This Week In MMA

 ·         UFC Fight Night 16: Fight For the Troops – Wednesday, December 10^th

This event is a special bonus for fight fans.  Also, it is a stand up gesture by the UFC.  Say what you want about Dana White and the UFC, but no other fight organizations show the benevolence that the UFC does.  The goal of these fights is to raise money for the Intrepid Fallen heroes Fund.  Click here to find out more or to make donations.  Not only is it a good cause, but there are several good fights.  We will see stars such as Josh Ksocheck, Mike Swick, Matt Wiman, Jim Miller, WEC champ Steve Cantwell, and Luigi Fiorvanti.  Tune in to SPIKE on Wednesday Night to watch this event. 

o   Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

o   Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet

o   Matt Wiman vs. Jim Miller

o   Steve Cantwell vs. Razak Al-Hussan

o   Liugi Fioravanti vs. Brodie Farber

o   Nate Loughran vs. Tim Credeur

o   Steve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees

o   Eddie Sanchez vs. Justin McCully

o   Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolff

o   Corey Hill vs. Dale Hartt

·         Adrenaline MMA 2 – Thursday, December 11

Some good fights on tap here.  The biggest enw may be the return of legend, Pat Miletich against Thomas Denny.  Also in action will be former IFL Heavyweight champ Ben Rothwell, rising Heavyweight star Mike Russow and several other notable fighters. 

o   Pat Miletich vs. Thomas Denny

o   Ben Rothwell vs. Chris Guillen

o   Mike Russow vs. Branden Bice

o   LC Davis vs. Billy Kidd

o   Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Derrick Mehmen

o   Gabe Lemley vs. Dan Loman

o   Ryan McGivern vs. Geno Roderick

o   Pat Curran vs. Ramiro “Junior” Hernandez

o   Jesse Lennox vs. Ryan Williams

·         Mixed Fighting Alliance – Saturday, December 13

This boasts a solid main event between two heavyweight legends in Monson and Rodriquez.  The big news will be the debut of WWE star Bobby Lashley.  The question will be can he do what Lesnar has done? 

o   Jeff Monson vs. Ricco Rodriquez

o   Bobby Lashley vs. Joshua Franklin

o   Ariel Grandulla vs. David Baggett

·         The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale – Saturday, December 13^th                   

I do not know of another TUF finale that I have been so excited about.  This season has all the 16 cast members fighting on this card.  Two exciting finals and two exciting bouts of non TUF cast members in Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia and a re-match between Kevin Burns and Anthony Johnson.

o   Ryan Bader vs. Vinny Magalhes

o   Phillipe Nover vs. Efrain Escudero

o   Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia

o   Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns

o   Junie Allen Browning vs. Dave Kaplan

o   Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Shane Primm

o   Eliot Marshall vs. Jules Bruchez

o   Kyle Kingsbury vs. Tom Lawlor

o   Shane Nelson vs. George Roop

o   Rolando Delgado vs. John Polakowski

 

 

My UFC Fights for The Troops Preview and Predictions

Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Koscheck is the obvious favorite here, but there has been a lot of drama in his life recently. Koscheck is coming off of a loss to Thiago Silva at UFC 90.  Also, there is all the drama that has been going on at AKA.  Koscheck apparently is right in the middle and will not sign the agreement.  Franklin McNeil, on MMA Live, speculated that this could be Koscheck’s last UFC fight win or loose.  I don’t know about that, but I do know he may have some distractions.  That has to affect him.  If it wasn’t for that I would clearly pick Kos to win.  Yoshida may be a good pick for some of our risky betters out there.  Yoshida is a well roudned fighter who looked very good against War Machine in his debut.  Yoshida is a solid judoka with well rounded MMA skills.  Koscheck is a wretler first, but has much improved striking skills.  Which Koscheck will we see?  There is a part of me which wants to pick Yoshida to win this fight, and he very well could, but the safe pick is still Koscheck.  I will pick Koscheck to win by unaimous decision.

Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet

Goulet has looked better lately than he had before.  However, his lasts two wins came over Kuniyoshi Hironaka and Paul Georgieff.  He has a career 4-3 record in the UFC.  Goulet is a decent fighter who can be very aggressive, however Mike Swick is a legit top ten welterweight and could climb higher.  I do not expect Swick to fall of the horse against Goulet.  When it comes down to it I think Swick is better all around and I think he will take this fight by TKO in round 2.

 Matt Wiman vs. Jim Miller

The original fight was slated to be Wiman vs. Frank Edgar, however last week Edgar was forced to withdraw due to an injury.  Jim Miller is a solid replacement that many feel could really climb into elite status in the UFC.  Miller is a gamer.  He steps in on little notice against a very good opponent in Matt Wiman.  A lot of people forget that Wiman is 4-0 since coming off of The Ultimate Fighter Season 5.  Guys like Maynard, Diaz, and Lauzon have gotten all the attention from that season of TUF, but Wiman is right there with them.  This is a tough fight to pick.  Miller ought to have better wrestling and better jiu jitsu than Wiman.  Whereas Wiman ought to have better striking skills.  When it comes down to it one of the questions would have to be Miller’s cardio in stepping in near last minute.  Will it be a factor?  I see this as a tough fight between two guys climbing the ladder at 155.  In the end I think Miller wins it by decision.  However, watch for the submission and watch Wiman’s hands.

Steve Cantwell vs. Razak Al-Hussan

Cantwell is young and very underrated.  He was not expected to beat Stann in their second fight, but I have to believe that Cantwell got on the radar with his win over Stann.  Cantwell has great striking skills.  Cantwell appears to be fairly versatile as a fighter.  I have a feeling that this fight will stay standing and that Cantwell will win by TKO in round 1.

Nate Loughran vs. Tim Credeur

Nate Loughran is 1-0 in the UFC, with his win coming over Johnny Rees.  Loughran also boasts a 9-0 career record.  However, he is stepping in against a solid veteran in Tim Credeur.  Credeur did very will on the Ultimate Fighter 7, loosing twice in the semi-finals to Jesse Taylor and C.B. Dolloway.  Credeur is best known for his very good ground skills.  Loughran also has some ground skills, 8 of his 9 wins have come by way of submission.  I look for this fight to eventually hit the ground and to become very technical.   I look for Credeur to win by submission in round 2.

Luigi Fiorvanti vs. Brodie Farber

The military fans love Luigi Fiorvanti, the ex-marine.  Fiorvanti is coming off of a disappointing loss to Diego Sanchez.  Farber is also coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Rory Markham.  It appeared Farber was about to finish Markham off when Markham landed a head kick that KO’d Farber is highlight reel fashion.  I think Fraber is a solid fighter.  The loser of this fight very well could be out of the UFC.   I really think that Luigi will come pumped and ready to win for the fans at this one.  That is why I think that Fiorvanti wins this win by TKO in round 2.

Steve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees

Steve Bruno, who trains out of American Top Team is 0-1 in the UFC, with his loss coming to Chris Wilson.  Rees is also 0-1 in the UFC losing his bout to Nate Loughran.  This is another bout of the loser leaves the UFC.  Therefore, I pick Steve Bruno to win by decision.

Eddie Sanchez vs. Justin McCully

Sanchez will want this fight to stay standing.  McCully may just want to stand and trade as well.  If it stays on its feet I really expect Sanchez to pull out a win by KO or TKO and that is what I think will happen. 

Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolff

Wolff is a highly regarded fighter.  Saunder is a solid fighter and TUF 6 alum.  These guys could really go at it on Wednesday.  In the end I pick Wolff to win by decision.

Corey Hill vs. Dale Hartt

Corey Hill was expected to be a very good fighter and that is why the UFC has kept him around despite his inexperience.  He has no ground game, but he does have great Muay Thai.  The loser of this fight will be sent packing from the UFC.   I think Hill’s size will be the difference.  Corey Hill by TKO in round 1. 

MMABlog’s Heavyweight MMA Rankings

 

Below I posted my heavyweight rankings.  My other rankings will be posted today as well.  Certainly the rankings could change a litte bit following UFC 90.  I’d love to hear your debate and arguments as these rankings are somewhat subjective.

 

Rank	Name	Organization	Next Fight
1	Fedor Emelianenko	Affliction	Arlovski (#4) 1/24
2	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	UFC	Mir (#11), 12/27
3	Randy Couture	UFC	Lesnar (#16), 11/15
4	Andrei Arlovski	Affliction	Emelianenko (#1) 1/24
5	Josh Barnett	Affliction	1/24
6	Fabricio Werdum	UFC	Do Santos (NR), 10/25
7	Gabriel Gonzaga	UFC	Hendricks (NR), 11/15
8	Tim Sylvia	Afliction
9	Alistair Overeem	DREAM/Strikeforce
10	Cheick Kongo	UFC	Al Turk (NR), 12/27
11	Frank Mir	UFC	Nogueira (#2) , 12/27
12	Ben Rothwell	Affliction
13	Aleksander Emelianenko	Affliction
14	Mirko Cro Cop	DREAM
15	Sergei Kharitonov	DREAM
16	Brock Lesnar	UFC	Couture (#3), 11/15
17	Roy Nelson	Affliction
18	Cain Velasquez	UFC
19	Antonio Silva	EliteXC?
20	Shane Carwin	UFC
21	Heath Herring	UFC
22	Dave Herman	EliteXC?
23	Pedro Rizzo	Affliction?
24	Brett Rogers	EliteXC?
25	Ricco Rodriquez	EliteXC?

My UFC 86 Thoughts and Recap

Quick Results:

Forrest Griffin def. Quinton Rampage Jackson

Patrick Cote def. Ricardo Almeida by split decision

Joe Stevenson def. Gleison Tibau by Gulliotine Choke

Josh Koscheck def. Chris Lytle by Unanimous Decision

Tyson Griffin def. Marcus Aurelio by Unanimous Decision

Gabriel Gonzaga def. Justin McCully by Submission (Kimura)

Melvin Guillard def. Denis Siver by TKO

Cole Miller def. Jorge Gurgel by Submission

Justin Buchholtz def. Corey Hill by Submission

My Thoughts:

• Let me first say that UFC 86 was disappointing to me.  I understand the main event was a great fight in many people’s minds, but it disappointed me.  Furthermore, I was highly disappointed with the other fight that was so hyped in Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida
• Congratulations to the new Light Heavyweight Champion, Forrest Griffin.  I slammed him the whole time.  I said constantly he was not the number one contender over and over again. He fought well against Jackson.  I do not know how long he can retain the belt, but I give him credit.
• I do not like to see someone’s belt taken over a very close decision fight.  That decision could have easily gone the other way.  To be honest I thought it was a draw or slightly to Rampage.  Here is how I scored it: Round 1 (10-9 Jackson) Round 2 (10-8 Griffin) Round 3 (10-9 Jackson) Round 4 (10-9 Jackson) Round 5 (10-9 Griffin) Total: 47-47 Draw
• Rampage showed he has no ground game and that will be a problem against some guys.  Although the majority of the light heavyweights would rather stand and bang anyways. 
• Forrest had great heart and a great game plan, utilizing those leg kicks which won the fight in the judge’s minds
• While Forrest was the underdog he was the crowd favorite and the announcer favorite.  That biased commentary made me mad.  My impression of Joe Rogan, “Oh man, did you see how Forrest hit Rampage’s fist with his head, he must have learned that from Randy.”
• I will be ticked if they give Cote a title shot.  He didn’t deserve to win.  I also had that fight going differently than the judges. 
• I was not overly impressed with Almeida outside of round 1 and was never impressed with Patrick Cote
• Find a different contender, you still have Okami, but also you have the likes of Bisping, Kampmann, etc. 
• Joe Stevenson looked strong against a very game Gleison Tibau.  Tibau had Stevenson locked up in round 1 and was winning the fight when Joe submitted him.  That’s part of the game.  Joe is a class act and I am glad “Daddy” won.   He showed he is a top level lightweight
• Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle was my fight of the night.  Koscheck looked great.   I know everyone is down on Koscheck and I am not a fan, but he is talented.  Why boo the dude after he put on a great fight?  Lytle is a warrior as that cut was huge.  Koscheck is a top 5 welterweight and solidified that at UFC 86.
• Tyson Griffin keeps getting better.  He still needs to finish, but he looked very, very good.  Griffin may be near the top of the lightweight ranks.
• Melvin Guillard destroyed Dennis Siver and that KO was vicious.   siver needs to be dropped by the UFC.

 

 

 

My Fight Of the Night: Jush Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle

UFC Fight Of The Night: Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin

My Knockout Of The Night: Melvin Guillard

UFC Knockout Of The Night: Melvin Guillard

My Submission Of The Night: Cole Miller

UFC Submission Of The Night: Cole Miller

UFC 86 Discussion

Hey this is MMAblog’s official UFC 86 discussion.  Please post comments and predictions.  Let me give my picks and you can debate me or rub it in my face if I am wrong…

My Quick Picks:

• Jackson
• Almeida
• Koscheck
• Griffin
• Stevenson
• Gonzaga
• Guillard
• Miller
• Hill

Also, you can sign up and make predictions at www.mmapredictions.com or fantasy picks at www.ufc.com

UFC 86 Weigh In Video

Watch the official UFC 86 weigh ins here. Beware of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s scratch n’ sniff underwear.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “UFC 86 Weigh In Video“, posted with vodpod

 

My UFC 86 Predictions

Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin 

This match has been a long time in the waiting.  Jackson is clearly the favorite going into this fight.  I believe that Jackson is a better all around fighter than Forrest is, however on any given night a guy like Forrest can beat a better guy (as he did against Shogun).  I think the countdown to UFC 86 got it right when the compared Forrest to Rocky Balboa, a guy who has done very well and has exceeded his skill set.  Forrest is tough as nails and he trains harder than anyone in the sport.  Rampage has knockout power and he is not afraid to slam someone.  There are several story lines going into this fight.  Many people will talk about the rivalry being developed through season 7 of the Ultimate Fighter.  Many will talk about how Forrest beat Shogun and Shogun beat Rampage.  Many will talk about Wanderlei Silva helping Forrest prepare for Rampage since Wanderlei has two wins over Jackson.  There wil be a ton of people rooting for Forrest in this fight.  When all is said and done though I do not think that Forrest is as good of a fighter as Ramapge.  He could win, I am not counting him out, but the odds on favorite has to be Rampage and to pick against him in this fight as far as I am concerned would be silly.  I do not know how this fight will go.  It could end quickly with a KO or it could go the distance.  Nevertheless I am picking Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to win via TKO in round 3. 

Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote

Patrick Cote is a solid fighter who has impressed as of late.  He looks renewed and he has shown some skills since The Ultimate Fighter 4.  This fight as being billed as the winner gets a title shot.  Of course I believe they need to move in line behind Yushin Okami, but I would agree that the winner here could be justified as a top 5 middleweight.  There is no secret to these fighter’s strengths.  Cote excells standing up and can knock anyone out with one punch.  Ricardo Almeida is a ground wiz.  He is one of the best ji jitsu guys in MMA.  He has beaten great ground fighters like Nate Marquardt.  My question for Almeida is going to be in regards to how he will continue to do since coming out of retirement.  Alemida just quit MMA at his prime.  He was doing great and then quit.  He then returned at UFC 81 with a win over Rob Yundt.  Almeida moved from the undecard to co-main event after one fight.  I have no problem with that as I feel Almeida is great.  Since losing to Travis Lutter at the TUF 4 Finale, Patrick Cote has reeled off impressive wins over Scott Smith, Jason Day, Kendall Grove, and Drew McFedries.  That isn’t too bad, and it shows why Cote is in title contention.  Although separated by several yeats Almeida comes into this fight with a 7 fight win streak.  Including wins over Nate Marquardt, Ryo Chonan, and Kazuo Misaki.  Misaki and Marquardt are considered by many to be top ten mdidleweights and Chonan isn’t too shabby either.  This is a classic ground fighter versus stand up fighter fight.  If Almeida gets this to the ground Cote may be in trouble.  I have a feeling Almeida has worked hard on take downs and I am sure Cote has worked hard on take down defense.  I think this fight will not last past round 1.  It will either end with a Cote KO or Almeida submission.  I think Almeida’a experience will pay off and he will be able to take Cote down and submit him.  I pick Ricardo Almeida by submission in round 1. 

Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau

Following Joe Stevenson’s fight with B.J. Penn many people forgot about Joe Stevenson as a contender in the lightweight divison.  Let’s not forget that Stevenson is a top notch fighter.  He is a tough dude, who didn’t do too badly against B.J. Penn. Tibau is 3-2 in the UFC with his losses coming to Nick Diaz and Tyson Griffin.  Tibau is a good fighter, but I do not know if he is on Joe “Daddy” level.  Joe has some quality wins in the UFC.  In the end I think Joe Stevenson’s wrestling will prove too much and he will beat Tibau via unanimous decision. 

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle

Koscheck is 8-2 in the UFC.  Like Joe Stevenson, he has been forgotten since his loss to Georges St. Pierre.  Don’t forget folks that Josh Koscheck (love him or hate him) is a contender in the UFC middleweight divison and is clearly a top 5 guy in the divison.  He has wins over good fighters in Diego Sanchez and Dustin Hazelett.  Chris Lytle is no push over.  Lytle has been around the UFC for a while, debuting at UFC 28. I believe Lytle is 4-8 in the UFC.  He has lost to some good fighters in Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, Karo Parisyan, Thiago Alves, Robbie Lawler, Joe Riggs, and Nick Diaz.  He has fought some top notch fighters.  He just hasn’t beaten the top tier guys.  I though Lytle was done prior to his highlight reel KO of Kyle Bradley.  Is Lytle going to be a sacrificial lamb to get Koscheck back into contention talk?  I believe so.  Lytle could stun everyone and KO Koscheck, but Koscheck is a good fighter who is improving.  He needs a win here.  A win here will set him up for a fight against another top contender.  I look for Koscheck to shoot, get the takedown, take the mount and pound out Lytle.  I pick Josh Koscheck by TKO in round 2. 

Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin

Tyson Griffin is always a part of great fights.  This could be a great match, which quite honestly I have a hard time picking.  Aurelio has a 16-5 record in MMA, however 4 of those 5 losses are split decision losses.  He lost a controversial split decision to Clay Guida in his UFC debut and a split decision loss to Takanori Gomi.  Aurelio has big wins over top tier fighters including a win over Takanori Gomi.  Aurelio trains out of the American Top team with guys like Thiago Alves.  Aurelio is a top tier lightweight.  The winner of this fight is no doubt in serious contention (behind Huerta and Florian).  This has the makings of a great fight, but I look for it to go the distance.  Quite honestly this is a toss up in my mind.  Both Griffin and Aurelio have top training.  Both can hold their own striking and on the ground.  I do not know who has the advantages anywhere.  Interestingly, both have recently fought a common opponent in Clay Guida.  Tyson Griffin won a split decision with Guida and Aurelio lost a split decision to Guida.  In other words, that doesn’t tell us much.  Both can hang with the big dogs.  I will pick Tyson Griffin by split decision.  (That sure would stink for Aurelio to have 5 of his 6 losses by split decision, perhaps he knows the danger of leaving it for the judges). 

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully

Gonzaga has gone from main event to under card quickly.  He las lost to Couture and Werdum and is now trying to climb back into contention.  This fight may make it onto the pay per view card.  This fight will tell us a lot about Gonzaga.  He gained a lot of attention for his incredible knock out of Mirko Cro Cop.  Since then he has lost to Couture and Werdum and hasn’t looked great.  This fight will tell us if Gonzaga is a fluke.  McCully is a good fighter, so it will be interesting.  I still think Gonzaga is a top level fighter and I think that he will pull out a win here.  I pick Gonzaga by TKO in round 1. 

Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller

Gurgel is a great trainer and he is 3-2 in the UFC, but he hasn’t beaten anyone notable yet.  Cole Miller is 2-1 in the UFC and looked good on the Ultimate Fighter season 5.  I think that this fight is evenly matched and I think that in the end Cole Miller will get the win by unanimous decision.

Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver

Melvin Guillard is super talented. This may be his last chance in the UFC.  If he loses he is done.  He is already on record saying he’d like to move over to the WEC.  He would do well there.  I don’t think he is done yet though.  I think Guillard will win this one by TKO in round 3. 

Justin Bucholz vs. Corey Hill  

Rumor has is that Corey Hill is improving greatly.  He looked great in his last fight against Joe veres, but Buchholz is  astep up in talent.  I still think Hill will prevail.  Hill’s height will prove too much and he will utilize his reach and the muay thai clinch.  Hill is a 6;4” lightweight! I pick Corey Hill by a barage of knees and TKO in round 1. 

Upset Watch*: Marcus Aurelio over Tyson Griffin; Chris Lytle over Josh Koscheck

Fight of the Night Prediction: Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio

Knockout of the Night Prediction: Quinton Jackson

Submission of the Night Prediction: Ricardo Almeida

* Upset watch denotes my picks which I feel could turn into upsets, in other words, these are my picks I would least be shocked if they were wrong.

My UFC 85: Bedlam Predictions

Matt Hughes vs. Thaigo “The Pitbull” Alves

This may at first look like a less than spectacular main event, however, I think this could be a good fight.  The story behind this fight is that Matt Hughes is the most dominant welterweight ever, but many say he is on his way down.  Meanwhile, Thiago Alves is on his way up.  Alves is coming off of a knockout win over Karo “The Heat” Parisyan.  Most people consider Alves a top ten welterweight in the world, however he was out classed and out of his league against Jon Fitch.  There is no doubt that Thiago has excellent striking ability.  However, I expect Matt Hughes to take Alves down and ground and pound him.  I don’t expect Alves to be able to get up agaisnt the bigger Hughes.  The worry for me about picking Hughes is first of all he has been busy lately with book signing and opening a new gym.  That could distract him.  Secondly, he is 34 and Alves is 24.  Third, he wants Matt serra and could be looking straight past Alves to Serra.  A win here would make Matt Hughes clearly back in line for contention of the belt and if he beats Alves and Serra, he will get another title shot even if it is against Georges St. Pierre.  I believe Hughes’ experience will be a help and not a hindrance in this fight. Therefore, I pick Matt Hughes by unanimous decision following three round of slamming Alves and laying on him and elbowing him. 

Brandon “The Truth” Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum

This is a hard pick to make.  Brandon Vera was a rapidly rising star before all the disputes with his manager.  He was great in the octagon as well, however, he sropepd his last fight against Tim Sylvia.  Fabricio Werdum has tons of talent too.  He has beaten some good opponents.  He has beaten Gonzaga twice, Aleksander Emleianenko and Alistair Overeem.  Vera is a great Muay Thai fighter while Werdum is a great jiu jitsu guy.  This fight could go either way.  Werdum showed some great striking against Gonzaga.  The bottom line is that the winner of this fight will most likely get the winner of the Mir vs. Nogueira fight late in the year.  For the sake of making a pick, I will pick Brandon Vera to win by TKO in round 2. 

Michael “The Count” Bisping vs. Jason “Dooms” Day

Bisping looked great at 185 in his last fight.  He could content at 185.  This fight will tell a lot about him as a middleweight.  He destroyed Charles McCarthy.  I believe Jason Day is a step up from McCarthy in talent.  Jason Day is a little bit of a late replacement of the incarcerated Chris Leben.  jason Day destroyed a serious contender in Alan Belcher and prior to that beat David Loiseau.  That shows what Day is capable of doing in the octagon.  I think this will be an exciting fight, and honestly Jason Day could take this fight, but I am going to pick Michael Bisping. He will have the home crowd, he will be ready to go.  A win here means Bisping may next get a guy like Leben, Cote or Almeida next.  I pick Michael Bisping by TKO in round 2.

Mike “Quick” Swick vs. Marcus Davis

When Mike Swick dropped to welterweight I thought he could be a serious contender.  I still think he can be, in fact I have him as my 10th ranked UFC welterweight.  However, he didn’t look good at all against Jos Burkman, in fact he very well lost that fight. Marcus Davis on the other hand has looked dominant.  Mike swick will be a real test for the “Irish Hand Grenade” who is coming off of 11 straight wins.  Whoever wins this fight will be in the title mix.  All I have to judge by is Swick’s one performance at welterweight, so I will pick Marcus Davis to win this one in exciting fashion in round 1.

Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites

What a ground game this fight could display.  Thales Leites is really good, but Nate Marquardt is underrated.  He realyl did well against Anderson Silva initially.  Marquardt is a contender in this divison.  I think that Marquardt will win this fight by submission in round 3. 

Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera

Martin Kampmann showed a lot of promise before his injury.  Rivera has been an on and off again fighter who you never know how he will perform.  We will see how Martin does in his return.  Will he have ring rust or will he be hungry for a win?  I think that training with Xtreme Couture is a huge advantage to him and that Kampmann will prove to be too much for Rivera.  I believe Kampmann will win by first round submission.  (Watch for this fight to creep onto the pay per view showing).

Jason Lambert vs. Luis Arthur Cane

Lambert is coming off that disappointing KO from Wilson Gouveia.  Can is coming off of that DQ in UFC 79.  Both guys are quality fighters, but there isn’t much room for failure in the light heavyweight divison.  The loser could essentially be removed from any possibility of contention.  The winner will take a step up.  I believe that Luis Arthur Cane will prove to be the better striker in this one and will KO Lambert in round 2.

Matt “Handsome” Wiman vs. Thiago Tavares

Matt Wiman has done great since coming off of The Ultimate Fighter.  Wiman very well could be one of the underrated lightweights.  Tavares is a good fighter as well and he is favored to win this fight.  Coincidently, both fighters have recently fought Michihiro Omigawa and both won by unanimous decision.  The cool pick will be Tavares, therefore I will pick Matt Wiman to win this fight by unanimous decision.  Whoever wins here moves into the top 20 of a stacked divison.

Eddie Sanchez vs. Antoni Hardonk

Eddie Sanchez is a late replacement for the injured Neil Wain.  I don’t know how that will affect Sanchez. Hardonk has struggled in the UFC, going 2-2 and losing to Frank Mir and Justin McCully.  Sanchez is 3-1 in the UFC.  I expect Sanchez to move to 4-1 in the UFC.  I don’t expect this fight to last long, maybe into round 2.  Therefore I pick Sanchez to win by TKO in round 2.

Roan Carneiro vs. Kevin Burns

Carneiro is beatable, but I don’t know anything about Kevin Burns.  I have to pick Carneiro by unanimous decision.

Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor

Taylor has already beaten Liaudin once in his career,  Taylor is exciting and if he comes out swinging I expect him to win.  I think Taylor win will by first round KO.

 Upset Watch: Fabricio Werdum over Brandon Vera and Jason Day over Michael Bisping

 

UFC News: Gonzaga vs. McCully at UFC 86

It seems that Gabriel Gonzaga will return to action against Justin McCully.  McCully was initially rumored to be fighting Frank Mir at UFC 86. but that changed when Mir was tapped to coach TUF 8.  I don’t know if this card will make the main card, but it is likely since the card is fairly weak.  MMAJunkie reports:

that the heavyweights recently accepted the bout and that it should be finalized shortly. The fight was first reported by our official radio partner, TAGG Radio.

Gonzaga is coming off of back to back losses, we will see if he can turn things around and get back into contention for the belt.  He is super talented as Mirko Cro Cop can tell you.

New Talent in the UFC

One of the things that most excited me about UFC 84 was the display of new talent.  What a job by Dana White and the UFC finding new talent.  UFC 84 was a great display of hopefuls. I am stoked about it. Not only did 5 newcomers win their fights, but 2 guys who hadn’t won yet in the UFC won (Wanderlei and Sokoudjou). These newcomers won me over and I became fans of theirs.  The UFC has some top level new talent.  I liked rooting for these new guys and like seeing new talent coming in.  While we can be critical of the UFC losing some talent (Couture, Arlovski, Sylvia, and Ortiz), there are some new guys to replace them.  Let’s face it while the UFC has lost 4 or 5 stars in the past year, they have gained some future ones.  The guys they lost were past their prime anways.  Whata  job replacing lost talent.  The UFC needs to market these guys.  Put them on Spike’s UFC unleashed and put them on a fight night for people to see.  They all got good exposure at UFC 84 except Dong Hyun-Kim.  Let me say a word about the new guys in the UFC.

Shane Carwin: Out of the newcomers on the UFC 84 card Carwin was the most hyped.  I now know why.  He very well could hold a belt in the UFC one day.  I guess his back health is the one worry.  He is said to have great ground and pound and weaker striking.  He had one of the sickest KO’s I have seen with the mouthpiece flying out.  Shane Carwin is going to be super talented.  Can’t wait for his next fight.  Perhaps against the loser of the Vera vs. Werdum fight or a guy like Justin McCully or Collin Robinson.  Wuth an all around game like he has, the wrestling background, the athletic ability and the KO power he could be a glimmer of hope in a weak, weak divison.  The UFC has three bright stars up and coming in the heavyweight divison (Carwin, Lesnar and Velasquez) and somehow they have to delay them fighting each other and fighting top 3 talent as was learned in the Lesnar vs. Mir experiement. 

Yoshiyuki Yoshida: He very well could have killed Jon Koppenhaver in that fight.  That judo throw and the gator roll anaconda choke was awesome.  Usually your Japanese fighters have proven to be less than exciting and have not faired well in the UFC with the exception of Okami.  Yoshida will do fine and he is exciting.  I want to see him against slighly better competition because Koppenhaver was no match for him. Yoshida looked far superior in every way.  I wish he’s learn a little English though.  The post fight interview with Rogan was slightly awkward and a little English could help his marketability.  Perhpas he could fight a Burkman, Hazelett or maybe the Chonan vs. Carneiro winner is a good idea.  Yoshida will do fine in the UFC, great addidition and he and Kim could make UFC big bucks in the Asian market a la Bisping in England.

Dong Hyun-Kim:  Okay, so I watch Kim fight Jason Tan and all I can say is wow!  He is exciting, strong, and has vicious elbows.  He will be a serious force in the UFC.  He very well could be pitted against a guy like Karo next and I would consider picking Kim to win.  The UFC needs to decide if they think Kim can be something great in the welterweight divison, if they think he can they need to give him two more fights that he can win handily.  The flip side of that is beating a top 10 guy gives you instant credibility.  I know Jason Tan isn’t top level UFC talent, but man Kim looked amazing.  Why aren’t more people talking about that fight?  In my opinion, Kim could very well be the best of the newcomer bunch.  UFC 84 showcased some serious new talent and I am excited about Kim.  I liked him and am disappointed he wasn’t on the televised card.  I still hurt from watching his elbows.

Goran Reljic: Is the guy going to be mini-Cro Cop?  His kicks made me cringe.  Of course my knock on him would be all he showed was striking with the left side, but ouch those kids were hard.  Did you see how red Gouveia’s shoulder was?  I had Wilson Gouveia as ranked 12th in a stacked, stacked divison.  Reljic beat a top tier guy.  I don’t know how he would do against a guy like Thiago Silva or Machida, but he can strike with anyone.  He can take a hit too!!  Relijic has serious promise is this divison and does remind me of a slightly smaller and younger Cro Cop.  The Croatian can improve.  If I was him I would get with some different trainer for a bit to diversify.  I would think Xtreme Couture would be a great idea for him.  However, he is a contender right now!  My question will be how can he handle a aggresive striker or a wrestler like Matt Hammil?  Time will tell.  His future is bright.  I think a Sokoudjou match would be interesting, but I reckon he won’t get that highly ranked of a guy next.  Perhaps the Cane vs. Lambert winner. 

Rousimar Palhares: I know Ivan Salaverry isn’t what he once was, but that arm bar may well have been the best submission I have seen in a while.  He controlled Salaverry from start to finish.   He may be one of the best jiu jitsu guys in the UFC.  I wonder how he would do against another jiu jitsu guy like Demian Maia?  My question will be striking for Palhares.  I wondered why he didn’t soften Ivan up with strikes to the face while he was trying to sink in that choke.  He seemed pretty one-dimensional.  That dimension is top level and then some though.  He was a bright spot on the great card.  Can’t wait to see him in action again.

Antonio Mendes: He is the lone newcomer that lost at UFC 84.  Let me say just two things though.  First, he lost to in my opinion the most underrated light heavyweight and a guy that may well hold the title one day.  Second, he did very, very well.  He rocked Thiago.  His striking looks great.  I hope the UFC saw that and gives him another chance against a slighly less talented guy.  Give Mendes a chance to win against some poor sacrifical lamb in the light heavyweight divison.

Other New Talent:

Cain Velasquez: Many people say the UFC Hevayweight divison has collapsed.  I have said that.  The UFC has lost its champ in Couture and two of it’s top 5 talents in Tim Sylvia and probably Andrei Arlovski.  Mir isn’t what he used to be.  Cro Cop just didn’t work out well.  However, Carwin, Velasquez and Lesnar I believe are a step up in the long run.  Couture was great and I am a fan, but he in 44.  Sylvia is past his prime and Arlovski hadn’t shown consistency.  Cain Velasquez is going to be a star in this divison and it is prime for the taking.

Brock Lesnar: Lesnar is the one of those three new guys in the heavyweight divison to lose, but he lost to Mir and in that loss he showed he can fight.  He is the one of the three guys also that can draw a crowd more than anyone.  He could be UFC’s next biggest star.  We will see how he does against Herring. 

Chris Wilson: Wilson looked good in his loss to Fitch and I believe can do very well in the UFC.  I think he can be a top level guy.  Time will tell with Wilson.

UFC News: Heath Herring vs. Brock Lesnar

When the UFC announced Brock Lesnar’s next opponent as Mark Coleman, I thought it was the UFC’s attempt to get a win for Lesnar over a proven fighter, but one he could beat because he was past his prime.  Lesnar needs that win to earn the respect.  I think Brock will be a great fighter as he is a great athlete.  In my opinion, they put him in against a top guy to quickly.   He almost pulled out a win against Mir.  He needs a guy he can take down and ground and pound.  Coleman is out with a knee injury, so he was going to replace him?  I predicted it would be Justin McCully.  However, it looks to be Heath Herring.  There is good and bad to this math up.  The bad: Heath Herring is experienced and has fought the best of the best in his career, Herring is tough and can hang with top guys.  Herring nearly beat Nogueira and he beat Kongo.  We will see how Lesnar does taking a kick and a punch.  Herring seems to be renewed andlooked great against Kongo.  The good:  Herring is a good fighter and a win catapolts him into a state of being legit.  If he can get Herring down and get on him and beat him I think he will win.  This is interesting.  Brock needs a win here.  The other good is Brock will nearly always be much, much bigger than his opponent and will out wrestle anyone.  Good match up I think if it holds true. 

    This is shaping to be a good card.  I expect one more televised card worthy fight to be added.  That would mean we would have St. Pierre vs. Fitch.  Lesnar vs. Herring.  Huerta vs. Florian and one more good bout at least. 

MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that Heath Herring has agreed to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 on Aug. 9 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its debut in Minneapolis, Minn.

Lesnar was originally slated to face UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in the main event of UFC 87. Coleman, however, suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in training, which will sideline him for at least six weeks. He was forced to withdraw from the bout with Lesnar due to the injury.

Herring has been on a roller coaster ride since his UFC debut in January of 2007. The former Pride heavyweight title contender has gone 2-2 in the Octagon, most recently defeating Cheick Kongo at UFC 82 in Columbus, Ohio.

I disagree with MMAweekly, where they said on their site that Lesnar had a “less than stellar performance against Mir”.  I think Lesnar looked great. he just got caught.  He was beating Mir badly and even through a loss showed he is for real.  With some more training he will be a force.  I think of him as one of the up and coming guys in the UFC Heavyweight divison.  The fight with Herring is important. 

Tournaments in the UFC

What if UFC had a 16 man tournament.  In other words a little bigegr version of what DREAM is doing with lightweights and middleweights.  A tournament would doa  lot of good things.  It would give an underdog the chance to win and fight the top dog.  You would have to have some type of ranking to do it and seed the guys like with the NCAA basketball tournament.  It would ease match making.  It would give exciting fights and intriguing possibilites.  Can you imagine all the possible scenarios of what could happen and who could fight one another?  I bet guys would fight passionatley.  There would be upsets.  So…I played around and came up with this…I took my 16 top guys in each class and made a bracket.  The fight one winner will fight the fight 2 winner and so on…

Lightweight:

Round One Match ups:

B.J. Penn vs. Rich Clementi

Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard

Marcus Aurelio vs. Frank Edgar

Kenny Florian vs. Manny Gamburyan

Sean Sherk vs. Spencer Fisher

Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson

Joe Lauzon vs. Tyson Griffin

Roger Huerta vs. Mac Danzig

Welterweight:

Georges St. Pierre vs. Chris Lytle

Thiago Alves vs. Mike Swick

Karo Parisyan vs. Matt Serra

Josh Koscheck vs. Ryo Chonan

Jon Fitch vs. Roan Carneiro

Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fiorvanti

Marcus Davis vs. Akihiro Gono

Matt Hughes vs. Chris Wilson

Middleweight:

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites

Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Quarry

Patrick Cote vs. Ricardo Almeida

Yushin Okami vs. Demian Maia

Rich Franklin vs. Evan Tanner

Nate Marquardt vs. Jason MacDonald

Chris Leben vs. Michael Bisping

Dan Henderson vs. Jorge Rivera

Light Heavyweight:

Quinton Jackson vs. Goran Reljic

Mauricio Shogun Rua vs. Matt Hammil

Wanderlei Silva vs. Sokoudjou

Chuck Liddell vs. Houston Alexander

Keith Jardine vs. Jame Irvin

Forrest Griffin vs. Wilson Gouveia

Thiago Silva vs. Rashad Evans

Lyoto Machida vs. Stephan Bonnar

Heavyweight:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Dan Evenson

Cheick Kongo vs. Eddie Sanchez

Heath Herring vs. Cain Velasquez

Frank Mir vs. Christian Wellish

Fabricio Werdum vs. Antoni Hardonk

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin

Brock Lesnar vs. Justin McCully

Brandon Vera vs. Neil Wain

 

This all could make some interesting match-ups.  What you would do would be take all five divisons and make 5 fight cards with 8 fights each.  You could split them up or have a “lightweight card”.  5 cards would finish round one.  Then you could have two 10 fight card and that would finish round two.  Then you could have another card that would do the semi-final match ups and another card for the championships.  Try making an un-televised undercard out of any of these fights.  That would be awesome.  Of course you could put more thought into match ups and potential second and third round “dream match up” in where you placed fighters, but it is a great idea.  The one flaw is that if the UFC had one card a month this tournament would take 9 months to finish and that would keep a lot of fighters from fighting in that time.  I guess you could break it up and have non-tournament fights mixed in there too.  Just food for thought…

UFC News: Lesnar vs. Coleman Scrapped

The Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Coleman fight scheduled to take place at UFC 87 in August has been scrapped. 

Mark “The Hammer” Coleman will no longer face Brock Lesnar in the UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” co-main event after suffering a knee injury, according to UFC.com.

Minnesota product and former WWE wrestling superstar-turned mixed martial artist, Brock Lesnar, was to be showcased in a featured bout of the evening against Coleman, a recent Hall of Fame inductee and the first-ever UFC heavyweight champion.

Many fans groaned at the prospect of Lesnar taking on the elder statesman, seeing it as a mismatch to help Lesnar rebound from his submission loss during his debut against Frank Mir at UFC 81 back in February.

The UFC has promised to announce a replacement shortly.

The question will be who will face Lesnar.  I doubt they would willingly sacrifice Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez.  Andrei Arlovski is most likely not going to be signed, but even if UFC did sign him I doubt he would fight Lesnar.  My bet would be on a guy like Justin McCully.  McCully was rumored to be fighting Lesnar a while back, but then was announced it would be Lesnar vs. Coleman.  Then McCully was rumored to be fighting Frank Mir at UFC 86, but that was scrapped due to Mir fighting Nogueira and coaching TUF 8.  Interesting…very interesting.