Category: MMA

Kimbo Falls

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That’s Kimbo Slice at the press conference following his fight last night. Kimbo was knocked out in 14 seconds by a last minute replacement for Ken Shamrock. Shamrock sustained a cut to his eye in a warm-up session just hours prior to the fight. State officials wouldn’t clear him. So Seth Petruzelli, scheduled to fight on a non-televised undercard match, was brought up to the headliner.That’s when a funny thing happened. Kimbo Slice, who had always proclaimed that he’d fight anyone, anytime, anywhere, almost didn’t take the fight. I can understand hesitation if you’re a fighter and train specifically for one individual and then have to face another. It happens all the time in boxing and MMA. However, if your reputation is that you are the baddest brawler on the planet and you will indeed fight anyone, anywhere, anytime; then you’d better be prepared to do just that! According to reports, it wasn’t until twenty minutes before the show was supposed to go live that Kimbo agreed to the fight – perhaps it was the substantial cash bonus that swayed him. Still, he seemed pretty upset in his brief pre-fight interview.

The crazy thing is, the brief interview lasted longer than the fight itself. Kimbo rushed across the ring and was clipped with a short right to the chin, he went down and was pummeled by Petruzelli until the ref stepped in to save Kimbo from worse punishment. The emporor was shown to have no clothes. Kimbo had no clue how to protect himself once he was down. He didn’t cover up, he didn’t try to grab and close the distance so Petruzelli would have no punching room, he simply laid there taking shots.

All great fighters have lost. There is no shame in losing if you’ve prepared and give it your best. I credit Kimbo with preparing and giving it his best. Unfortunately, it became clear last night what his best is. Don’t get me wrong, if Kimbo walked into any bar across America, he could probably whip 19 out of 20 in there… maybe even 20. Walking into the octagon is a different story.

I don’t fault Kimbo for taking advantage of the opportunities that have come his way. What’s happened with Kimbo is very similar to what’s currently going on with Brock Lesnar. Kimbo did show class after the fight. He credited Seth for taking the fight and thanked the fans for coming out to see the show. He then left the octagon… maybe for the last time.

End of an Era or Two

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Tomorrow night Ken Shamrock steps into the octagon to face “Youtube” superstar Kimbo Slice. There’s a whole lot riding on the outcome of the match, and I’m not just talking about either of the fighters’ reputations. In fact, who wins won’t impact either of the combatants as much as the number of viewers who tune in to watch the fight who airs for free on CBS.

EliteXC is the company promoting the event. They had a three fight agreement with CBS. This is the third fight of the contract. Although the first card [which featured Kimbo] was the most watched MMA event ever, the second show tanked. So unless the fights tomorrow night bring the viewers to the tube, it’s over for EliteXC. Without a network sponsor, word is the company will fold.

Now, there’s no doubt that folks will tune in to watch Kimbo fight. He’s the one MMA fighter that everyone knows. Kimbo is the big, tough, brawler who knocks people out. The trouble is, in reality, Kimbo is over-rated. He hasn’t fought a single ranked fighter. In fact he’s yet to fight a fighter who’s on the way up. Look at the “name” fighters Kimbo has fought. Ray Mercer was a 46 year old former boxer. Mercer lost in the first round. Tank Abbott was 46 years old, had lost 5 of his last 6 fights and had only fought once a year in that time. Abbott also fell in the first round. Ken Shamrock is 44 years old and has lost 8 of his last 10 fights including his last five. Shamrock’s most recent victory was over 4 years ago.

So, who will win?

My guess is Kimbo. If he does, it doesn’t really hurt Shamrock’s reputation. The guy is already a Hall of Famer. A Kimbo win over Shamrock would also add a bit more luster to Kimbo’s figher cred, but mainly with folks who don’t really follow MMA. Finally, a Kimbo victory coupled with enough viewers could entice CBS to extend their contract with EliteXC.

If Shamrock wins, he could retire [hopefully] with a win that ended the era of Kimbo Slice. Unfortunately for EliteXC, it would probably also end their era as well.

Remembering Evan Tanner

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Evan Tanner was found dead yesterday. Tanner, 37, was a real free-spirit. A MMA fighter and former champion, Tanner seldom lived in the same place for more than six months. He didn’t have a lot of possessions, except for his books, which he truly loved. Tanner considered himself an adventurer and loved to travel and spend time with nature. Unfortunately, this may have contributed to his death.Tanner told friends that he was going deep into the desert… alone. He told some that he was going out for a “cleansing” and others that he was going to “hunt treasure.” These short trips into nature were nothing new for Tanner who loved his time alone in nature and the “great mysteries.” His friends became concerned when he stopped returning text messages. A rescue helicopter was sent out and his body was found miles from his camp. It appears that his motorcycle ran out of gas and Tanner began walking in heat well over a 100 degrees. The temperature became more than his body could take.

I knew of Evan Tanner because of his career in the UFC where he won 10 of his first 12 fights. Tanner was a former two time high school wrestling champ and a former UFC middleweight champion. Although he was best known for his abilities on the mat and in the octagon, Tanner said about himself: “I always thought of myself as the poet, the writer, or the philosopher – I never thought of myself as a fighter.” That is why the picture at the top of this post is not of Evan Tanner the fighter.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

 

UFC 88: Sugar Over Ice

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Before we get to the fight that shocked the world, let’s take a look at the other results of UFC 88:

Nate Marquardt won by TKO in round one over Martin Kampmann. Marquardt landed a shot in the early going that got Kampmann in touble and then he simply stayed on top of him landing shot after shot until Kampmann could take no more. I thought this would be a tougher fight. Marquardt is just rock solid and showed ring smarts by not getting over-excited and continuing to mix up his punches. I look forward to Marquardt’s next fight whoever his opponent may be.

Dan Henderson won a unanimous decision over Rousimar Palhares. Henderson surprised me by winning so easily. He came in with a game plan that worked and to his credit he stuck with it. His plan was to keep the fight standing up and avoid going to the mat with Palhares at all costs. It didn’t make for a very exciting fight, but it did get Henderson the win.

Rich Franklin won via TKO in the third over Matt Hamill. Franklin was just too ring savy. I really thought that he’d have more trouble in defeating Hamill due to Hamill’s strength and great wrestling ability. Franklin was able to keep Hamill at bay by mixing his hard kicks with punches in bunches. Franklin looked to be in danger of losing via a stoppage due to a deep cut by his eye, but before that could happen in was able to put Hamill down with a hard leg kick to the liver to end the fight.

“Sugar” Rashad Evans knocked out Chuck “the Ice Man” Liddell with a single punch in the second round! Yeah, I was as shocked as you… maybe more so. I didn’t see Evans winning that fight, and if he did somehow find a way to win, I wouldn’t have guessed it would have been by knockout. Sure, I know that anyone can be knocked out by the right punch, but I just didn’t see it happening. Evans fought a smart fight. He didn’t waste his time [despite being a superior wrestler] in trying to take down Liddell. Instead he bobbed and weaved and made Liddell miss. As Evans’ gained confidence, he stayed in front of Liddell for longer [though still brief] periods of time and threw shots of his own. And each time as he would dance away he’d add a little something to irritate Liddell. He knew what he was doing. Evans wanted Liddell to come in so intent on knocking him out, that he’d leave himself open. And that’s what Liddell did. He missed an uppercut and Evans landed one on his chin. Instant knockout. Evans now has a shot at Forest Griffin for the title and Liddell must contemplate his next move.

Some folks are calling for Liddell to retire. He’s lost three of his last four fights [to Rampage Jackson, Keith Jardine and now Rashad Evans]. Although he looked good in his win over Wanderlei Silva, many will say that Liddell just doesn’t have it anymore. I disagree.

Anyone who can mix it up with Silva still has it. But that’s what Liddell has to do, He has to mix it up. In his losses to Rampage, Jardine and Evans, he was pretty much one dimensional. He went in looking to trade punches with Rampage and Jardine, no doubt thinking that he could knock them out before they got to him. I really don’t believe that he respected Evans punching power and probably thought that Evans would want to rely on his wrestling skills. In all three fights, he was wrong. Rampage landed first and knocked him out. Jardine rocked him and then went on to win a decision. Evans caught him with one shot dead on the button. How different would those fights have been if Liddell had fought like he fought against Silva? Remember the surprise when Liddell repeatedly took Silva down? How many times did he try that against Rampage? Jardine? Evans? Liddell has excellent wrestling skills, good jiu-jitsu and we know he can strike. Maybe he should try combining all three in his next fight.


UFC 88 Predictions

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Let’s take a look at tomorrow night’s UFC 88 Pay-Per-View Card.

Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann: This should be a good fight. Kampmann trains out of Randy Couture’s camp, and has a four fight win streak running back to 2006. Marquardt is a hard case whose only loses in the UFC have been to Anderson Silva and a split decision lost to Thales Leites [who Kampmann has beaten]. Kampmann may be a slight favorite, but I’m picking Marquardt to come out on top after a tough battle.

Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Henderson: Six of Palhares’s wins have been first round submissions so you know he has mad BJJ skills. Henderson is a former two time MMA champion. He clearly dominated Anderson Silva for the entire first round when they fought, so you know he’s dangerous. Henderson has more experience, is bigger, hits harder and needs the win to get back into contention for a title shot. Everything should point to Henderson winning. Yet something says that’s not going to happen. I‘ll go for the upset and take Palhares.

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill: Rich Franklin has moved up in weight after two devastating losses to Anderson Silva. He’ll face Matt Hamill who has less experience, but better wrestling skills and freakish strength. How that will play out all depends on how well Franklin can avoid being taken down. Hamill will want to force the fight to the mat and Franklin will look to knock out Hamill as he shoots for takedowns. I think that experience will prevail and give the nod to Franklin.

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell: This should be interesting. Up to this point, Rashad Evans has been able to rise to every occassion and keep his unbeaten streak alive. Evans is a skilled wrestler who continues to improve other facets of his MMA game. Liddell is the Ice Man. The Knockout King. Everyone knows that Liddell plans to keep the fight a standup slugfest — he will want to stalk Evans and throw bombs until one lands and puts him to sleep. So where does that leave Evans? He has two choices and neither are that great. He can try to beat Liddell at his own game by slipping punches and landing his own. I don’t see that happening for long. Or he can try to take Liddell to the mat and wear him down with his superior wrestling skills. The only problem is that Liddell is famous for avoiding takedowns. My prediction: Liddell by TKO.

Karo Parisyan was scheduled to fight on the card, but had to cancel due to a bad back. Funny that he pulled out on the day before the fight. I like Parisyan and hope it is nothing more than a bad back, but after listening to this interview, I have to wonder.

Couture vs Lesnar

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Wow. Really. Wow. Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship Title. Talk about a dream match.

Randy Couture is considered a MMA legend. Couture is the only UFC fighter to be a five time champion. [Never mind the fact that it means that he’s lost the title a few times along the way.] He’s the only man to hold both the UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Titles. Less than a year after retiring and being inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame, Couture came back to win the UFC Heavyweight Title once again. [Never mind the fact that was over a year ago and Couture has been tied up in legal wranglings with the UFC.]

Brock Lesnar is 6 feet two inches and 280 pounds of solid muscle. He moves as fast as a middle weight. [Never mind the fact that he lacks depth in his MMA skills.] Lesnar is a former wrestling champion [NCAA and WWE] and now he is going to fight for Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Title. [Never mind that he’s had just 3 MMA fights and lost one.]

Folks in the Couture camp think that his wrestling/MMA skills will be too much for Lesnar. They point out that Couture has fought bigger, stronger [?] and much more skilled opponents and come out on top. Those in Lesnar’s camp think Couture’s too old and that the year layoff will hurt him. Or that Lesnar is simply too quick and strong.

The funny thing is none of that is going to matter the night of the fight. It will probably be the biggest Pay-Per-View in the history of MMA. Fans and critics of both fighters will tune in. People who’ve never watched an MMA fight will tune in. It’s the fight people want to see.

So never mind the never minds.

UFC 87 Results

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Last night’s UFC card lived up to it’s hype. The graphic above shows who won with a “W” [white if I picked them, red for the one fight I got wrong]. Let’s take a closer look at the results.

Jason “The Athlete” Macdonald (20-9-0) vs Demian Maia (7-0-0). I picked Maia to continue his streak again Jason MacDonald. The first round was exciting and full of moments when each fighter looked as if he had the other ready to go. Then the pace and action slowed and it went three rounds before Maia was able to sink in a rear naked choke that Macdonald couldn’t shake. Maia won by tapout at 2:44 of the third. His streak lives on.

+++++

Kenny Florian (9-3) vs Roger Huerta (22-1) looked to be the fight of the night and maybe even the fight of the year! Unfortunately, it proved to be neither. It was a good, but not a great fight. Huerta, at least last night, couldn’t handle what Florian brought to the octagon. Huerta was game and pressed the fight throughout, but it was Florian who won the majority of the exchanges. I had picked Huerta to win, but it wasn’t to be.

This is one of those fights where the end result was much closer than the final score would indicate. The judges gave Florian every round — and I can’t argue with that, but the rounds were close. Congrats to Florian who should now get the respect he deserves and to Huerta for putting up a game effort. I look forward to seeing both men in the octagon again against new opponents.
+++++

The Brock Lesnar vs Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring fight had one of the most exciting and shocking starts you could imagine. Both men rushed to the center of the ring to exchange blows. Lesnar hit Herring flush in the face and it not only knocked him down, but flipped him over backwards into a complete reverse somersault. Can you imagine being hit that hard, and as you gain your wits and look up [while still on your knees after being knocked ankles over teakettle] you see 285 pounds of enraged muscle running full speed at you? That’s exactly what Herring saw.

Unfortunately the rest of the fight consisted of Lesnar taking Herring down and controlling him with his size and strength. To his credit Herring continued to try to roll Lesnar, look for armbars, but there was nothing he could do with the beast. The outcome was never in doubt once it became clear that Lesnar wasn’t going to gas.

A couple of times in the middle of the bout, Lesnar would “work the crowd” to get them chanting his name. Then with about ten seconds to go in the final round, Lesnar pushed Herring away and raised his hands in victory. The unanimous decision went to Lesnar. Joe Rogan went over to do the post fight interview and Lesnar snatched the mic from him and began singing his own praises. I swear it was like he was in the WWE all over again.

Lesnar is a huge, tough, strong man. He will be a force in the MMA. I just hope that he gains bit more class and remembers that he’s no longer a rassler. Big props to Herring for never backing down and making every effort to pull out a win.


+++++

George St. Pierre (16-2) vs Jon Fitch (21-2-1). Before the fight I commented that “Fitch is without a doubt the #2 welterweight in the UFC (maybe the world). The thing of it is, he’s fighting the number one guy. GSP is in a league of his own right now.” Last night’s fight proved both points.

GSP is amazing. He has strength, speed, skills and heart. He hit Fitch with punches and kicks that would have stopped most men, even much bigger men. A couple of times he dropped Fitch and yet… Fitch. Kept. On. Coming. Back. For. More. It was an amazing show of staminia and determine on the part of both men. Here’s what GSP had to say after the fight: “After the third round, I was looking at the clock and Jon Fitch, he never died. I tried to finish him. In the first round, I tried everything. I saw him fall down and come back, and I thought, ‘My God, what am I going to have to do to stop this guy?’ It was discouraging.”

GSP won the unanimous decision. He was respectful and humble in his victory. He praised Fitch and showed the class worthy of a champion. [Brock Lesnar, I hope you were watching.] Fitch, in losing, proved himself to be a warrior.
+++++

There were also two fights televised that I hadn’t talked about, but are worth mentioning now.

Rob Emerson vs Manny Gamburyan brought together two former combatants from The Ultimate Fighter. At the start of the first round both came out swinging, but it was Emerson who connected and Gamburyan was down and out could at 12 seconds of the first round.

Dan Evenson vs Cheick Kongo. Both are very big men. The difference was that Kongo had more skills in every area. Evenson looked awkward and stiff right up to the point at 4:55 of the first round when Kongo knocked him out. There’s talk that Kongo will be Brock Lesnar’s next opponent. Poor Kongo.

UFC 87 Predictions

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I’m really looking forward to tomorrow night’s UFC 87 card. There are several evenly matched fights that I am really excited about. It’ll be interesting and hopefully exciting to see how they go.

Jason “The Athlete” Macdonald (20-9-0) vs. Demian Maia (7-0-0). MacDonald has the experience, but Maia is undefeated. MacDonald is bigger and a better striker, but Maia’s jiu-jitsu is supposed to be top notch. Seems more folks are leaning towards MacDonald to stop Maia’s win streak. Since I hate to see win streaks end, and I have a soft spot for the underdog, I’m leaning towards Maia.
+++++
Kenny Florian (9-3) vs Roger Huerta (22-1). This could not only be the fight of the night; it could be the fight of the year! The crazy thing is, that there are just as many folks saying that Florian is over-rated as there are saying the same about Huerta. There’s an even bigger group saying that both are two of the best fighters entering the cage on Saturday.

The one real intangiable for me is the press that Huerta has been getting leading up to the fight. He was pretty upset [and made it known] with the way a promo was cut making it appear that he said that fighting Florian would be a cakewalk. Huerta was also quoted as saying he didn’t care if he was fighting in the UFC or another organization. You can imagine Dana White’s reaction. I’m still leaning towards Huerta; I just hope he stops giving interviews between now and the fight!
+++++
Brock Lesnar (1-1) vs Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring (29-13-1). This could prove to be very interesting. I wasn’t a Herring fan until recently. He did impress me with his win over Cheick Congo and he seems to be taking his career more seriously. The first few times I saw Herring fight, he appeared to be a big guy with some skills, but more interested in his nickname, wild hair style and trademark duster jacket than being a well-rounded fighter.

Lesnar is a beast. He went in against former heavy-weight champ Frank Mir in just his second MMA fight and floored him with a jab! It was Lesnar’s lack of experience that cost him the fight. He nearly had Mir out with a punishing ground-and-pound seconds after the fight started.

So the question is, has Lesnar gained enough experience to stay out of trouble if the fight goes to the ground? And it will go to the ground. Lesnar’s takedowns are brutal. Herring’s only hope is that he can survive the initial barrage that will come and then look to submit Lesnar from the bottom. If by some chance, Herring can take it late into the round [or fight], then he may be able to try and test Lesnar’s chin. That’s a lot of “if’s.”

I see Lesnar winning by TKO or KO. And should Herring find a way to win, my cowboy hat goes off to him!
+++++

George St. Pierre (16-2) vs Jon Fitch (21-2-1). Fitcch is without a doubt the #2 welterweight in the UFC (maybe the world). The thing of it is, he’s fighting the number one guy. GSP is in a league of his own right now. Of course the same thing was said when GSP stepped in against 8-1 underdog, Matt Serra. We all remember how THAT turned out. This should be a very entertaining fight with GSP once again showing why he’s the champ.

UCF Fight Night 14 Results

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Let’s take a look at the results of last night’s fights:

C.B. Dollaway looked like his was going to have a long night with Jesse Taylor when three-quarters of the way through the first round he pulled off a “Peruvian necktie” forcing Taylor to submit. I busted out laughing while watching C.B. work Taylor into the hold. I’d never seen the move before and didn’t realize what was happening. I don’t think that Taylor did either. Then when it was announced that Dollaway had one via “Peruvian necktie” I started laughing again — the hold sounded like something that Gordon Solie would come up with while announcing Professional Wrestling from Florida in the early 70’s! Hats off to Dollaway for the win.
Frankie Edgar convincingly defeated Hermes Franca by winning every round. for a unanimous decision. Franca’s year off must have really taken its toll. Except for a few brief bursts by Franca, Edgar controlled the entire fight and looked good in winning.

Brandon Vera defeated Reese Andy by unanimous decision in the most boring fight of the night. Andy tried to pressure the much bigger Vera, but was pretty ineffective. Vera was just plain tired, but did enough to win.

Anderson Silva defeated James Irvin by TKO at 1:01 of the first round. Silva landed a strong kick that knocked Irvin to the mat and then followed with several unanswered shots to the head forcing the ref to call it. Silva looked strong and confident while Irvin seemed a bit stiff. Then again, who wouldn’t be when facing the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? Although Silva says that his main priority is defending his middleweight title, I don’t think that we’ve seen the last of Silva at light heavyweight and he may even challenge for the title before to long.

In the strangest decision of the night: Kevin Burns won via TKO at 3:35 of round three over Anthony Johnson. Johnson was well ahead in the fight and Burns needed a knock out to win. Suddenly Burns swung and appeared to connect with Johnson’s chin. Johnson spun around and went to the mat. Burns hesitated and then dropped down reigning blows on Johnson until the ref stepped in to call it. Johnson immediately and repeatedly complained he’d been poked in the eye. Replays showed that’s exactly what happened. Burns had jabbed with his left and his fingers went into Johnson’s eye and Burns’ followup right totally missed. Johnson went down because of the pain to his jabbed eye. Add to this the fact that Burns had poked Johnson in the eye earlier in the match and was warned if it happened again he would lose a point or be disqualified and you have the makings of a DQ win for Johnson. Nope. Burns was given the victory. Looks like Burns unintentionally took a cue from either Rick “The Dirtiest Player in the Game” Flair or Curly of the Three Stooges.

If you tuned out after the Silva win, you missed the KO of the Night. Rory Markham was on his way to being knocked out by Brodie Farber. We were still in the first round and the two had been exchanging punches like it was the final seconds of the final round that both needed for a victory. Farber landed a couple of shots that rocked Markham. As Markham back peddled, Farber began stalking him. Suddenly Markham unleashed a head kick that knocked Farber out cold!

Overall a good card that opened up the potential for more great fights.

UFC Fight Night 14

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Tomorrow night SpikeTV presents UFC Fight Night 14 starting at 9pm EST. There are some interesting match-ups. Let’s take a look at four of them.
  • Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin: This is one of the co-main events. Silva who is the UFC middleweight champion [and has totally dominated his division] moves up in weight to meet James Irvin. Silva is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter today. He’s 6-0 since entering the UFC and 21-4 over all. Irvin comes in with a 14-4 record [4-3 in the UFC]. Most folks are predicting Silva to dominate Irvin. Truth be told, Irvin probably has just a puncher’s chance. I really like both of these fighters and will hate to see either lose. Smart money goes on Silva.
  • Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy: Vera is coming off a two fight losing streak. Not so impressive for a fighter who claimed he was going to be the first to hold both the heavy and light heavyweight titles at the same time. Andy is making his UFC debut at the age of 35. Vera is coming down in weight so that could effect his performance. This is Andy’s first UFC fight so he could be tight under the big lights for the first time. Vera is 8-2 and Andy is 7-1 [and on a 4 fight win streak]. Andy has a strong wrestling background. This is a tough one to call, but I’m leaning toward Vera.
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca: Edgar comes in with an 8-1 record to face Franca at 18-6. Both men lost their last fights by decisions [Edgar to Gray Maynard and Franca to Sean Sherk]. Franca has impressed me in earlier fights so I’m giving him the nod.
  • C.B. Dollaway vs. Jesse Taylor: Both of these guys were on this season’s Ultimate Fighter, but Jesse’s behavior got him booted. Dollaway went on to lose in the semi-finals and then was brought back and beaten in the finals. The surprising part was that Dollaway was one of the favorites to win the whole thing. Both Dollaway and Taylor have strong college wrestling backgrounds and in fact faced each other twice, with Dollaway winning both times. This is MMA though and things are a bit different. I think that Taylor’s strength will be enough to get him the win.

Rampage’s Troubles Continue?

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Yesterday, some of Quentin “Rampage” Jackson’s friends contacted the Irvine police. An officer was sent out and according to Lt. Rick Handfield of the Irvine police, Jackson “was exhibiting some unusual behavior… At the conclusion of our contact, we did detain him and take him to be seen by mental health professionals… We left him with the mental health professionals.” You can read the full account HERE.

While many MMA / news sites are saying how bad this is for Rampage, my thought is that it’s probably a good thing that he’s been taken where he can get some help. My hope is that Dana White and some of his family and friends will be there for him and he will make his way back to where he needs to be.

Rampage Jackson Arrested

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Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, former UFC light heavyweight champion, was arrested today after leaving the scene of an accident and leading police on a chase. According to reports, Jackson hit two cars and left the scene. A police officer attempted to pull Jackson over, but Jackson fled with the officer in pursuit as Jackson’s vehicle weaved “in and out of traffic, including at one point driving on the wrong side of the road and even on a sidewalk, scaring pedestrians” and hitting at least one more vehicle.

UFC 86 Results

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Okay, let’s take a look at last night’s UFC results:

* Light-heavyweight title fight: Rampage Jackson vs Forrest Griffin: Forrest fought an extremely smart fight and was able to win a unanimous decision and the title. He hurt Rampage early with repeated hard leg kicks. I gave Rampage the 1st and 3rd rounds and Forrest the 2nd, 4th and 5th with the second being a 10 – 8 round. There will no doubt be a rematch down the line.


* Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote: Cote won via a split decision.

* Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau: Joe Stevenson won via a second round submission.

* Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle: Josh Koscheck won via a unanimous decision.

* Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin: Tyson won via a unanimous decision.

Congrats to Joey “Bartledoo” C. for picking every fight right!

UFC 86 Predictions

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Okay, let’s take a look at tonight’s UFC card:

* Light-heavyweight title fight: Rampage Jackson vs Forrest Griffin: the smart money is riding on Rampage and the “heart” money goes with Forrest. I’d bet on Rampage straight up, but I’m pulling for Forrest.

* Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote: Alemida is in his second fight after a three year layoff and Cote is on a three fight win streak. I’ll take a chance that Cote pushes the streak to four.

* Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau: I like Big Daddy Joe Stevenson and that’s reason enough to pick him against Tibau.

* Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle: Josh Koscheck is talking about dropping weight and taking on BJ Penn in a title fight, first he’ll need to win against Lytle. I think he will.

* Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin: This will be an exciting and explosive match. I’m predicting Tyson Griffin will find a way to win.

Here’s to great fights with more fireworks than we saw last night!

MMA Update

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On June 19th I suggested that Dana White reconsider his tolerance for the drunken destruction that is encouraged in the house during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter. The following day, Ken Iole, who covers the MMA for Yahoo Sports posted similar thoughts.

Guess what Dana White announced today?

“Fighters of Season 8 – which completed filming last week and will begin airing in September – were told they’d have to pay for any damage they did.”

White also announced that Jesse White will fight C.B. Dollaway on the July 19th card headlined by Anderson Silva moving up to light heavyweight to fight James Irvin.

Check out Ken Iole’s column for the full story!