Category: MMA

I really thought I’d be more stoked for tonight’s UFC 98 card.  There’s really only two fights that interest me and they are, naturally enough, the co-main event fights.

Matt Hughes and Matt Serra are going to finally get to settle their differences in the octagon.  I think that Hughes will dominate Serra.  He’s bigger, stronger and has the much better record against tougher competition.  Of course that was true when Serra fought GSP and we all know how that turned out.

“Sugar” Rashad Evans risks his title and undefeated record when he faces Lyoto “Dragon” Machida.  Machida is also undefeated.  Evans always goes in as the underdog, but also always finds a way to win.  Ye Gods!  I may be wrong, but I’m going with Machida.

Results tomorrow!

Sometimes, it’s not if you win or lose, but HOW you win or lose.  The results of the co-main event fights at tonight’s UFC 97 prove the truth of that saying.

Chuck Liddell was knocked out in the first round by Shogun Rua.  The fight didn’t last long, but was fast paced with both fighters throwing bombs.  Liddell was pressing the action and landing some good shots.  At one point Rua almost put in Liddell in a leglock, but Chuck escaped and continued to move forward.  Suddenly Rua landed a hook and Chuck went down.  Rua followed and started dropping hammerfists until the ref stepped in to stop it.  Although Liddell lost, the crowd was still cheering him when he returned, beer in hand to watch the main event.  Later it was announced that Chuck Liddell was retiring.

Anderson Silva, on the other hand, easily defeated Thales Leites in a fight that should have exciting.  Both men are skilled martial artists and were fighting for the title.  The fight went the distance and before the first round was over, fans were booing.  Leites had no intention of standing and trading punches with Silva so he would intentionally drop to his back each time it looked as if a serious exchange was about to take place.  For his part, Silva refused to go to the ground with Leites.  Imagine watching THAT for five rounds.  Silva ended up with the unanimous decision and a recording breaking streak of wins… a many, if not most of the fans in attendance booing him.

Liddell has had a great career.  He’s still a fan favorite and will continue to work with the UFC even if he never steps into the octogan to fight again.  If  Liddell did decide to fight again, fans would turn out knowing that win or lose, they’d see a plenty of action.   Silva is perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.  Despite the longest win streak in UFC history and being the Middleweight champ, it’s going to be hard to get fans excited about his next fight because sometimes it’s not if you win or lose, but HOW you go about doing it.

Just a quick post before I head off to bed to get a few hours of sleep.  John Beatty is picking me up at 7am for our trip to FX.  It should be a fun couple of days.  Then on Sunday I’m meeting up with Rob Smith to catch up on the latest news of his travels and art.

This post isn’t about any of that though.  Instead I thought I’d give you my picks for Saturday’s UFC event.  So right to the point: Silva will defeat Leites in what should be a very technical fight, and Liddell will win against Shogun.  Yeah, that’s right don’t count out the Iceman.

Now for some zzzzzzzs!

On May 23rd, Matt Hughes will finally get a chance to fight Matt Serra.  Although neither fighter is in his prime, this is a match that I’m really looking forward to.  These guys truly don’t like each other and have wanted to mix it up for a while.

The weeks leading up to the battle could be pretty entertaining and I have no doubt that the fight will be as well.  I think that Hughes will win and may even be able to do it via a submission or ref stoppage.  Serra may surprise us though.  Look what he did to GSP — and Matt Hughes is no longer on that level.  That’s what worries me.  Because if he wins his fight with Serra, Hughes says:

“I’m toying with the idea of moving to 185 to fight Silva.”

Is Matt Hughes nuts?  He’s lost 3 of his last 4 fights at his [lower] weight class.  What makes Hughes think that he can go up in weight and take on the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game?

For the full article click here.

On Tuesday it was announced that on May 23rd, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (3-1) will square off against UFC interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir (12-3 MMA).  This unification bout will be their second meeting.  In the first, Mir won via tapout from a leg bar in the first round.

The card will also feature the highly anticipated bout between Matt Hughes and Matt Sera.  There’s no love lost between these two and you can bet that trash talk will lead up to sparks in the ring.

At this point, I’d have to say that the smart money is on Lesnar in the title bout and Hughes in the battle of the Matts.  I have to admit that I’ll probably be pulling for the underdogs when May 23rd rolls around.

Josh Koscheck Vs. Paulo Thiago: I went with Koscheck.  You can imagine my shock when he was knocked out in the first round with two hard shots to the head [the second as he was falling to the mat].  Koscheck had been forcing the action and Joe Rogan had just made a comment about Koscheck having the better punching ability when he suddenly found himself wondering why he was on the mat looking up.

Demian Maia Vs. Chael Sonnen I thought that Maia was going to win this one via submission pretty easily.  He did by triangle choke at 2:37 of the first round.

Nate Marquardt Vs. Wilson Gouveia I didn’t see this going the distance and predicted a win for Marquardt.  Although it went to the 3:10 mark of the third round, Marquardt did win by KO.

Joe Stevenson Vs. Diego Sanchez I gave the nod to Sanchez who won via unanimous decision.

Let’s take a look at my predictions for tonight’s UFC 95 fight card:

Josh Koscheck Vs. Paulo Thiago I’m a bit puzzled by this fight.  Thiago is undefeated but should be severely tested by Koscheck.  Koscheck has been extremely busy working his way to a title shot.  He has a lot to lose should he do so.  Thiago could be pushed right to the top of the division with a win of Koscheck.  So who wants it more?  I’m going with Koscheck.

Demian Maia Vs. Chael Sonnen I think that Maia is going to win this one via submission pretty easily.

Nate Marquardt Vs. Wilson Gouveia I don’t see this going the distance and I’m predicting a win for Marquardt.

Joe Stevenson Vs. Diego Sanchez These are two of my favorite UFC fighters and they should provide us with an excellent main event.  Sanchez is coming down in weight, but I don’t believe that will be much of a factor.  Both are former winners of The Ultimate Fighter tv tournaments.  I’m giving the nod to Sanchez.

Let’s take a look at my predictions and the results:

Nate Diaz vs Clay Guida — my prediction: Diaz.  Winner: Guida by split decision.

Manny Gamburyan vs Thiago Tavares — my prediction: Tavares.   Winner: Tavares by unanimous decision.

Karo Parisyan vs Dong Hyun Kim — my prediction: Karo.  Winner: Karo by split decision.

Jon Fitch vs Akihiro Gono aka “The Japanese Sensation.” — my prediction: Fitch.  Winner: Fitch by unanimous decision.

Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonner vs Jon “Bones” Jones.  — my prediction: The Psycho. Winner: Bones.

Lyoto Machida vs Thiago Silva.  — my prediction: Flip a coin.  Winner: Machida via 1st round KO

BJ Penn vs George St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship — my prediction: GSP.  Winner: GSP byTKO when Penn can not answer the bell for the 5th round.

Tonight the UFC is putting on a really good card.  Predictions are that it will be the biggest UFC pay-per-view ever.  Although I’m not sure about that [I think that they could have picked a better date — this is the second pay-per-view this month and the day before the Super Bowl] — but  I do believe it’s going to be an excellent card.

Nate Diaz vs Clay Guida should be very entertaining.  Both are agressive, in your face fighters.  Diaz has height, reach and youth on his side and Guida has experience.  I’m going with Diaz.

Manny Gamburyan vs Thiago Tavares could be a technical battle.  I think that Tavares is going to be too much for Manny though.  I don’t think this will go the distance.

Karo Parisyan vs Dong Hyun Kim should be a great fight.  Kim is undefeated.  Karo has crazy skills and a ton of experience against tough opponents.  He may not be favored, but I’m pulling for Karo.

Jon Fitch vs Akihiro Gono aka “The Japanese Sensation.” I’ll be surprised if this one goes the distance.  Fitch for the victory.

Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonner vs Jon “Bones” Jones.  Jones is undefeated and Bonner is coming off an extended layoff due to injuries.  However, their nicknames alone seal the deal.  The Psycho will defeat Bones.

Lyoto Machida vs Thiago Silva.  How often do two undefeated, 13-0, fighters match up?  Not very.  They’re both 6’1″ and weigh 205.  Flip a coin, then sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

BJ Penn vs George St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship.  This is the second time that they will meet.  GSP won the first battle in a tough split decision match.  Both fighters are much better now and they were very good then.  This should be a war.  I’m going with GSP.  He’s the current title holder.  Penn is coming up in weight to fight him.  These two facts give GSP a slight edge, at least in my book.