MMA Blog’s UFC 92 Preview and Predictions

UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 is one of the best cards of the year on paper.  This card features what many consider to be 3 super fights.  This card is sure to draw a good crowd and good pay per view numbers.  Also, this will end 2008 with a bang and the outcomes of these fights will dictate many key match-ups in 2009, including Brock Lesnar’s next opponent, possibly Anderson Silva’s next opponent at 205 lbs, and possibly the next contender at 205 lbs. 

Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans

Forrest Griffin		vs.	Rashad Evans
		Nickname	Sugar
	1	MMA Blog Rank	6
	205 Lbs.	Weight Class	205 Lbs.
	16-4 (7-2 UFC)	Record	12-0-1 (7-0 UFC)

This fight will be Forrest Griffin’s first title defense and a bout between the winner of the Ultimate Fighter 1 and the winner of the Ultimate Fighter 2.   Rashad is sort of a surprise number one contender here.  He earned the title shot with his highlight reel KO of Chuck Liddell.   Evans is an undefeated fighter with a solid wrestling pedigree and very impressive striking.  Forrest Griffin is already a future UFC hall of famer and one of the biggest stars.  He relishes being the undersog.  He was the underdog against Shogun.  He was the underdog against Rampage.  Forrest works as hard as anyone in the sport.  Forrest is also known for his incredible heart.  This is a very interesting match up style wise for me.  Forrest will stand and trade, but Rashad probably has the striking advantage (just ask Chuck Liddell and Sean Salmon).  The heart and toughness advantage would go to Forrest.  The wrestling advantage would go to Rashad, but the submissions advantage would go to Forrest.  Forrest will also have a slight size and reach advantage over Rashad.  Quite honestly I think this is a bad match up for Forrest.  I look for Rashad to use his wrestling to keep the fight standing or to scramble to his feet.  I also think that he may clip Forrest with a good shot.  However, he better watch for those leg kicks which devastated Ramapge.  Forrest would have to have the conditioning advantage.  If he is smart he will want to take Rashad past round 3.  Forrest is a proverbial “cardio machine”.  We saw Forrest win against Shogun due to his cardio.  This could be the achilles heel for Evans.  I think it is highly possible he will gas and that is Forrest’s best chance at winning.  Some people speculate that Rashad could be distracted due to the recent birth of a child.  However, I think that Rashad’s training with the legendary Greg Jackson will more than cover that possible distraction.  I expect Rashad to have a great game plan.  Hidden within this fight is a match up between two great camps Evans and Team Jackson and Griffin and Xtreme Couture.  Whoever has the better game plan will win.  It may be scary to say, but I do not know if we have seen the best of either of these guys yet.  I think rashad has more raw talent, but Forrest has the heart of a champion.  With that said, I pick Rashad to win by TKO in round 3 to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion. 

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira		vs.	Frank Mir
	Minatauro	Nickname
	1	MMA Blog Rank	3
	Heavyweight	Weight Class	185 Lbs.
	31-4-1 (2-0 UFC)	Record	11-3 (9-3 UFC)

I am just gonna call this one the way I see it.  Nogueira is a legend in the sport.  He is a near consensus number 2 heavyweight in the world.  He has fought the best in the world.  He is nearly impossible to knockout or submit.  He has the best heart in MMA.  Frank Mir has had good days.  He is a former UFC heavyweight champ.  He has solid all around skills and good ground skills.  However, I do not think Mir is near the calibur of Nogueira.  The two Ultimate fighter coaches will pair off for the interim heavyweight title and a chance to fight Brock Lesnar sometime in 2009.  Nogueira holds the interim title and is the first person to be PRIDE and UFC champ.  This fight gained exposure through season 8 of the Ultimate Fighter.  Nogueira was the clear fan favorite of the coaches.  In fact, Mir may have entered the reality show as the fan favorite, but the season ended with Nogueira being by far the favorite coach and becoming endeared by fans.  At the end of the season of TUF, I posted a poll on MMABlog asking about the favorite coach and 88% of the 200 people polled said Nogueira was their favorite coach over Mir.  I say that to say that Nogueira will be a fan favorite in Mir’s hometown.  In fact I cannot think of one area where Mir will have an advantage.  I think the key is mental.  Mir has not been the same since his bike wreck.  I also get the sense that he is intimidated by Nogueira.  Many interviews Mir speaks of Nog as his hero, as a “Frankenstein”, and as nearly impossible to beat.  I think Nogueira wins by submission in round 2…maybe even round 1.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson

Wanderlei Silva		vs.	Quinton Jackson
	The Axe Murderer	Nickname	Rampage
	4	MMA Blog Rank	2
	205 Lbs.	Weight Class	205 Lbs.
	32-8-1 (2-2 UFC)	Record	28-7 (3-1 UFC)

This is the third installment of this particular fight.  Two times Wanderlei Silva has destroyed Jackson.  For those that have not see the previous two fights they are must sees, check them out here and here.  Jackson claims to be in better shape and better prepared than he has ever been.  Jackson also claims that Wanderlei is not the same guy he was in his days of dominance in PRIDE.  Jackson is coming off of a defeat to Forrest Griffin, a bizzare string of events and eventual arrest, and a change in camps which saw him move to England to train at Wolfslair.  Wanderlei is coming off of an impressive win over Keith Jardine at UFC 84.  He looks to build on that.   The winner of this fight could very well be in line for a title shot. 

        I do not know what makes this fight different than the previous two.  I have to wonder if Wanderlei does not just have Rampage’s number.  This fight will answer many questions such as: Is the difference in rules between PRIDE and UFC a big factor?  Is Wanderlei past his prime?  Is Rampage really better now than he was against Forrest?   All I know is that Rampage better avoid the clinch and the knee of Silva.  I do not see this fight going the distance.  I think that we will see this also be fight of the night.  I look for Wanderlei to win by TKO in round 2.

C.B. Dolloway vs. Mike Massenzio

C.B. Dolloway		vs.	Mike Massenzio
	The Doberman	Nickname
	27	MMA Blog Rank	28
	185 Lbs.	Weight Class	185 Lbs.
	7-1 (1-1 UFC)	Record	11-2 (1-0 UFC)

I am not going to defend the placement of this fight on the main card over Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister, but I will tell you this will be a good fight.  These guys may not be as high up the middleweight ladder as Okami and Lister and they may not have the same name recognition, but both of these guys are solid prospects. 

     C.B. Dolloway burst onto the scene in the Ultimate Fighter 7.  He was the heavy favorite throughout the whole season, but was upset in the semi-finals by Amir Sadollah.  However, he was given a second chance following the booting of Jesse Taylor.  C.B. beta Tim Credeur handily to earn a second crack at Sadollah for the TUF title.  C.B. lost int he same way to Amir int he finale.  However, he bounced back with a highlight reel submission of Jesse Taylor by way of peruvian necktie a submission that many consider a submission of the year candidate.  C.B. is an accomplished wrestler out of Arizona State University who trains at Arizona Combat Sports with other MMA stars like TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader, WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner, and WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit. 

     Mike Massenzio is 1-0 in the UFC.  He won is his UFC debut quickly over UFC vet Drew McFedries.  He sunk in a kimura forcing McFedries to tap.  Massenzio is a very good prospect who is very good on the ground.  Massenzio is one of the fighters the UFC picked up from the now defunct IFL. 

        The question for me on this one is can C.B. avoid Massenzio’s submissions.  He couldn’t avoid Amir’s.  C.B. may elect to keep the fight standing if he can.  He also may want to work some ground and pound.  A lot of people like Mike Massenzio in this fight.  However, I think C.B. is going to prove too good standing and too strong on the ground.  I pick C.B. to win by unanimous decision.

  

 

Cheick Kongo vs. Mustapha Al Turk

Cheick Kongo		vs.	Mustapha Al-Turk
		Nickname
	5	MMA Blog Rank	12
	Heavyweight	Weight Class	Heavyweight
	12-4-1 (5-2 UFC)	Record	6-3 (0-0 UFC)

This fight will be the first fight to air on the main card.  Cheick Kongo may be one the most inconsistent fighters in the UFC.  He beats Cro Cop, but eats a loss to Heath Herring.  I do think Kongo is one of the top 10-15 heavyweights out there, but he needs a big win.   Kongo wants a title shot.  He makes no bones about it.  A win here may inch him closer, but it won’t put him next in line.  He still has guys like Carwin, Gonzaga, and Couture ahead of him.  However, rumor has it that a win here could garner him a fight between former UFC fighter Jeff Monson. 

    Al Turk is the former Cage Rage hevayweight champion.  I am sure Al Turk would like to get out of here unscathed.  Either way we could see Al Turk return at UFC 95 in England against new heavyweight signee Neil Grove.  Al Turk seems to be a decent striker, but I do not know if he can hang with Kongo.

I pick Kongo by unanimous decision.

The Undercard:

Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister

Lister is a world calss grappler and jiu jitsu player.  Okami is a top 3 middleweight in the world.  Many people (including me) think Okami is deserving of a title shot.  If Okami beats Lister it will be hard to withhold a title shot from him.  There are two reasons Okami has not gotten that shot.  First, he is not very marketable.  Second, he is coming off of an injury.  He would have gotten the shot over Cote, but an injury slowed Okami.  Tehre are tons of people in line at 185 lbs. including Thales Leites, Nate Marquardt, Michael Bisping, and Demian Maia.  I believe Lister could submit Okami, but I have to pick Okami to win this by decision.

Quick Picks:

Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy – Hamill by Unanimous Decision

Brad Blackburn vs. Ryo Chonan – Blackburn by Unanimous Decision

Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessell – Hardonk by TKO

Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry – Barry by TKO

Breaking Down the UFC Middleweight Division

The Champion: Anderson Silva

The Top Contender: ?

The Next Tier:

·         Yushin Okami

·         Nate Marquardt

·         Michael Bisping

·         Dan Henderson

·         Demian Maia

·         Thales Leites

·         Patrick Cote

·         Chael Sonnen

 

On the Rise: 

·         Demian Maia

·         Michael Bisping

 

Other Notables:

·         Denis Kang

·         Rousimar Palhares

·         Martin Kampmann

·         Chris Leben

·         Ricardo Almeida

·         Nate Quarry

·         Jason MacDonald

·         Wilson Gouveia

·         Goran Reljic

·         Dan Miller

·         Dean Lister

·         Kendall Grove

·         Alan Belcher

·         Ed Herman

·         Jorge Rivera

·         Alessio Sakara

·         C.B. Dolloway

·         Mike Massenzio

·         Matt Horwich

·         Jake Rosholt

·         Amir Sadollah

 

Scheduled Fights:

·         Nate Loughran vs. Tim Credeur at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10

·         Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia at TUF 8 Finale on December 13

·         Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister at UFC 92 on December 27

·         C.B. Dolloway vs. Mike Massenzio at UFC 92 on December 27

·         Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher at UFC 93 on January 17

 

Match Ups I’d Like to See:

·         Yushin Okami vs. Anderson Silva

·         Thales Leites vs. Rousimar Palhares

·         Demian Maia vs. Michael Bisping

 

Other Thoughts:

·         The UFC Middleweight division is very, very underrated!  I believe it is because of Anderson Silva’s dominance.  The middleweight division does not have a clear number 1 contender, but from top to bottom I would put this division with any.  Albeit, the UFC’s competitors have some middleweight talents in the likes of guys like Gegard Mousasi, Jacare, Vitor Belfort, Matt Lindland, Jorge Santiago,and  Kazuo Misaki.  Not to mention the few solid middleweights from EliteXC such as Robbie Lawler, Joey Villasenor, Scott Smith, Frank Shamrock and Benji Radach.  The UFC is sure to pick some of those guys up

·         Rumor has it the UFC is in negotiations with top middleweight Yoshihio Akiyama.  I do not know if they call pull him away from DREAM and Sengoku, but that would be a huge add. 

·         The middleweight division is growing with adds like signing Denis Kang, the move of WEC’s division which will add Chael Sonnen and Jake Rosholt as well as guys like Aaron Simpson and Danillo Vilefort likely to come over.

·         Paulo Filho will not be in the UFC…yet.

·         TUF 9 will feature middleweight coaches with Michael Bisping being a lock.  The other names being thrown around are Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt and even Demian Maia

MMABlog’s Middleweight MMA Rankings

The middleweights were hard to rank down towards the last 10.  Sorry if I left some good guys out.

Rank	Name	Organization	Next Fight
1	Anderson Silva	UFC	Cote (#12), 9/25
2	Paulo Filho	UFC	Sonnen (#16) 11/3
3	Rich Franklin	UFC	Next Fight at LHW
4	Dan Henderson	UFC	Next Fight at LHW
5	Robbie Lawler	EliteXC?
6	Kazuo Misaki	Strikeforce	1/4
7	Nate Marquardt	UFC
8	Matt Lindland	Affliction	Sobral (LHW) ) 1/24
9	Yushin Okami	UFC	Lister (NR), 12/27
10	Gegard Mousasi	DREAM	Belfort (#25,) 1/24
11	Thales Leites	UFC	McFedries (NR), 9/25
12	Patrick Cote	UFC	A. Silva (#1), 9/25
13	Michael Bisping	UFC
14	Yoshihiro Akiyama
15	Ronaldo “Jacare” de Sousa	DREAM
16	Chael Sonnen	UFC	Filho (#2) 11/3
17	Demian Maia	UFC	Quarry (#18), 11/15
18	Nate Quarry	UFC	Maia (#17), 11/15
19	Joey Villasenor	EliteXC?
20	Cung Le	Strikeforce
21	Jorge Santiago
22	Chris Leben	UFC
23	Jason Macdonald	UFC
24	Martin Kampman	UFC
25	Vitor Belfort	Affliction	Mousasi (#10) 1/24

 

Others Considered: Ricardo Almeida, Rousimar Palhares, Dean Lister, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Frank Trigg

UFC News: C.B. Dolloway vs. Mike Massenzio at UFC 92

The TUF 7 runner-up C.B. Dolloway will be back in action at UFC 92 against former IFL fighter Mike Massenzio.  Massenzio is 1-0 in the UFC, scoring a win over Drew McFedries with a kimura.  This bout should excite as C.B. has seemed vulnerable to submissions like Amir.  A ground and pound guy vs. a submission guy, should really be a good one, and may even make the main card.  The crad is already stacked with 3 headliners: Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans, Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva III and Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

UFC News: Mike Massenzio Signs With the UFC

The UFC has signed former IFL middleweight fighter Mike Massenzio to a four fight contract.  It also appears that Massenzio will debut at UFC Fight Night 15 in September against the tough Drew McFedries.  Massenzio was a former college wrestling star who turned to mixed martial arts.  He boasts a 10-2 record in MMA with notable wins against Dan Miller and Dante Rivera.  Massenzio enters into a heavy second tiered middleweight divison.  Perhaps he will be a good addition to the UFC, but Drew McFedries is a tough welcome for him.