UFC 93

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Rich Franklin v. Dan Henderson is a great headliner to start off the New Year. UFC 93 is also stacked with other bouts such as Coleman v. Shogun and the UFC debut of Denis Kang.

The Franklin/Henderson fight will be a great matchup. These guys’ style will make an exciting fight. Henderson has bombs in both hands whereas Franklin is very well-rounded and take the fight on the feet or on the ground. Both fighters are smart and will he who has the best gameplan coming into the cage will win. For Franklin to win he will need to keep his punches down the middle and avoid a slugfest with Henderson. Franklin will need to utilize kicks to keep his opponent at bay and use ring generalship to control positions and wait for Henderson to tire out from throwing his boms. For Henderson, he’ll need to get to the inside and his wrestling background will help him with that. Henderson should put pressure on Franklin early on by pressing him up against the fence utilizing the clinch and take him down ala Randy Couture style.

My Picks:

Mauricio Rua beats Mark Coleman
Denis Kang beats Alan Belcher
Rousimar Palhares beats Jeremy Horn
Marcus Davis beats Chris Lytle
Martin Kampmann beats Alexandre Barros
Eric Schafer beats Antonio Mendes
Tomasz Drwal beats Ivan Serati
John Hathaway beats Tom Egan
Dennis Siver beats Nate Mohr

UFC 92

I’m posting this a little late. I’m on my Blackberry, so I didn’t have the option to add the UFC image.

It’s the end of the year and we get to have one bad-ass fight card. Having two title fights and a highly anticipated grudge match between two very exciting fighters is a great way to cap off 2008.

Let’s start with the Evans v. Forrest. These guys came from obscurity to highly touted fighters in their division. Say what you want about these TUF alumni, but they proved that they deserved to be in this position with every fight they won. This fight proposes an interesting match up. Evans is a great wrestler that has developed into a striking machine and coming from a Greg Jackson camp only adds to his credibility. On the other side of the octagon Forrest is a machine that is almost unbreakable. His impressive wins over Shogun and Rampage catapulted him to the top of the rankings.

Evans has proved he has knock out power and Forrest is as well rounded as a fighter can get. But I see Forrest giving Evans his first loss. Forrest has been in hard fought-battles and came out as the victor. Forrest’s reach advantage and technical striking will keep Evans at bay. As the fight progresses to the later rounds Forrest will have the cardio and experience to shutdown him down.

A grudge match that has been in the making for half a decade is one of the most anticipated fights this year. Rampage will get the opportunity to avenge his two losses from Wanderlei Silva, a fighter who has given Rampage two of the worst beatings in his career. But since those losses Rampage has reinvented himself and in the process won the Light Heavyweight title and defended it against Dan Henderson.

Wanderlei has the mental edge coming into the fight because he has already beaten Rampage twice. Rampage ditched is old trainer and opt to train with Wolf’s Lair. That should definite help his game, but it won’t be enough to stop the Axe Murderer.

Mir and Noguiera’s title fight will be a true battle of attrition. They are both seasoned veterans who had a debilitating accident in their past and has come back against the odds to title contention. Before Mir’s motorcycle accident he was considered one of the top heavyweights in the world, but his road back in the UFC was less than stellar to put it mildly. Noguiera has been in it with the best there is in MMA. His experience and list of victory easily puts him in the hall of fame of the sport.

Mir has his young age to his advantage, where as Noguiera’s long history of being in those brutal battles may have taken its toll. Noguiera is not has fast and nimble as he was 2 years ago. It was obvious in his Heath Herring fight and Tim Sylvia fight. I see Mir coming in and throwing lots of kick to slow Nog down. Mir will keep the fight standing as long as possible and will hold Nog on the ground for a decision win.

My picks:

Forrest Griffin beats Rashad Evans
Frank Mir beats Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera
Wanderlei Silva beats Quinton Jackson
Cheick Kongo beats Mustafa Al Turk
CB Dollaway beats Mike Massenzio
Yushin Okami beats Dean Lister
Matt Hamill beats Andy Reese
Ryo Chonan beats Brad Blackburn
Antoni Hardonk beats Mike Wessel
Dan Everson beats Patrick Barry

UFC 91

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Randy Couture is back and this time he’s taking on a mountain of muscle, a juggernaut named Brock Lensnar. Let’s get to the fight picks.

Brock Lesnar beats Randy Couture
Many may see Brock Lesnar as too inexperienced in MMA to beat Couture. It is true that Lesnar is inexperienced, but what those same people don’t know is that Lensar is acompetitive athlete that knows how to use his physical abilities to his advantage. Fighters with a strong wrestling background like Lesnar’s do very well in UFC; Matt Hughes, Mark Coleman, Sean Sherk, Matt Lindland, Frank Edgar, Gray Maynard, and Randy Couture himself. One thing to take notice is that Randy hasn’t fought in over a year. Will he have ring rust? Probably not, but at his age the sharpness of his skills maybe affected. Randy has always had trouble with bigger guys with a decent ground game. Ricco Rodriguez and Josh Barnett beat Randy. Those losses may be ancient history, what did Randy do after those losses? He dropped to 205 and since then he fought fighters who likes to strike rather than take it to the ground. In this fight I see Randy trying to be elusive using hit and run tactics, but as much as I like Randy I see Lensar ending up getting the take down and overpower Randy for a TKO stoppage.

Joe Stevenson beats Kenny Florian
Earlier this week I had Florian winning this fight, but I believe Florian and his camp underrates Stevenson’s striking. Stevenson also has a good ground game and can surprise Florian with well-placed striking and a takedowns. If Stevenson takes Florian down I can see him controlling the top position as Sean Sherk did. This is going to be a very close fight, but I Stevenson getting the slight edge and pulling an upset.

Demian Maia beats Nate Quarry
Nate Quarry is a tough fighter. He has decent striking and wrestling. A jack of all trades, but an ace of none. Demian Maia is a submission machine, and if the fight goes to the ground Quarry’s decent ground game won’t cut it. Demian Maia is not going to stand and will look to take the fight to the ground as soon as he can. Quarry will have to the get the quick KO if he wants to win this fight.

Tamdan McCrory beats Dustin Hazelett
Aaron Riley beats Jorge Gurgel
Jeremy Stephens beats Rafael do Anjos
Alvin Robinson beats Mark Bocek
Ryan Thomas beats Matt Brown
Gabriel Gonzaga beats Josh Hendricks

Evan Tanner found dead

Evan Tanner was found dead in southern California. He was out on a camping trip in the desert were it was reported that he had run out of gas on his motorcycle and eventually succumbed to the desert heat.

I’ve been following Tanner’s career since his early days in the UFC were he fought at 205 to when he won and loss the Middleweight title. Tanner was well-respected in the MMA community and a fighter who brought exciting fights in the cage. You will be missed my friend.

UFC 88: Breakthrough

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Chuck Liddell is back. After recovering from a torn hamstring he will be pitted against Rashad Evans. Evans is undefeated but he hasn’t face competition of the likes of Liddell. But Rashad does have a good chance of pulling the win. Evans trains with Greg Jackson’s camp and they produce bad ass fighters. Keith Jardine came from Jackson and he was able to beat Liddell with an effective game plan. Evan will need to mix up the fight if he wants to win throwing punches and kicks to setup the takedowns. Liddell is known to be a tough guy to takedown, but it’s not impossible. As for Chuck he’ll need to keep the fight on the feet and keep his distance.

Rich Franklin is moving back up to 205 and he’ll be facing Matt Hamill. Hamill is strong, but his conditioning isn’t the best and I think Franklin will get the win by the end of the third round by stoppage. A fight that I’m looking forward to see is the Matt Brown vs Dong Hyun Kim. Kim is a dynamic fighter whose exciting to watch. Matt Brown will have his hands full. Luckily for us this fight has been bumped up to the main card due to Karo Paryisan’s bout being injured.

Dan Henderson will be fighting Rousimar Palhares, a fighter who has shown to be very dangerous on the ground. Palhares defeated a very game veteran, Ivan Salavrry, in a quick first round submission. Henderson needs to keep the fight on his fight and use his Greco Roman wrestling control Palhares. This is an intersting fight and it can go either way.

My Picks:

Ryo Chonan beats Roan Carneiro
Kurt Pellegrino beats Thiago Tavares (upset)
Jason MacDonald beats Jason Lambert
Tim Boetsch best Michael Patt
Dong Hyun Kim beats Matt Brown
Nate Marquardt beats Martin Kampmann
Dan Henderson beats Rousimar Palhares
Rich Franklin beats Matt Hamill
Chuck Liddell beats Rashad Evans

UFC 87: Seek and Destroy

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We’re a few hours away from my boy, George St. Pierre, defending his title from the always-tough Jon Fitch. UFC 87’s main card is quite exciting. GPS vs Fitch, Huerta vs Florian, and Lesnar vs Herring is worth the $50 on the PPV by itself. Many of you may know I’m a huge GSP fan and this is a fight I’m super stoked to see. Jon Fitch fights out of AKA in San Jose, a top knotch gym I’ve had the privilege to train a couple of years back which is another reason to watch. It can’t get anymore exciting when your top favorite fighters are pitted against each other. Why else am I stoked about this fight? Besides the fact that GSP is fighting, Jon Fitch is the biggest threat to anyone who holds the Welterweight title. GSP is favorite to win, but Fitch has the tools to take the belt. It just comes down to who will bring the most effective game plan. Lets get to the point here. GSP is going to win. Why? Because he’s more well-rounded and has better killer-instinct to finish off his opponents. Many critics of GSP uses his recent loss to Serra as a sign of his mental stability in the fight game. They also point out that he dominates all his opponents and has never been tested. That is surely not true. Lets not forget that epic war with BJ Penn and the grueling battle with Karo Parysian. GSP has been through adversity and has overcome it to win. So let’s hope Fitch doesn’t just try grind out his opponent for the win because if Fitch wants to get his hand raised in the end he has to go out there and stop GSP. Sure Fitch has a great wrestling background but GSP’s style neutralizes it. So how can Fitch win? Fitch will need to press the fight and push the pace early on in the fight. GSP tends to feel out his opponent the first minute of the fight. Fitch will need to utilize the cage and take GSP and hold him there and pound him out which is easier said than done. If Fitch doesn’t have an effective fight game he will find himself being taken down and getting beat on, GSP-style.

Huerta vs Florian can be the fight of the night if both come out guns blazing. Huerta is the underdog and he is right fully so. With the exception of Clay Guida, Huerta has been fighting mediocore opponents. Florian has been on a tear beating and stopping every opponent he’s fought recently. His striking has improved leaps and bounds and his ground game is even more solid compared to his TUF days. Skillset-wise Florian has the edge on all aspect of the fight game than Huerta. But there’s one thing that should not be overlooked of Huerta, and that’s his resilence in the cage. His fight with Guida showed that Huerta can be dangerous even up to the last minute of the fight. Florian is a very technical fighter, and very technical fighters tend to be very predictable. In contast, Huerta is a scrappy fighter and its hard to prepare for a style like that. I’m going to go against the grain and pick Huerta to pull an upset. I see Florian coming out strong with Huerta weathering the storm, but Huerta’s tenacity to keep coming forward will take it’s toll on Florian.

Heath Herring’s kryptonite is wrestling. He can’t defend a takedown if his life depended on it. Lesnar is the baddest in heavyweight in the division with collegiate credentials to back it up. Even with a debut loss in the UFC Lesnar showed that he has incredible speed and strength that can translate very well in MMA. Unfortunately he lacked the experience. Herring has only won once in his last three fights. And that victory came against Cheick Kongo. Kongo is known for his kickboxing and his lack of ground game giving his athletic physique and MMA potential. Kongo was able to take Herring down at will. Luckily for Herring Kongo forgot to look up the definition of “ground and pound” and he was able to pull the split decision. Lesnar without a doubt is the kryptonite that will stop Herring tonight.

My picks:

Ben Saunders beats Ryan Thomas
Chris Wilson beats Steve Bruno
Andre Gusmao beats Jon Jones
Cheick Kongo beats Dan Evensen
Luke Cummo beats Tamdan McCory
Jason McDonald beats Demian Maia (Upset)
Manny Gamburyan beats Rob Emerson
Roger Huerta beats Kenny Florian (Upset)
Brock Lesnar beats Heath Herring
George St. Pierre beats Jon Fitch

UFC 86: Jackson vs Griffin

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Tomorrow’s UFC event will be Rampage’s second defense of his Light Heavyweight title. His opponent, Forrest Griffin, was the first season TUF winner. Griffin has steadily improved his fight game over the past couple of years and racked up several impressive wins that catapulted him into one of the most popular fighters. But the loss to Jardine set him back quite a bit. Then one day Forrest dispatched Maricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, currently ranked #1 in the world at the time, that bumped him up to a contender status.

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson has his ups and downs during his career but for the past year he has taken UFC fans by storm by beating Marvin Eastman in his UFC debut, then capturing the Light Heavyweight title from Chuck Liddell and successfully defending it from Dangerous Dan Henderson. Known for his powerful body slams and exciting fighting style, it’s outside the cage many people know him. His exuberant personality makes for hilarious interviews and spontaneous antics.

My Picks:

Corey Hill beats Justin Buchholz
Dennis Siver beats Melvin Guillard (Upset)
Cole Miller beats Jorge Gurgel
Gabriel Gonzaga beats Justin McCully
Tyson Griffin beats Marcus Aurelio
Josh Koscheck beats Chris Lytle
Joe Steveson beats Gleison Tibau
Ricardo Almeida beats Patrick Cote
Forrest Griffin beats Quinton Jackson (Upset)

UFC 84: Ill Will

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Another UFC event is upon us. UFC 84: Ill Will has BJ Penn defending his Lightweight title against former champ Sean Sherk. For the past few months Penn and Sherk have been vocally attacking each other. Sherk is coming off a steroid accusation suspension which is the fuel for Penn’s harsh words. BJ Penn is considered one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world with an amazing Brazilian Jujitsu background. Sherk is a long time veteran who’s built like a tank and has uncanny conditioning that is unmatched in his division.

BJ Penn is a wizard on the ground, and his stand up is underrated. In fact he has an excellent stand up game. Penn’s in-your-face style makes all his fights exciting. Whether it’s on the ground or standing up he will hurt you. Sherk has equally good stand up, but his forte is his wrestling. Sherk is known to take down his opponents and grinds them into a pulp. It may not be the most exciting fight, but it gets the job done. I think this is a great match up for both fighters. If Sherk is able to get the takedown Penn’s dynamic ground game will force Sherk to be more active and make it less of a lay and pray fight for him. Sherk may not best Penn’s ground game but it’s made up by his ability to go in sixth gear in all 5 rounds. Recently, Penn’s known for his poor condition lasting about two rounds tops before gassing. If Sherk can weather the storm he can pull an upset and beat the Hawaiian sensation.

Other fights on the card includes Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva vs. Kieth Jardine, Thiago Silva, and Rameau Sokoudjou. It’s been a while since Tito fought and this weekend he’ll be fighting the rising dark horse that is Lyoto Machida. Machida is currently undefeated and has a knack at beating opponents almost on an effortless level. There’s something in Machida’s fighting style that just neutralizes his opponents. A win for Tito will boost him up the rank in the divison and a lost would mean an imminent road to retirement.

My picks:

Penn beats Sherks
W. Silva beats Jardine
Gouveia beats Reljic
Machida beats Tito
T. Silva beats Mendes
Salaverry beats Palhares
Sokoudjou beats Nakamura
Clementi beats Etim
Yoshida beats Koppenhaver
Jason Tan beats Hyun Kim

UFC 82

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From the words of UFC’s iconic announcer Bruce Buffer, “It is time..!!!!” for UFC 82. Headlining the event is Anderson Silva defending his title against Dangerous Dan Henderson. Not only is this for the Middleweight title, but it’s for the unification of PrideFC’s Middleweight title that Henderson holds.

Dan Henderson is only fighter to hold two titles in two seperate division in PrideFC. Last year Henderson lost his Lightheavy weight title to UFC’s current Champ, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. And now Henderson is now fighting a fighter who is considered one of the top pound for pound fighter in the sports of mixed martial arts. It seems UFC is not giving Henderson a break at all. Henderson has his hands full with Silva. Silva has a superior and technical striking game whereas Henderson is a big slugger with KO power in each hand. So this contrast in styles will likely play in Silva’s hands as long as he doesn’t get caught with one of Henderson’s haymakers.

We’ve seen Silva’s great striking abilities, and his slick BJJ, and his clench game is second to none. But there’s one spot where Silva has not been put in yet. And that’s being pressed up against the cage and get worked by some dirty boxing or crowded in the corner against the fence getting pounded. The reason why we’ve never seen him in that situation is because Silva is smart and utilizes his footwork and to put himself in position to use his weapons. But if there’s one person who can force him against the cage and into a corner it would be Dan Henderson. Henderson is a pedigree wrestler, Greco-Roman that is. If Henderson can close the gap on Silva and get put his back against the fence it would neutralize Silva’s devastating knees, kicks, punches. But then it’s always easier said than done.

My pick is Silva. Silva has too many ways to win, and Henderson has nothing that Silva has never faced. Unless Henderson catches Silva with an over hand right that stuns or KO Silva it’s going to be another loss for him in the UFC.

My Picks:

Cheick Kongo via stoppage
Chris Leben via submission
Evan Tanner via decision
Jon Fitch via submission
Andrei Arlovski via KO
Luke Cummo via stoppage
Josh Koscheck via stoppage
Diego Sanchez via submission
Jorge Gurgel via decision

UFC 79

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We’re hours away from one of the most anticipated UFC fights ever. I’m talking about the Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva bout. This fight is over 4 years in the making. Other fights on the card include the headlining event Matt Hughes vs George St. Pierre. This fight is for the Interim Welterweight Championship. The winner will take on Matt Serra after he recovers from his back injury.

Another about I’m totally stoked about is the Machida vs Sokoudjou. Machida is undefeated in his professional career. He is known to have a very defensive style of fighting. His style neutralizes his opponent’s offense while methodically picking them apart with his punches and kicks. Sokoudjou is one of the fastest rising fighter coming out of Dan Henderson’s Team Quest. Known as the “Brazilian Killa” he knocked out two top 5 ranked fighter in his last two fights; Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. If Sokoudjou can get passed Machida in the same fashion as his last two fights he will be well on his way to a title fight sometime next year.

My UFC 79 picks:

-Under card-
Doug Evans
Dean Lister
Manvel Gamburyan
Tony DeSouza
James Irvin

-Main card-
Soa Palalei
Melvin Guillard
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Wanderlei Silva
George St. Pierre