight with a bad hand. Here’s hoping Marcus Davis gets the call. I never understood why guys needed months to prepare, especially when they sustained zero damage in their last fight.
thegreatawakening
January 20, 2008
-Sam Stout vs. Rich Clementi at UFC 84 in Canada. Should be a good fight- Stout has the edge in standup and Clementi has the edge on the ground.
-Werdum will get the next HW title shot. Yuck.
-BJ Penn smashed Stevenson for every second of that fight. Total blood-spilling domination. The best three fighters right now in my eyes are Penn, St. Pierre, and Anderson Silva. And they all have belts now. After a few years of unrest I think we’re heading back to the days of the dominant champions. Heard that before though….
thegreatawakening
January 20, 2008
Didn’t get to see the UFN last night, but from what I read, it doesn’t sound like I missed much. Looking forward to all of the sweet upcoming UFC action, even the HW showdown between Sylvia and Nog…Dean is SO pumped for that one!
Raible
January 25, 2008
Fight Night was mediocre. Cote-McFedries was great though. Highlight reel KO for Cote. Nate Diaz got a quick win. Tavares looked weak, no standup despite getting the win. Swick looked tenative.
Check out http://www.onepunchKO.com All kinds of free fights, usually up a few minutes after they take place. Totally free.
thegreatawakening
January 28, 2008
UFC 81 Predictions:
Nogueira over Sylvia
Lesnar over Mir
Marquardt over Horn
Almeida over Yundt
Griffin over Tibau
Lytle over Bradley
Martin over Eastman
Boetsch over Heath
Nakamura over Emerson
Raible
February 2, 2008
The fights are up on http://www.onepunchko.com. I watched it live and it wasn’t as boring as I expected:
-Sylvia did some seriois damage to Nog, but it too Nog less than 30 seconds to sweep and lock in a guillotine once he pulled guard early in the 3rd.
-Lesnar overwhelmed Mir and was close to finishing when Mazzagatti stood them up and took a put for blow to the bakc of the head. It’s been a point of contorversy ever since, adn Mir was clearly on his way out. Either way, Lesnar got him down almost immediately and looked for the finish again before Mir grabbed a leg and finished it with a knee bar. We knew Mir could do this so while it’s a big win I don’t see it as a big stepping stone for him. Lesnar on the other hand looked like a bull and I think he’ll run through the lower end of the division. Puzzling that they’d put him in with a submission guy considering that’s usually the most vulnerable area for an inexperienced fighter.
-Gotta love Horn. He tooka nice beating before working for a gogplata, then transitioning to an omoplata for the sweep into top position as the first round ended. That was it though, as Marquardt almost ripped his head of in the 2nd.
thegreatawakening
February 3, 2008
UFC 82 Predictions:
Silva over Henderson
Kongo over Herring
Sakara over Leben
Okami over Tanner
Fitch over Wilson
Arlovski over O’Brien
Fioravanti over Cummo
Koscheck over Hazelett
Sanchez over Bielkheden
Gurgel over Halverson
Raible
March 1, 2008
The December PPV is annually one of UFC’s biggest of the year, if not THE biggest of the year. DO you think we’ll see Anderson Silva fight either Georges St. Pierre or Quinton Jackson in December? I sure as hell hope so.
Of the two, I would prefer a fight with St. Pierre. I think we’re all going to be seeing a lot of Rampage in the coming months as he will serve as a coach on the next episode of The Ultimate Fighter. St. Pierre, meanwhile, should dispose of Matt Serra on April 19th (my birthday, by the way) to set-up a massive match with Silva.
The UFC, of course, wouldn’t have to wait until December if they didn’t want to. The only reason I suggest December, however, is the emphasis that the company places on its December PPV. The company could, of course, elect to have St. Pierre and Silva fight sooner, leaving the December PPV to Rampage (assuming he beats Forrest Griffin) against some opponent, Liddell against someone, etc.
It will also be interesting to see what happens with Dan Henderson. I wouldn’t mind seeing him square off with Rich Franklin to determine, for all intents and purposes, the 2nd best at 185 in the world.
Looking at all of the weight classes…
-Penn is fighting Sherk for the LW title. Could the Florian/Lauzon winner be next in line?
-GSP fights Serra for the WW title. Fitch could be next in line for a title shot after his impressive performance last night.
-Who knows what’s next for Silva? Franklin fights Lutter on the 19th.
-Rampage fights Griffin for the LHW title, while Jardine squares off with Wanderlei and Liddell tangles with Rua and Tito goes at it with Machida. Any news on Sokoudjou? Could he be next in line for Henderson?
-Have they announced who is next for Big Nog? I know Dana wants Couture to fight him, but who knows? Mark Coleman is next in line for Brock Lesnar, while guys like Herring, Sylvia, Arlovski, Gonzaga, etc. sit around and wait to see who they get to fight next. I still wish Fedor would have just joined the UFC!
Don’t forget…WEC has a card this month on Versus (March 26th) featuring the rematch of Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen and LHW champion Doug Marshall. The following blurb is from the WEC’s website…
Their first fight captivated the mixed martial arts world and the end result was debated for weeks. But on Wednesday, March 26, WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho wants to leave no doubts in the minds of anyone, especially challenger Chael Sonnen, about who the superior fighter is when these two 185-pound standouts square off for a second time in the main event of the latest World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC™) card. But that’s not all, as WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Doug ‘The Rhino’ Marshall puts his belt on the line for the second time against unbeaten Brian ‘All-American’ Stann in one of the most highly anticipated bouts in WEC history.
By the way, WEC stud Urijah Faber is supposed to defend his title on Versus against Jens Pulver this summer.
Raible
March 3, 2008
UFC Fight Night 13 Predictions:
Lauzon over Florian
Parisyan over Alves
Diaz over Pellegrino
Hamill over Boetsch
Maynard over Edgar
Alexander over Irvin
Speer over Johnson
Sotiropoulos over Mitichyan
Aurelio over Roberts
Thomas over Neer
Guida over Schiavo
Gamburyan over Cox
Wow…what a HUGE card! 3 full hours tonight on SPIKE!
After UFN is the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest. While I fully expect Rampage to defeat Forrest after the completion of the series, I will definitely be pulling for Forrest to pull the upset (not that I don’t think Rampage is awesome and amazingly entertaining).
After correctly picking Mac Danzig to win the last season of The Ultimate Fighter, I am going to press my luck (no whammy, no whammy) and see if I can predict this season’s winner, too. As many of you probably know, there are 32 fighters in this season’s tournament, with the winners of the first round being invited to stay at the house in Las Vegas. With that being said, I am going to go with Brandon Sene as my predicted winner, assuming he is indeed on the show. The following is from his Wikipedia profile:
“Brandon “Sweet Dreams” Sene is an American professional mixed martial artist currently known for fighting in the MMA World Fighting Championships and being sponsored by High Octane Fight Gear. He is rumored to be featured on the upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship reality television show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest scheduled to premiere on April 2, 2008 on Spike TV. He fights out of Tampa, Florida with Gracie Tampa North, under Royce Gracie black belt Rob Kahn, alongside The Ultimate Fighter 5 contestant Allen Berube and The Ultimate Fighter 6 semifinalist and Gracie Tampa South instructor Matt Arroyo.”
That’s all I’ve got for now…Cheers!
Raible
April 2, 2008
Thoughts from last night’s huge SPIKE TV card:
-One day, I’ll learn to stop picking against Kenny Florian. His nickname (Ken-Flo) is retartded and he looks like a little bitch, but Florian simply dominates the 2nd tier competition in the Lightweight Division. The only problem with Ken-Flo, however, is that he isn’t quite up to snuff with the likes of Penn and Sherk. With that in mind, where does he turn? He already tried his hand at Welterweight and got demolished by Diego Sanchez. Perhaps Florian just passes his time at the Lightweight Division and sees what happens. Or maybe a jump over to WEC to see what they have to offer?
-I wasn’t a real big fan of the quick stoppage in the Karo-Alves fight, but nevertheless, it’s a big win for Alves. The Welterweight Division is a competitive one, and this win certainly jumps Alves over Karo in the pecking order. A rematch, though, should be in the cards somewhere. I’m sticking by my wish for a GSP-Anderson Silva match (assuming GSP beats Serra and Silva doesn’t decide to spend all of his time in a boxing ring with Roy Jones Jr.), but I would have to think that Jon Fitch is next in line for a title shot.
-Speaking of Welterweights, before Matt Hughes decides to hang ‘em up, I really hope we can see Hughes and Matt Serra go at it. Beating Serra would be a great send-off for one of the most decorated champions in UFC history.
-Speaking of Hughes, his boy Tommy Speer got knocked the hell out last night. Let’s see how he responds before we write him off, though.
-Speaking of knockouts, what has happened to Houston Alexander? The dude looked amazing in defeating Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara before losing his last fight to Thiago Silva and now this fight to James Irvin. Regardless, though, Alexander’s fights are exciting, win or lose, as they always seem to end in a KO of some variety.
-TUF alums Gray Maynard, Nate Diaz, Matt Hamill, Manny Gamburyan, and George Sotiropoulos were all impressive in wins last night.
-Looking forward to UFC 83 on April 19th (my birthday) in Montreal. GSP should take care of Serra, Franklin needs a win against Lutter, and Mac Danzig is back in action. UFC 84 in May should be even better with Penn-Sherk, Silva-Jardine, and Ortiz-Machida.
-On the WEC front, I can’t wait for the Faber vs. Pulver fight on June 1st on Versus, undoubtedly the biggest fight in the history of the WEC.
Raible
April 3, 2008
Good read for you TUF fans:
http://www.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10758457/1
Raible
April 5, 2008
UFC 84 Predictions:
Penn over Sherk
Silva over Jardine
Machida over Ortiz
Silva over Mendes
Gouveia over Reljic
Salaverry over Palhares
Sokoudjou over Nakamura
Clementi over Etim
Koppenhaver over Yoshida
Kim over Tan
Carwin over Wellisch
Raible
May 24, 2008
CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights Predictions:
Slice over Thompson
Lawler over Smith
Carano over Young
Villasenor over Baroni
Rogers over Murphy
Of the undercard fights on CBSSports.com, the most intriguing one is Carlton Haselrig, the former Pittsburgh Steeler, taking on Carlos Moreno.
Raible
May 29, 2008
Wow, Raible still make predictions on here and good ones at that. I just read all 94 of the UFC posts. Raibs loves Ken-Flo. You guys really thought Silva would lose to Rich Franklin? Who wouldn’t get an erection when thinking about Frank Trigg? There was a little too much Koppen and not enough Haver. Brandon “Sweet Dreams” Sene? Go Rampage!
thav916
June 23, 2008