MMA News: Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver at WEC 38

Following his loss to Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 36, Urijah Faber indicated he wanted to get back in the ring soon and fight a top opponent.  Hi sultimate goal…a re-match with Brown and a chance to get his title back.  Faber was long the king of the featherweights, but now he has been dethroned and will have to wait and fight his way back to the position of number one contender.  The WEC champ is now Mike Brown and the number one contender is Leonard Garcia.  Therefore Faber needs a win to put him into conention again.  There have been several different names dropped for the next opponent for the “California Kid”.  First several outlets reported that Faber would take on Jose Aldo at WEC 38.  However, MMAWeekly and now FiveOuncesofPain is reporting that Faber will take on former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver for a second time on January 25th which will air live on Versus.  That card will probably be stacked.  Believe it or not it is doubtful that Pulver vs. Faber II will be the headliner as it is expected that Jamie Varner will fight Donald Cerrone on this night and Carlos Condit will fight as well possibly against Brock Larsen. 

   I do not fully understand that matchup between Pulver and Faber as Faber looked dominant in his win over Jens Pulver.  Perhaps they want to establish a competitive trilogy of fights.  Perhaps they want to give Faber a solid opponent and a big name to boost him back into contention.  Either way a win and he may get his title shot.  The WEC featherweight division is stacked with guys like Mike Brown, Leonard Garcia, Urijah Faber, Jens Pulver, Jose Aldo, Waggney Fabiano, Josh Grispi, Cub Swanson, Hiroyuki Takaya, Diego Nunes and Akitoshi Tamura.

WEC 36 Results and Thoughts

WEC 36 was a night full of upsets.  If I was a betting man I would have been hurting from this card.  If you look at my predictions you can see that.  Quite honestly it was not a good night for the WEC. 

• Let me start with the main event and work my way down.  All I can say is…wow!  I did not expect that.  Urijah Faber has looked unbeatable and finally somebody dethroned the featherweight king.  I still think he is number 1 in the world, but what a KO.  I will be interested to see how the WEC works this situation out.  Will they give Urijah an instant re-match?  Will Leonard Garcia get a shot?  Will Faber fight a top contender like Garcia, Fabiano, Aldo or Tamura?  Honestly, I think he may desere a shot, but I would not be upset if they made him win one and let Garcia get first crack at the new champ. 
• Mike Brown was innjured in the fight witha  broken rib cage and is out a few weeks.  So we will not see him defend his title for a bit.
• The Sonnen vs. Filho fight stunk.  It wasn’t Chael’s fault at all.  What the heck was Paulo Filho doing.  He looked way out of it.  I suspect drugs.  Filho may have been drained from the weight drop.  He may not have all his personal stuff in order yet.  He may have seen this as a senseless fight.  I don’t know what the deal was.  Sonnen won easily.  I scored it 30-26…and that was being nice to Filho.  Can you say Kalib Starnes?
• Who expected Leonard Garcia to KO Jens Pulver.  Urijah Faber couldn’t KO Pulver.  Garcia made quick work of Pulver.  He made it look easy.  I had been a Garcia doubter, but I am believing that he could be a featehrweight champ in the WEC.  He has serious knock out power and he rocked Jens.
• Aaron Simpson looks like a solid middleweight prospect and he may have punched his ticked into the UFC with his one punch KO of David Avellan.  He is worth a shot.
• Jake Rosholt is not just a good wrestler.  He is the real deal.  He is a future MMA star.  He looked very good and I think he will do very well in the UFC.  I’d love to see him vs. C.B. Dolloway. 
• I also think Nissen Osterneck impressed.  He looked very good and nearly finished Rosholt.  The UFC may have lost some in the disappointing performance of Filho, but they may have gained in additions to their roster in the likes of Rosholt and guys like Osterneck and Simpson who emerged from WEC 36 with more respect in the fight world. 
• Looks like Donald Cerrone will fight Jamie Varner for the title in January.  Razor Rob is done.

Results:

Mike Thomas Brown ded. Urijah Faber via TKO in round 1

Chael Sonnen def. Paulo Filho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 20-27)

Leonard Garcia def. Jens Pulver via TKO in Round 1

Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck via TKO in Round 2

Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-27)

Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan via KO in Round 1

Jose Aldo def. Jonathan Brookings via TKO in Round 3

Carmelo Marrero def. Steve Steinbess via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Danny Castillo def. Rafael Dias via TKO In Round 2

Rani Yayha def. Yoshiro Maeda via submission (guillotine choke) in Round 1

WEC 36 Preview and Predictions

Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen

This is a great fight with a great story line.  The two guys fought for the title last December and the fight ended in controversy.  Sonnen was winning the fight and suddenly Filho locked in an armbar.  Viewers could see the armbar was tight, Sonnen grimaced and even let out a scream.  The referre called a stop to the fight, but Sonnen thought it was unwarranted because he never tapped.  There was a lot of controversy concerning the stoppage, but Sonnen’s arm would have been broken if it wasn’t stopped.  This fight is a whole new fight.  Sonnen is no longer a huge underdog, although he probably is the underdog.  Filho is coming off of some serious personal issues including depression and drug rehab.  The fight vey well may be determined by Filho’s mental state.  Sonnen is no push over, he is a great wrestler with solid ground and pound skills.  He will have had a good training camp and plenty of time to prepare.  Filho ought to be ready to go.  Hopefully, he is back in the swing of things and has his problems straightened out. Following this fight both Filho and Sonnen should fight in the UFC with the WEC folding their middleweight divison along with their light heavyweight divison.  The two guys should contend for the belt right away win or lose here.  Filho has said he will not fight his good friend Anderson Silva and Anderson said the same.  Saddly, it looks like we will neve rsee the #1 vs. the #2 middleweights in the world.  Filho will be a solid competitor in the UFC.  I think a Sonnen vs. Silva match would be very interesting, but for Sonnen to get that match he has to win here.  This fight is hard to pick because Sonnen is improving so much and we do not know what Filho we will see.  My prediction may be risky, but I will pick Filho to win.  Why?  Because Filho is still the number 2 middleweight in the world.  I think that Filho will win by submission in round 2. 

Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown

This is another interesting fight that many are excited to see.  Some people think that Mike Brown could be a serious threat to Urijah Faber.  Faber very well could be Zuffa’s most dominant champion, and that is saying something when you consider guys like Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, and B.J. Penn have nearly cleaned out their respective divisons.  The reality is that Mike Brown is a big featherweight, he is very experienced and he is very well rounded.  He has fought in the UFC and many other places and has some good wins over guys like Jeff Curran and Yves Edwards.  Brown has good submissions, having won 11 of his 19 wins by submission, however he also seems suseptible to submissions.  All four of his wins he lost by submission.  Faber has also shown improvement.  His fight against Pulver showed incredible boxing skill.  In the end I think Faber is too well rounded.  I believe Brown could be a good fight, but Faber is the best featherweight in the world.  In the end I think Faber will hit him hard a few times.  I do not know if Brown can endure what Jens Pulver did for 5 rounds.  If it goes to the ground Faber is comofrtable there and not to mention crafty.  Either way I pick Urijah Faber to win by a rear naked choke after a few hard hits in round 3. 

Leonard Garcia vs. Jens Pulver

Both Pulver and Garcia enter the WEC featherweight divison via the UFC’s lightweight divison.  Pulver debuted in the WEC by winning quickly and easily over Cub Swanson.  That win earned him a shot at featherweight champ Urijah Faber.  While Faber dominated Jens, I gained respect for Pulver as he showed true toughness in that fight.  Garcia debuted with an impressive KO win over highly touted and top ten featherweight Hiroyuki Takaya.  Therefore, this makes a good fight.  Garcia may be a good fit at 145 lbs.  Pulver is certainly a good fit here.  The winner of this fight would certainly be once again at the top of the heap along with the winner of December 3rd’s featherweight clash between IFL champ Waggney Fabiano and Japanese fighter Akitoshi Tamaura and the winner of the Josh Grispi vs. Diego Nunes fight.  I do not know what the difference will be in this fight, but I will base my pick on the experience.  Pulver is very experienced.  He has fought better competiton and beaten better guys.  On paper Pulver has the far better resume.  I know that may not be the best way to pick a fight, but I think Pulver’s toughness will out last Garcia and Jens will win by unanimous decision. 

Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone

The winner of this fight will almost assuridly get the next title show against champ Jamie Varner.  “Razor” Rob McCullough is the former lightweight WEC champ, but he lost his title to Varner.  McCullough has not looked very good in his last few fights including a split deicsion win over Kenneth Alexander.  Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone looked very impressive in his debut over Danny Castillo.  He is 8-0 and I believe he will be a tough match for “Razor” Rob.  Cerrone has won all 8 of his fights by submission, so I am pretty sure he will want this fight on the ground.  If he can get McCullough down then the fight will be over.  If it stays standing, Rob could get a KO.  Judging by how bad McCullough looked in his last fight I will pick Cerrone to win by a submission in round 1. 

Jake Rosholt vs. Nissen Osterneck

The fight was originally supposed to be Rosholt vs. Danillo Vilefort.  Vilefort withdrew due to injury and Osterneck stepped in.  Both these guys are prospects.  Rosholt is more than justa  stand out college wrestler.  He is a 3 time divison I champion out of Oklahamoa State University and a 4 time All-American wrestler.  He may be one of the most decorated wrestlers to enter mixed martial arts.  Rosholt began training out of Xtreme Couture and has really stepped up his game and looked impressive.  He is expected to be a future contender.  We most likely will see him in the UFC in 2009.  I do think Osterneck poses some challenges in this fight and has great submission skills, but in the end I think Rosholt will use his wrestling to control the fight and work some ground and pound.  I pick Rosholt to win this fight by TKO in round 3. 

Carmello Marrero vs. Steve Steinbeiss

This fight has seemed doomed from the begining for Steinbeiss who has lost two opponents.  First he was supposed to fight up and comer Mark Munoz, but Munoz withdrew tih injury.  Then he was supposed to face TUF alum Alex Schouenauer who also withdrew with injury.  This might be good news for Steinbeiss who wants to be one of the 205ers moved over to the UFC.  Marrero is a UFC vet who went 1-2 posting losses to Wilson Gouveia and Gabriel Gonzaga, but he did score a win over Cheick Kongo.  This is a tough fight to call.  Marrero has good skills, but I look for Steinbeiss to win this one by decision.

 Quick Picks:

David Avellan vs. Aaron Simpson

Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Brookins

Danny Castillo vs. Rafael Dias

Rani Yayha vs. Yoshiro Maeda

WEC News: Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia at WEC 36

Leonard Garcia has had a tough year.  He has been arrested on drug chrages.  Those charges have since been dropped.  Garica looked great in his WEC featherweight debut against Hiroyuki Takaya and looks to get back and continue his climb into contention.  A win over Jens Pulver would put him right into the number one contender spot and set up a possible fight with WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber.  Pulver has struggled of late and is coming off of a loss to Faber.   Garcia today told MMAjunkie.com that he’s agreed to the bout, which could be finalized as early as this week.   This should be a good fight.

WEC 36 is shaping up to be a good fight as well.  It will air on VERSUS on September 10th.  The card will feature a middleweight title fight with Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen, which is a re-match of a previous fight that Sonnen feel was stopped too early.  Also, Urijah Faber willr eturn and defend his belt against Mike Brown.  Also, Jake Rosholt is expected to make his WEC debut on this card.  The WEC is putting on some great cards lately and is doing it with relativley few big name fighters.

What’s Next for Urijah Faber?

One question I want to know the answer to is what is next for “The California Kid” Urijah Faber following his strong performance against Jens Pulver.  Faber is by far the best featherweight in the world.  The question is who is he going to fight next.  He has beaten some good opponents in Jeff Curran and now Jens Pulver.  I think there are a couple of options for Faber. 

1.  He could stay in the featherweight divison of the WEC and keep defending his belt.  There are still a few guys he could beat, but I do not know who can compete with him seriously.  Perhaps Cub Swanson or someone else would make sense, but I don’t think it would be much of a fight.  I just don’t know what else he has to prove in the featherweight divison.  The only talent that can compete with him is not in the WEC.

2. He could move up to lightweight in the WEC.  He is big enough to do it and I think would do well.  I think he would destroy guys liek Rob McCullough or Jamei Varner. 

3.  He could move up to lightweight in the UFC.  He has said he would like to avenge his loss to Tyson Griffin, and Tyson is in the UFC.  That would be an interesting fight, which I suspect will be a reality sooner than later.   I would like to see how Faber would stack up against other UFC lightweights.  I think he would do just fine.  I think he could plow through the Roger Huerta’s of the UFC, but some guys would be tough for him.  A B.J. Penn fight would be a smash hit and huge draw from a marketing stand point, but that isn’t likely yet as Penn will probably next fight the Florian vs. Huerta winner and then move up to fight St. Pierre if he still has the belt. I don’t know the logistics of how it would work, but I look for the Faber vs. Griffin fight to happen and I suspect Faber would have to move up to 155 for one fight at least.  Perhaps by the end of the year the UFC will plan a interpromotional fight card with the WEC.  How would you like to see fights like…Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit, Brian Stann vs. Jackson/Liddell/Wanderlei, Faber vs. Tyson Griffin, Paulo Filho vs. Anderson Silva ??

4. He could do some inter promotional fights with other featherweights.  Perhaps a fight with Kid Yamamoto or another top featherweight. 

Faber is young and still has a lot of fight in him.  I don’t know who else he will fight.  To me Faber defending his belt against some other WEC opponent would be a let down from the huge Pulver fight.  Perhaps a Faber vs. Pulver II is possible, but Faber was so dominant that I cannot see the logic behind that.

My Thoughts on WEC 34

 

·         I thought that the show as a whole was very good.  In fact, I feel that it was a stark contrast to EliteXC on CBS Saturday.   The WEC card had little show and focused on the fights.  The fights were great and well worth watching.  All I can say is what a difference a day makes.

·         I thought the show started off a little slow.  The Rob McCullough fight was nothing special.  I really expected to see him come out and look for a knock out, but he didn’t at all.  In fact, I believe that the fight could have been judged for Alexander. 

·         Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the first three fights because they were slightly disappointing

·         However, when Miguel Torres and Yoshiro Maeda fought I was impressed.  That was an incredible fight.  It was technical, it had great striking, and it was action packed.  I was thrilled with that fight.  I predicted Torres to win that fight and I sure didn’t expect Maeda to be such a game opponent.  He has some great striking and one heck of a chin.  That eye sure did look messed up that caused the fight to be stopped!  Miguel Torres proved that he is the best bantamweight around and one of the best pounds for pound fighters in the world.  There will not be anyone who beats Torres at 135 any time soon.  I loved seeing the display of class in defeat from Maeda when he raised the hand in the air of the victorious Miguel Torres.

·         All I can about the Faber vs. Pulver fight is wow!  Perhaps that will be the fight of the year!  It was a five round war.  I have always thought Faber was good and dominant at 145, but now I think he is the most dominant champion around.  His name should be thrown around with Anderson Silva.  Jens Pulver was tougher than I expected.  He took an absolute beating and withstood it.  He would get rocked then just grin and press forward.  Urijah Faber showed he can do more than just ground and pound someone, he has awesome stand up and a powerful right hand, that I cannot believe did not knockout Pulver.  Jens Pulver showed some serious determination.  Also, how about how classy those guys handled themselves throughout the whole process.  They never trash talked, they had nothing but good to say about each other.  All I can say is Urijah Faber is dominant at Featherweight.  He is a top 5 pound for pound guy in the world.  I have no idea how he is only 145.  The question for everyone will be: what is next for Faber?  I don’t see the logic in staying at featherweight in the WEC, he will just keep winning.  He has mentioned the possibility of moving up to avenge his loss to Tyson Griffin.  Urijah Faber dominated the fight, but hats off to Pulver for his enduring a beating.  The guy’s right eye side of his face looked like E.T. when the fight was over.  I scored the fight 50-45, but it was a great fight and Pulver did well against the champ.  One thing is I don’t fully understand why Pulver didn’t utilize that powerful left hand more often.  It shows how awesome Urijah is.  I became a Faber fan last night.   The California Kid is an awesome fighter, well rounded and dominant at his size. 

 

MMA Live Episode Three

What a great show. I wish it would make it on television. Some good commentary here.  Kenny Florian is a pretty good T.V. personality.  He could stick with the UFC for a while and maybe take Rogan’s job.

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more about “MMA Live Episode Three“, posted with vodpod

 

My WEC 34 Predictions

Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver

This is being billed as the biggest fight in WEC history.  I think it is big, but it isn’t that big.  Urijah Faber is one of the stars of the WEC.  Jens Pulver is a near legend.  Urijah Faber is one of the best pound for pound guys in the world.  Jens Pulver has never lost at 145 lbs.  Urijah Faber has dominated the WEC featherweight divison.  Jens Pulver is a former 155 lb. champ.  I think Faber will prove to be too versatile and too much.  The edge goes to Faber because he trained for this fight with B.J. Penn.  Of course we know B.J. Penn recently beat Pulver.  Training with B.J. is a huge advantage because Faber can get advice from a guy who fought Pulver twice.  Pulver may be good and yes he looked good against Cub Swanson, but he isn’t Urijah Faber good.  I am excitied about this fight, but I have to pick Faber to win by submission is round 2. 

Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda

Miguel Torres has quickly become a MMA star.  He is mentioned as also one of the top pound for pound guys.  Maeda seems to be a solid fighter with a great record.  However, the time is now for Torres.  Miguel has an amazing record of 33-1.  This is his first title defense and I don’t expect him to lose it or for it to go to 5 rounds.  Torres is great on the ground.  I expect the height to be a huge advantage and for Torres to submit Maeda in round 3. 

Chuck Grigsby vs. Mark Munoz

Kenneth Alexander vs. Rob McCullough

Rob McCullough lost his belt and he wants it back.  The WEC has had some belt transitions as Doug Marshall, Rob McCullough, and Chase Bebee all lost their belts.  McCullough stands the best chance of getting his back.  I think he will come out and win by TKO or KO in round 1. 

Mike Brown vs. Jeff Curran

Curran is ranked as one of the best in his weight class.  Brown will give him a contest though. He is American Top trained and has beated some good fighters and has fought some of the best.  Curran would lose this, but I will pick Curran to win via unanimous decision.

Chase Beebe vs. Will Ribeiro

Ribeiro can KO people apparently, but I expect Beebe to win by unanimous decision.  He wants a re-match with Torres and will eventually get one.

Tim McKenzie vs. Jeremy Lang

Luis Sapo vs. Alex Serdyukov

Jose Aldo vs. Alexandre Nogueira

Dominick Cruz vs. Charlie Valencia

Fighting Organizations Rankings

I have ranked the organizations before, but here is the updated rankings of who has the best product.

1. UFC – Still the best of the best.  Has more ranked fighters by far.  Has the most recognizable names in the likes of Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Shogun, Wanderlei Silva, Rampage Jackson, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes and B.J. Penn.

2. Affliction – By far the best competitive heavyweight divison with Fedor, Tim Sylvia, Aleksander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Ben Rothwell, Pedro Rizzo and maybe Arlovski.  Not to mention Lindland, Whitehead and Babalu. 

3. WEC –  The WEC has some star power, but is in the UFC’s shadow majorly.  The growing featherweight divison will help them as will the bantamweight with star Miguel Torres.  Guys like Condit, Stann, Filho and Faber give WEC the name recognition.  WEC still seems to be the minor league UFC.  Their success will not come with the bigger fighters, but with lightweights, featherweights and bantamweights. 

4. EliteXC –  Their CBS deal will help them.  Kimbo can be a star.  They do great partnering with other promotions like Strikeforce and allowing guys to fight in DREAM. 

5. DREAM – DREAM 1-3 have been solid with solid fighters especially lightweights and middleweights. Has guys like Aoki and Ishida as well as Caol Uno and Kwajiri. Has other guys fight for them like Alvarez, Gilbert Melendez, JZ Calvancante, Diaz, Cro Cop, Jason Mayhem Miller, Manhoef, Denis Kang, Mark Hunt, Jacare, Kid Yamamoto, Sakurai and Hansen. 

6. Strikeforce – They have a few good fighters which helps them greatly.  They have Thomson, Le and Melendez

7. World Victory Road –  They don’t have an American appeal, but they do have Gomi and some other solid Japanese fighters.  Also they have Kazuo Misaki, Kevin Randlemen, Jeff Monson, and Nick Thompson

WEC News, Rumblings and Predictions

This is a good fight on paper.  The card would have been much better with the Sonnen vs. Filho II fight on it.  I am looking forward to this fight, it has been billed as a good guy vs. bad guy fight.  On one side you have the champ, Doug “Rhino” Marshall.  He talks a lot of talk, he has a foul mouth and he looks the bad guy part.  On the other side you have an army veteran, the “All American” Brian Stann.  I am not going to pull any punches, I am rooting for Stann.  I think he could be a great MMA fighter, especialyl if he has any ground game.  Marshall may never find out.  I am predicting a round 1 TKO for Stann.  He is a potential star, and a win for Stann translates to $$$ for the WEC. 

     Today it was announced that June would be the date for the Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver fight.  Also they announced a Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia bantamweight title fight.  I am lookign forward to that card.  Torres really impressed me against Beebe.  He is 33-1.  I think he could dominate that divison and then move up and beat Faber.  The Faber vs. Pulver fight will be good.  Pulver I thought was done in MMA and then he comes and beat Cub Swanson quickly.  Faber is the man and the face of his division.  I will root for and pick Faber and Torres to retain their belts.   

       I also wonder what other title defenses will come.  When will Paulo Filho get it together and come out of rehab ready to fight?  Who will he fight?  I would say Filho will be offered the winner of the Sonnen vs. Baker fight tonight, which I am not counting out Baker to win.  Who will Jamie Varner face in his first title defense?  My bet would be a re-match with Rob McCullough.  I think Razor Rob is a better fighter than Varner and will get the belt back eventually.  Who will Carlos Condit next fight?  Heaven knows, he is awesome.  The WEC has done well and have 4 or 5 stars in Faber, Torres, Filho, Stann, and Condit.  The WEC is better off when these guys win.  I’d still like to see some of them against the best in the UFC, especially Condit and Filho.  If Faber could move to 155, he could be a great UFC fighter. 

UFC’s Competition

I have been critical of Dana White’ abilitiy to sign the free agents in the MMA world.  I think the bottom line is that Dana is unwilling to bend.  I just heard that Jacare, an excellent jiu-jitsu guy signed with DREAM.  The negotions broke down with the UFC because Dana felt they wanted too much money.  Maybe he is right, but nevertheless Jacare is now in a competitong organization.  Furthermore, it seems the UFC fails to sign top notch fighters especailly Japanese guys like Ishida, Ayoki or Sakurai.  There are other top level fighters that the UFC couldn’t sign.  Worse than that there are several top tier guys I don’t know if the UFC even cares about (Jakes Shields, JZ Calvancante, Gilbert Melendez).  He won’t sign Fedor.  He won’t sign Lindand.  In my opinion UFC will never be a monopoly and has some serious competition. With some of the internal problems and some of the UFC stars upset we could see another organization become the “big dog” in MMA.  In my opinion here is UFC’s biggest competitors.

1. EliteXC.  Dana’s feud with Shaw hasn’t helped.  Shaw is a much more typical commissioner than White.  The CBS deal will bring them in a lot of viewers, but will also help all MMA.  They have some stars in EliteXC (Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Cung Le, Robbie Lawler). They are willing to take chances as seen by the future star Kimbo Slice.  They offered Fedor, and may get him.

2. WEC – I know it is Zuffa owned, but they have some great fighters that the UFC should bring over to the UFC.  I don’t know why you have another organization with top level fighters.  They have some great guys that would translate well anywhere (Paulo Filho, Carlos Condit, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Doug Marshall, Brian Stann, Rob McCullough, Jamie Varner, Chael Sonnen, Leonard Garcia and Jens Pulver)

3. DREAM – Not much competition now, but has some good fighters (Sakurai, Cro Cop, Calvancanti, Ishida, Aoki, Denis Kang, Yamamoto, Joachim Hansen, Eddie Alvarez and Mark Hunt).  The American market is next to nothing though.

4. World Victory Road — Josh Barnett and Takanori Gomi enough said.  A few more big names and they have something good.

5. Strikeforce.  Not great competition, but still have a few guys any monopoly would want (Frank Shamrock, Josh Thompson and Gilbert Melendez)

6. ICON.  They have Jason “Mayhem” Miller and a future star in Kala Hose.

 Right now the UFC is doing fine.  They have a few competitors, but they are still the big leagues.  They have the best fighters.  Some divisions they are better than others.  For example at Light Heavyweight they have a near monopoly and at welterweight they are doing pretty well.  There are several key free agents out there (Fedor, Arlovski, Couture).  If EliteXC or someone else picks up the other guys they can really compete.

The effect of the Ultimate Fighter on the UFC

There is a lot of talk about which UFC divison is the stongest.  I have discussed my opinion before, but I was curious which divison has been best bolstered by TUF. Below I listed each current UFC fighter and their current divison.  Some guys have fought in the UFC and left for other organizations so I did not include them.  Some guys have fought at one weight and dropped down recently like Michael Bisping.  I made my decison based not solely on numer of fighters, but quality fighters and number of contenders in the divison from TUF. Here is my evaluation…

The least bolstered is the Heavyweight divison, because there are no current UFC TUF alumni in that divison.  Evans and Jardine comepeted in Heavyweight and then dropped to lightheavyweight.

The fourth most bolstered is the middleweight divison.  There are 11 TUF alums in the middleweight divison currently and none are real contenders right now.  You have a bunch of second tier guys in: Travis Lutter, Ed Herman, Kendall Grove, Nate Quarry and Patrick Cote.  Some of those guys are close to breaking through to contender levels.  I would say your most succesful guy has been Chris Leben and I believe Michael Bisping will be a contender, but contender is a tough word in a divison where Anderson Silva owns the belt.  I don’t think these guys could beat the top 4 or 5 in that divison.

The third best divison is the lightheavyweight divison.  However, these five guys are all above average guys.  I consider three of them legit contenders in the divison (Griffin, Jardine and Evans) and I consider Bonnar and Hamill the best of the second tier guys.  Bonnar and Hamill are slated to fight in April, the winner will become a serious contender threat and break into the top 12 in that divison.  I put them below the others sheerly because they don’t have as many alums in the divison now.

To be honest the second and first was a toss up between the welterweight and lightweight divisons who have both benefited from TUF competitors dropping to their weight classes.  Here are my arguments for both.  The welterweight divison has a champ in Matt Serra.  Also one could argue that they have 2 other top five fighters in Koscheck and Sanchez, making TUF alums 3 of the top five in that divison.  If you throw Marcus Davis, who is a serious contender is the mix you have some good fighters, not to mention guys like Mike Swick who have just dropped down.  The jury is still out on the TUF 6 guys.  We will have to wait and see who will stick around the welterweigh divison.  I look for Speer, Sotiropplous, and Arroyo to make a little splash. 

The lightweight divison has the most TUF alums by far.  Obviously, Joe Stevenson has been the most successful and could get a title shot.  They also have another top five guy in their divison in Kenny Florian.  Joe Lauzon is set to fight Kenny and could move into seriosu contention if he pulls out a win.  I wouldn’t overlook guys like Mac Danzig, Nate Diaz, Cole Miller, Manny Gamburyan or Gray Maynard.  Din Thomas has proven himself well and Rich Clementi and Jorge Gurgel are no scrubs.

If you made me pick the most benefited from TUF I would say the lightweights, with the welterweights close behind.  It is kind of interesting to note that in 2008 at least 3 guys from TUF will get a title crack (Serra, Stevenson, and Griffin) and possibly more. 

TUF will continue to have an impact on the UFC for the good.  They hope to help out the middleweight divison, but likely good welterweights will bulk up to get on the show and the best of the next season will help the welterweight divison most.  In my opinion, they need to help out the middleweight, but in order to do so the show has to feature light heavyweights.  I look forward to see the new twists and turns of TUF 7, and to see the impact of the future TUF alumni on the UFC.  Ultimate Fighter has been Dana White’s best move and he admits is helped the UFC greatly.

Heavyweights:

None!

Light Heavyweights

• Stephan Bonnar
• Forrest Griffin
• Keith Jardine*
• Rashad Evans*
• Matt Hamill

Middleweights

• Chris Leben
• Nate Quarry
• Michael Bisping
• Ed Herman
• Kalib Starnes
• Kendall Grove
• Rory Singer
• Travis Lutter
• Charles McCarthy
• Pete Sell
• Patrick Cote

Welterweights

• Diego Sanchez*
• Josh Kosheck*
• Mike Swick*
• Josh Burkman
• Luke Cummo
• Marcus Davis
• Matt Serra
• Chris Lytle
• Tommy Speer
• George Sotiropolous
• Matt Arroyo

Lightweights

• Kenny Florian**
• Joe Stevenson*
• Jorge Gurgel*
• Melvin Guillard*
• Rich Clementi*
• Din Thomas*
• Gray Maynard
• Matt Wiman
• Joe Lauzon
• Rob Emerson
• Corey Hill
• Nate Diaz
• Manny Gamburyan
• Cole Miller
• Mac Danzig*

*Is now fighting in a different divison than he competed in under TUF

What to expect in MMA in ’08

• I expect to see new title holders in every division but one and that is the middleweight.  All though Anderson could be challenged by Dan Henderson.  My picks for the title holders: Nogueira, Not sure about lightheavyweight, Anderson Silva, St. Pierre, and B.J. Penn.
• I expect to see a few more fighters signed to UFC contracts.  Highlighting the list: Matt Lindland, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields, and some other big name surprise
• I expect TUF to be a disappointment with Rampage Jackson getting a lot of camera time saying his crazy off the wall things
• I expect the middleweight division to get tougher
• I expect a few UFC stars to retire (Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin)
• I expect Sean Sherk to get another title shot, but B.J. Penn to beat him badly
• I expect the light heavyweight division to get crazier with guys like Machdia, Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans, and Shogun in the title mix.
• I expect Chuck Liddell to avenge his loss to Keith Jardine by summer
• I expect that Shogun is still only one fight away from a title shot, I think that my top ten in the lightheavyweight at the top ten at light heavyweight, perhaps not in that order.
• I expect Dan Henderson to try Anderson Silva like he hasn’t been tried in a while
• I expect Jon Fitch, Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk, Roger Huerta, Matt Lindland, and either Arlovski or Cro Cop to get a title shot. 
• I expect the former PRIDE guys to turn it around in the octagon
• I expect another solid fight from Wanderlai Silva, can you say rematch?
• I expect the Fedor vs. Randy fight to happen
• I expect other organizations to become more of a competition to the UFC
• I expect Dana White to say many more expletives on national television
• I expect TUF alums to suceed this year even more
• I expect Diego Sanchez to drop to lightweight
• I expect Brock Lesnar to be a middle of the road fighter
• I expect Brandon Vera to drop to lightheavyweight
• I expect Bisping to cry when he gets beat in middleweight
• I expect Tito to loose in the Apprentice

WEC fighters

I have to believe that next to the UFC the WEC has the best fighters.  They have 10 guys that are great fighters.  I wonder how would the WEC stars stack up against UFC stars.  Let us look at the title holders and see where they would rank in their perspective divisions.

Light Heavyweight Champ Doug Marshall

I don’t think Marshall could contend in the UFC at the light heavyweight divison.  He is a good fighter and seems to have to problems holding his WEC belt, but he would maybe be a #15 rank at UFC.  He would be in the mix of that deep division, but he would start way back and have to prove himself.  I don’t see him being able to beat people like Jackson, Griffin, Shogun, Liddell, Silva, Machida, Alexander, Sokodjou.  He may be able to match well with a Jardine like guy.  He could have a good night against any of the above, but overall I would rank him as a Bisping level light heavyweight, which isn’t bad.

Middleweight Champ Paulo Filho

Some have argued for Paulo Filho to be the best Middleweight in the world even ahead fo Anderson Silva.  The two are great friends and I know they are hesitant to fight, but I would love to see them fight.  I believe Filho would get an immediate title shot in the UFC and win, loose or draw is a top two middleweight in the UFC, with Rich Franklin still a ways off.  I was disappointed with Filho’s last win.  He looked unimpressive, especailly standing.  I have no problem with that fight beign called. Sonnen’s arm was going to break otherwise.  Nevertheless, Filho pulled out a win.  He is the WEC fighter that could really contend in the UFC, and maybe the best guy in the world to challenge Anderson Silva for the title. 

Welterweight Champ Carlos Condit

“The Natural Born Killer”.  Condit is good.  How good?  I am not sure.  I do believe he would be okay in the UFC.  I don’t believe his time to shine would be instant.  He would right now rank at 7 or 8 in the UFC welterweight divison, which is deep.  He would be behind: Hughes, St. Pierre, Serra, Fitch, Parisyan, and Koscheck.  Perhaps him and Diego Sanchez would be a good match up.  I place him on Diego’s level, maybe with a slight edge going to Condit.  He will only improve.  I’d lvoe to see him in the UFC

Lightweight Champ Rob Mccullough

Least likely of all the champs to contend I think. The “razor” is good, and dominates WEC.  He woukd be a top ten, but barely.  I don’t see him being able to beat a Sherk, Penn or Stevenson.  Really I don;t see him beating  an Edgar, Lauzon, Thomas or Franca.  He is exciting to watch though and he can pack a punch. 

Featherweight Champ Urijah Faber

Faber is the star and face of the WEC.  The WEC needs Faber to do well.  The UFC has no 145 division.  I wonder if Faber could move up to 155.  If so I believe he would be a seriosu contender in the UFC.  I think he is that good.  He is the one guy the WEC can’t affor to lose.  The other option is for the UFC to make a 145 lb division.  Assume with me that you start it with some of the WEC stars and you alread have a strong 3-5 fighters.  Perhaps have Faber, Pulver, Swanson, Curran, Micah Miller, and Chase Beebee.  If I was Dana White I would be seeing green with that idea.  The UFC and WEC are not necesarily competitors as both are Zuffa owned, but Dana should see the Faber market and find a way to get him to the UFC.

Bantaweight Champ Chase Bebee

The same as above, his only hope for UFC would  be to add serious weight and go to 155 or to jump to 145 if the UFC started a featherweight division.  I believe Chase could do well.  Faber good?  Maybe not, but he is a fighter and will not quit.  I like Chase, he will hold the bantaweight title for a while.

 Yes, some of the WEC fighters can content in the UFC, but I think the UFC is still superior.  I believe Jen Pulver is case in point.  I thought Cub Swanson was going to make quick work of Pulver, but it happened the other way around.  Perhaps Swanson got caught and Pulver got lucky, or perhaps that shows what an average UFC fighter can do in another place. 

Since I am full of suggestions to Dana White, I think it would be cool to have one whole UFC fight card called “UFC vs. WEC”  Put the champs against the champs.  Offer big contracts to WEC fighters who can take the belt.  I would go nuts over such a card.  In addition you could try Faber against one of the UFC’s best lightweights…vision the card with me for a second…

Rampage Jackson vs Doug “Rhino” Marshall

Anderson Silva vs Paulo Filho

Hughes/St. Pierre vs Carlos Condit

Penn/Stevenson vs Rob McCullough

Sherk, Penn or Stevenson vs Urijah Faber

Dana, if you need to hire a guy full of idea that will make your wallet fat, just drop me a line. 

UFC Fighter Rankings

Where do fighters rank in the UFC?  I’ve seen all sorts of thoughts on rankings, so I will chime in and give my rankings, which of course are the best and most accurate.  I am using a few guidelines.

• This is strictly UFC, not including fighters not yet signed in UFC from Pride.  For example, Fedor would be on or near the top of the Heavyweight rankings, but he is yet to sign so he is not included
• This is based not on popularity or even record, but purely on who I perceive to be the best fighters
• I am putting the title holders at number one in each weight class, even though they might not be the best in that class, for example, I would not have Matt Serra as the best fighter in his class, but he is the belt holder.
• Some fighters are rising quickly and others are falling quickly (i.e. Tito and Cro Cop)

HEAVYWEIGHTS

1. Randy “The Natural” Couture

2. Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski

3. Gabriel Gonzaga

4. Cheick Kongo

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

6. Tim Sylvia

7. Mirko “Cro Cop”

8. Brandon Vera

9. Frank Mir

10. Jeff Monson 

11. Heath Herring

12. Fabricio Werdum

13. Assuerio Silva

(Note: Fedor, Josh Barnett, and even Aleksander Emelianko may have made the list had they signed. )

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

1. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

3. Dan Henderson

4. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell

5. Wandelai Silva

6. Rashad Evans

7. Houston Alexander

8. Tito Ortiz

9. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine

10. Forrest Griffin

11. Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira

12. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill

13. Micael Bisping

14. Ryoto Machida

15. Jason Lambert

16. Stephan Bonnar

17. Renato “Babalu” Sorbal

18. Wilson Gouveia

19. Marvin Eastman

(Note: I put Hamill above Bisping because I believe he beat Bisping in their fight.  Even though Bisping got the win, Hammil looked better.)

MIDDLEWEIGHT:

1. Anderson Silva

2. Rich Franklin

3. Yushim Okami

4. Terry Martin

5. Nate Marquardt

6. Dan Henderson

7. Jason MacDonald

8. Patrick Cote 

9. Kalib Starnes

10. Chris Leben

11. Martin Kampmann

12. Thales Leites

13. Ivan Salaverry

14. Nate “Rock” Quarry

15. Evan Tanner

16. Kendall Grove

17. Ed Herman

18. Travis Lutter

19. Dean Lister

20. Alessio Sakara

WELTERWEIGHT:

1. Matt Serra

2. Georges St. Pierre

3. Matt Hughes

4. Diego Sanchez

5. Karo Parisyan

6. Josh Koschek

7. Jon Fitch

8. B.J. Penn

9. Marcus Davis

10. Mike Swick

11. Thiago Alves

12. Josh Burkman

13. Luigi Fioravanti

14. Nick Diaz

15. Chris Lytle

16. Edilberto “Crocota” de Oliveira

17. Jonathan Goulet

LIGHTWEIGHT:

1.  Sean Sherk

2. B.J. Penn

3. Joe “Daddy” Stevenson

4. Roger Huerta

5. Kenny Florian

6. Hermes Franca

7. Nick Diaz

8. Joe Lauzon

9.  Din Thomas

10. Marcus Davis

11. Clay Guida

12. Spencer Fisher

13. Frank Edgar

14. Melvin Guillard

15. Drew Fickett

16. Kurt Pellegrino

17. Terry Etim

18. Tyson Griffin

19. Marcus Aurelio

20. Sam Stout

21. Tiago Tavares

22. Nate Diaz

(Note: I listed to 22 because there are so many quality fighters and the last 12-15 of these guys are not far from one another in ranking,  Some rankings have my number 19 Marcus Aurelio much higher, but come on, whose he gonna bump down?)

 Let the disputing begin.  I’d love to hear comments.  Perhaps I left someone off included someone I shouldn’t have.  Perhaps I have someone overrated or another underrated.  Let me know what you think.