UFC 110

UFC 110 has one of the most stacked cards I’ve seen in a while.  All the fights in the preliminaries and main card are worth watching.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez

Headlining the event is the Nogueira vs. Velasquez bout.  Both fighters are currently ranked near the top of the heavyweight division and a win for either of them would catapolt them to title contention. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is one of the most dangerous fighters in the division.  He’s not just dangerous because he is one of the best grapplers in the sport, or that he’s fought almost all of the biggest names in the sport. It’s the fact that he can take a Rodney King beating and still come back to win. Nogueira is the Jason Voorhees of MMA you can’t count him out until the credits starts rolling. And on the other side of the cage is Cain Velasquez. He’s a very strong wrestler with a good chin. A product of American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), Velasquez has been crushing his opponents with his superior wrestling. The only hole in his game is his stand up, which Cheick Kongo was able to expose during their fight, but as long as he continue to train with AKA his stand up is only going to get better.

What does Nogueira have?
– Dangerous grappling
– Strong chin
– Tons of experience

What does Velasquez have?
– Superior wrestling
– Strong chin
– Physically strong

My Pick:
Cain Velasquez takes it.  He will take the fight to Nogueira and use his wrestling ability to control the fight. The fight will go to the ground with Cain on top raining down elbows and punches. The only thing he has to worry about is getting sloppy and getting caught in a submission during a flurry or a takedown attempt. The last time Nog submitted anyone was when he fought Tim Sylivia in 2008 and before that it was Zuluzinho in 2006.  Nogueira hasn’t shown he has KO power. With about 40 fights he’s only has 2 KO on his record, the rest were submission and decision wins, so a knock out win for Nogueira is unlikely. Continue reading “UFC 110”

UFC 103

ufc103

My Picks:

Tyson Griffin beats Hermes Franca
Josh Koshcheck beats Frank Trigg
Martin Kampmann beats Paul Daley
Mirko Filipovic beats Jr. Dos Santos
Rich Franklin beats Vitor Belfort