Many Questions Arise in Wake of UFC 90?

I believe several questions arose in wake of UFC 90.  I will post the questions in poll form so my readers can voice their opinions.

1. 

Personally, I think it is a mix of a few things and none of them involve anything Cote did.  I think Anderson Silva was trying to confuse Cote.  Part of me feels he was playing around and trying to get in a groove.  I really feel that a KO was coming.  He showed flashes of it.  I was highly disappointed with the fight, but stuff happens.  Silva had a game plan and we don’t like it because Cote’s knee blew.  Silva didn’t know that would happen.  Perhaps he planned on becoming more aggressive.  Anyways, as Dana White said, I would hate to be Silva’s next opponent.  I have a feeling he will be fighting sooner than later. 

2. 

Here is my take on it.  I think Thiago Alves is for real.  I was not on his bandwagon, but I think he is a very good strike, however I see two problems.  He is very predictable.  He loved the flying knee and superman punch.  A good striker could give him problems too.  Also, I don’t know how he would do off his back.  I do not know if he could beat either GSP or B.J. Penn.  I am leaning towards Penn winning the super fight on January 31, and I think if B.J. can get Alves down to the ground he can submit him and pound him.  I think style wise both Penn and GSP are tough matchups for anyone.  So, I say he is for real, but he cannot beat GSP or Penn right now.  GSP was impressed with Alves and thinks he may see Thiago after Penn, but Georges better not overlook B.J.

3.

I am not quite on the bandwagon, but I think he could be a solid fighter.  He needs to prove himself more.  I do not know if he is that good or if Werdum just underestimated him.  He has great training and could be a star, but I’d like to see one more fight before I jump on the bandwagon.  I seem to remember a few guys like Houston Alexander and Sokoudjou coming out of nowhere with a couple of big names KO’s and then disappointing.  I don’t think Dos Santos fits into that mold because I think he will be a more well rounded fighter and trains with some of the best.

4.

I think several impressed.  I guess I would have to say that I was impressed with Thiago Alves the most.  He looked very sharp.  I also was impressed with Josh Koscheck in his loss.  He is tough as nails.  I thought Sherk was impressive and showed good stand up.  Of course Dos Santos was impressive as well.  I enjoyed the Miller vs. Horwich fight and think that both are solid fighters.

5.

My answer depends on how literal you take this question.  Most disappointing to me was Anderson Silva.  I expected a KO.  However, it wasn’t all his fault.  The Cote injury was disappointing, but that wasn’t his fault either.  I really expected more out of Aurelio as well.

UFC Fight Night 14 Fighter Salaries

Anderson Silva: $200,000

Brandon Vera: $200,000 ($100,000 win bonus)

Frankie Edgar: $51,000 ($13,000 win bonus & $25,000 Fight of the Night Bonus)

CB Dollaway: $45,000 ($10,000 win bonus & $25,000 Submission of the Night Bonus)

Hermes Franca: $42,000 ($25,000 Fight of the Night Bonus)

Rory Markham: $37,000 ($6,000 win bonus & $25,000 Knockout of the Night Bonus)

James Irvin: $20,000

Tim Credeur: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
Reese Andy $15,000
Cain Velasquez: $14,000 ($7,000 win bonus)
Jake O’Brien: $11,000

Brad Blackburn: $10,000 ($5000 win bonus)
Kevin Burns: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
Anthony Johnson: $9,000
Jesse Taylor: $8,000
Cale Yarbrough: $8,000

Nate Loughran: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)

Shannon Gugerty: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus)

Johnny Rees: $4,000
Brodie Farber: $3,00O
James Giboo: $3,000
Dale Hartt: $3,000

 

 

My UFC Fight Night 14 Thoughts

Quick Results:

Anderson Silva defeats James Irvin by TKO at 1:01 of the first round.
Brandon Vera defeats Reese Andy by unanimous decision.
Frank Edgar defeats Hermes Franca by unanimous decision.
Cain Velasquez defeats Jake O’Brien by TKO in the first round.
Kevin Burns defeats Anthony Johnson by TKO at 3:35 of Round 3
CB Dollaway defeats Jesse Taylor by submission (choke) at 3:58 of Round 1
Tim Credeur defeats Cale Yarbrough via technical knockout in round one
Rory Markham defeats Brodie Farber via knockout (head kick) in round one
Nate Loughran defeats Johnny Rees by submission (triangle choke) at 4:21 of Round 1
Brad Blackburn defeats James Giboo by TKO (strikes) at 2:29 of Round 2
Shannon Gugerty defeats Dale Hartt by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:33 of Round 1

• Anderson Silva is awesome!  If there were ever any doubters he silenced them.  Some people thought that Anderson would have a hard time with the size, but he didn’t look like he gave up much size.  Some people thought he may not want to strike with Irvin, he did and he beat him badly.  Irvin was out of his league in this fight.  Anderson looked awesome!  Wow.  I hope he fights some more at 205 because the Cote fight isn’t what I want to see. 
• Congrats to Brandon Vera for winning one.  I think the move to 205 was good, but he did look tired.  Thats okay the weight cut is tough and many guys have a hard time with the weight cut the first time.  Mike Swick looked poor in his win in his first 170 fight, but looked better the second time.  Vera will be a force at 205 and is right in the mix. 
• Frank Edgar impressed me.  I thought Franca would win this one.  Edgar looked much better than he did against Maynard.  He dominated Franca.
• The other guy I was impressed with was Cain Velasquez.  Could it be a heavyweight star was born?  He looked awesome.  I buy the hype.  I am on the Cain train.  He could hold the title before too long.
• I hated to see the Burns/Johnson fight end the way it did.  I don’t know about the call, but whatever.  I don’t think Burns was poking on purpose, but he was warned.  Regardless of the deicsion Burns is a tough dude.  I gained tons of respect for Johnson too, he is a top notch human being.  How about him telling the crwods not to boo Burns?  He is a stand up guy.   
• C.B. Dolloway did great, he showed his talent.  He is always capable of winning.  Some of the hype surrounding him was lost due to his losses to Amir.  You can’t take anything away from Amir, but C.B. was beating him up both times they fought before he got caught.  The point is that C.B. can hang with anyone at 185.  I was also glad to see Jesse Taylor back, and hope he gets one more shot at least.  By the way, I loved that Peruvian necktie.  What a submission!
• Welcome to the UFC Rory Markham.  That KO was highlight material.  I don’t know who to give KO of the night to, but I think this was a better KO than Silva’s KO.  Ouch.
• I will be interested to see who the UFC keeps and who they cut from this card.  The guys on the chopping block:

                    – Reese Andy – Give him one more shot.  He didn’t look great, but you can’t cut a guy for losing to one of the best.

                   – Jake O’Brien – I was against him being cut the first time, and I think he deserves one more shot, but he can’t hang with the top guys in the UFC heavyweight divison. 

                   – Brodie Farber – Don’t forget he was winning the fight.  I guess close doesn’t count, but I think he is a good prospect who lost to a veteran fighter. 

                   – James Giboo – Cut him. 

                   – Cale Yarbrough – Cut him.  He can’t hack it and I never thought he could. 

                   – Johnny Rees – Give him one more fight.

                  – Dale Hartt

KO of the Night: Rory Markham

Submission of the Night: C.B. Dolloway

Fight of the Night: Frank Edgar vs. Hermes Franca (Not the most exciting, but it went long and there was action)

My UFC Fight Night 14 Predictions

Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin

I am looking forward to this fight.  When I make my predictions I will look at all aspects of the game and some to a decision.  Sometimes I will even pick an upset, but there are several fighters that I cannot pick against right now.  Anderson Silva is one of those guys I cannot pick against right now, the others being B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, and Fedor Emelianenko.  I might miss a pick every now and then with that startegy, but more often than not I am right.  I know Anderson will eventually lose a fight, but I will not pick against him anytime soon.  James Irvin is good and he has knockout power.  He could KO Anderson Silva.  However, Irvin has never been a top 10 light heavyweight.  He is fighting the number one pound for pound fighter in the world.  The blogegrs and fans along with the media will try to hype this fight and give Irvin a bigger chance to win, in then end Anderson is going to beat him.  I do not know how much can be said.  I pick Anderson Silva by TKO in round 2. 

Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy

Brandon Vera beat some good guys at heavyweight, however he was small for a heavyweight.  I believe Vera can bang with anyone.  Reese Andy is not known to a lot of MMA fans, but he was a former IFL fighter who hasn’t fought in a year.  Andy has a decent record and I have heard he is pretty good, but he hasn’t beaten anyone.  Vera will be by far the best guy he has ever fought.  I believe Vera will be fast and strong at 205 and will win by KO in round 1.  Welcome to light heavyweight Brandon Vera.

Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca

Both these guys are good fighters.  Edgar has climbed the ladder at 155, but dropped off a bit following his loss to Gray Maynard.  Many people are forgetting that Hermes Franca was the number one contender and fought for the title against Sean Sherk before his failed drug test.  Franca is strong and aggressive.  Bioth guys have wrestling skills.  Edgar can win, but he needs to be more aggresive.  I pick Franca to win by unanimous decision.

Jake O’Brien vs. Cain Velasquez

I am glad the UFC brough back Jake O’Brien and I hope he gets another chance after this fight.  O’Brien has done well in the UFC his only loss coming to Arlovski.  However, I think Jake O’Brien’s strength is wrestling.  Cain Velasquez will be able to neutralize that.  From what I am hearing Cain is the real deal.  I buy the hype.  People say that Cain has great Jiu Jitsu and great stand up.  People are hailing him as the future of the heavyweight divison.  I will pick Cain Velasquez to win by TKO in round 1. 

Kevin Burns vs. Anthony Johnson

Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is looking to make an impression.  His KO of Tommy Speer in his last outing was incredible.  Kevin Burns looked good against Road Carneiro and pulled off the submission win.  I think Burns will want to take this fight down.  Johnson is big and strong and can strike with power.  I don’t see Burns being able to get the take down.  He will be forced to strike with Johnson and it won’t work well.  Anthony Johnson wins by TKO in round 3. 

C.B. Dollaway vs. Jesse Taylor

C.B. the odds on favorite to win TUF 7, but lost twice to Amir.  Jesse taylor made it to the finals before being kicked off following his drunken rampage.  This fight is interesting.  It is the TUF 7 cast off versus the guy who replaced him.  This fight is huge for both guys.  I don’t know if it is a winner go home fight, but C.B. needs a win something bad.  Jesse is big and strong and has something to prove.  C.B. is well rounded (except submission defense).  I think that Jesse is stronger and bigger, but C.B. is the better striker from what I saw on TUF. C.B. has better ground and pound, but Jesse does have good ground and pound.  They are similar in style.  They both probably are more comfortable on the ground.  I believe C.B. may stand this fight at first and see how it goes.  I think C.B. wins in round 2 by rear naked choke.

Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough

Cale showed nothing on the show.  I am bothered by this a little.  Let me vent.  I believe TUF 7 only had a few guys with real potenital and talent to make it in the UFC.  The UFC didn’t bring back many guys to the finale.  Why did they bring back Cale?  Cale is a vegetable, isn’t it?  I thought Gerald Harris is the guy that got cheated most, he deserves one shot in the UFC.  With that said, Tim is too experienced and too good for Cale.  Cale can knock him out if that stand, but Tim will take Cale down and soften him up and then submit him with a choke, in round 1.

Brodie Farber vs. Rory Markham

Brad Blackburn vs. James Giboo

Nate Loughran vs. Johnny Rees

Shannon Gugerty vs. Dale Hartt

A Host Of Newcomers Added to UFC Fight Night 14

James Giboo vs. Brad Blackburn

Giboo and Blackburn, UFC welterweights newcomers, recently agreed to the bout, sources close to both fighters tell MMAjunkie.com .Giboo, an Iowa-based fighter who’s fought in the Midwest’s top regional promotions, is currently riding a six-fight win streak. The 30-year-old has balanced a fighting career with duties as a high school biology teacher and wrestling coach. The noted ground fighter has finished nine of his 11 career victories via submission, most by rear-naked or triangle choke. Blackburn, a former IFL fighter based out of Seattle, trains under Maurice Smith with Andy Reese, who will meet Brandon Vera at the same July 19 event. The 31-year-old has lost just once in his past five fights, which included a victory over highly touted IFL welterweight Jay Hieron in June 2007.

Johnny Rees vs. Nate Loughran

Two UFC newcomers with a combined 18 stoppage victories in 18 career fights, will meet at UFC Fight Night 14. MMAjunkie.com today confirmed the July 19 bout with Rees’ management. Rees, a veteran of the Indiana-based Legends of Fighting and United Fight League organizations, turned pro in October 2005 and has reeled off 10 consecutive victories — eight via submission and seven in the first round. He’ll now fight for the first time since a November 2007 victory over Jeremy Wingler (7-3) at LOF 22. Loughran, a veteran of Gladiator Challenge and Palace Fighting Championship, has posted eight consecutive victories — seven via submission and six in the first round. In his most recent fight, he picked up the PFC middleweight title with a second-round submission victory over Kenny Ento (9-4). “The winner of the fight will be the fans,” said Ken Pavia, Rees’ agent. “Between the two of them, they are 18-0 with 18 definitive finishes. (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva did a great job with this fight. I am excited for Johnny because a win over Nate really puts him on the map and puts him closer to his dream of wearing a UFC strap. The kid is legit.”

Shannon Gugherty vs.  Dale Hartt

Lightweight fighters Shannon Gugherty (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Dale Hartt (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) have agreed to meet in an undercard bout at the July 19 event. A source from Gugherty’s camp alerted MMAjunkie.com  of the bout, though Hartt’s agent, Ken Pavia, could neither confirm nor deny the fight. Gugherty, a longtime veteran of the Total Combat organization, fights out of San Diego with City Boxing. He’s currently riding a six-fight win streak, which includes six stoppages (four of which came in the first round). Gugherty kickstarted his career with a victory over WEC contender Cub Swanson, and in his most recent fight, he delivered Johnny Torres (5-1) his first career loss. Hartt, who’s competed recently for Full Force Productions in Massachusetts, trains under UFC welterweight Marcus Davis in Maine. The 29-year-old is a perfect 5-0 with five stoppages since turning pro in 2004.

UFC Fight Night 14:

Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin

Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy

Cain Velasquez vs. Jake O’Brien

Hermes Franca vs. Frank Edgar

Kevin Burns vs. Anthony Johnson

Brad Blackburn vs. James Giboo

Nate Loughran vs. Johnny Rees

Shannon Gugherty vs. Dale Hartt