Category: MMA

Tonight the UFC and SPIKE TV join forces to bring us free fights in an event that they’re calling Fight for the Troops 2.  Without further adu, here are my predictions:

• Cole Miller vs. Matt Wiman: Although Miller looks more schoolboy than fighter, the kid is tough.
  Prediction: Miller wins via submission.
• Pat Barry vs. Joey Beltran: If you’re looking for a knockout, then this is the fight to watch.
  Prediction: Barry wins via TKO or KO.
• Mark Hominick vs. George Roop: Not much to say other than…
  Prediction: Hominick wins by decision
• Matt Mitrione vs. Tim Hague: I’m hoping for some fireworks in this one… the question is whether they will have enough gas in their tanks if an early KO doesn’t come.
  Prediction: Mitrione wins by early TKO/KO or ugly decision
• Melvin Guillard vs. Evan Dunham: I am not a Guillard fan, but I will admit he has looked good in some of his recent outings.  With that said…
  Prediction: Dunham wins via submission.

I’ll post the results tomorrow.

Last night Georges St. Pierre closed Josh Koscheck’s eye and the year with a win at UFC 124.  Let’s take a look at the earlier fight results and then come back to the main event:

• Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig:
  Prediction: Joe “Daddy” Stevenson by decision.
  Result: Danzig caught Stevenson with a counter left hook knocking him cold and scoring a 1st round KO making me 0-1 for the night.

• Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve
  Prediction: I’ll go out on a limb with the upset… McCorkle wins by KO.
  Result: The limb snapped after McCorkle, who had been dominating the fight with a giant slam, a kimura armbar and dominating top control got swept and hammered by Struve until the ref stopped it at 3:55 of the first round.  0-2 for the night.

• GSP vs Josh Koscheck.
  Prediction: GSP via stoppage.
  Result: GSP dominated every round with a brutal standup and won 50-45 on all three cards bringing me to a sad 1-2 for the night.

Final Thoughts…

• Joe Stevenson may have fought his last UFC fight due to his KO loss.  I hope that’s not the case.
• Stefan Struve showed heart and patience to earn his win.  My hats off to him.
• GSP has cleaned out his division.  He says if he decides to go up in weight to fight Anderson Silva he will do it the right way.  He’ll gain muscle mass and will stay in that division.  THAT is a fight I’d love to see.
• For the first [and last time] Dana White allowed the fans to vote for Fight of the Night ($100,000) bonuses.  Fans voted GSP vs Koscheck the Fight of the Night but reporters and Dan White felt that the bonus should have gone to Sean Pierson vs Matt Riddle.  White said he will “take care of them.”  Fans also voted bonuses to Mac Danzig for his KO of the Night of Joe Stevenson.  Jim Miller earned Submission of the Night for his kneebar on Mark Bocek.

UFC 124 is tonight.  Although the main event between Josh Koscheck and Georges St. Pierre is highly anticipated, the undercard doesn’t really grab me.  Still there are a few fights that have interested me [and hopefully you] enough that I’ll share my predictions:

• Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig: It’s possible that the loser will also lose his contract with the UFC.  THAT should provide motivation for a good fight between two form Ultimate Fighter champions.
  Prediction: Joe “Daddy” Stevenson by decision.
• Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve: McCorkle is 6’7 and Strive is 6’11” so if a knockout occurs, it will take a bit longer for the loser to hit the mat.  Other than that, there’s not much that interests me about this one.
  Prediction: I’ll go out on a limb with the upset… McCorkle wins by KO.
  
• GSP vs Josh Koscheck.  Although Kos is undefeated since GSP beat him 3 years ago and by all accounts is a better fighter; GSP hasn’t lost since he was upset [which he avenged] by Matt Serra… and he’s even better now.  There’s little chance that this fight will live up to the hype.
  Prediction: GSP via stoppage.

As always I’ll post results tomorrow.

Last night SPIKE TV aired UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter season finale.  Let’s check out my predictions and the results:

Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia.
Prediction: Maia via decision.
Result: Maia won via unanimous decision.

Jonathan Brookins vs. Michael Johnson for the title of The Season’s Ultimate Fighter.
Prediction: Bookins via submission stoppage.
Result: Bookins won via unanimous decision.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac
Prediction: Bonnar via decision.
Result: Bonnar won vian unanimous decision.

Although there were only 3 fights I predicted, I went 3 and 0.  It’s not often I get 100% of the fights right… guess I should have bet a buck or two.  ; )

Tonight at 9pm EST, SPIKE TV will air free UFC fights.  There are three that interest me and here are my predictions:

Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia.
Prediction: Maia via decision.

Jonathan Brookins vs. Michael Johnson for the title of The Season’s Ultimate Fighter.
Prediction: Bookins via submission stoppage.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac
Prediction: Bonnar via decision.

I’ll post the results tomorrow.

UFC 123 was last night. Let’s look at my predictions and the results:

Matt Hughes vs BJ Penn.
Prediction: Penn by decision.
Result: Penn KO’d Hughes in 21 seconds of the first round.

Rampage Jackson vs Lyoto Machida.
Prediction: Machida by decision.
Result: Jackson via split decision.

Final thoughts:

• It would have made for much more interesting scenarios had Matt Hughes won.  Would he have been in line for a title shot?  With Penn winning in such a decisive manner, the question is now, “Is Matt Hughes finished in MMA?”  Funny how the tides can turn so quickly.

• Jackson won via split decision, getting the victory that I thought would go to Machida.  I’m glad for Jackson and hope it leads to bigger and better things.

• Karo Parisyan fought on the undercard.  At one time Karo was in line for a title shot.  His fight against Diego Sanchez remains one of my all-time favorites.  Last night he was KO’d in 1:47 of the first round.  Karo looked terrible.  I had hoped that he’d overcome his anxiety/panic attacks and was ready to resume his quest for the title.  According to Dana White, Karo has fought his last fight in the UFC which, if true, is a sad end to a once promising career.

UFC 123 is tonight on PPV.  The prelims will be free on SPIKE.  This is the first card in a long time that doesn’t excite me.  In fact, the two main fights are the only ones that really interest me… so here are my predictions:

Matt Hughes vs BJ Penn. While I’d love to see Hughes win, I think that BJ will probably win via decision.  It’s a three round fight and although Hughes will probably try to press the action, Penn should  have enough gas in the tank to hang for three rounds.  I hope I’m wrong.
Prediction: Penn by decision.

Rampage Jackson vs Lyoto Machida. These seems a match perfect for Machida’s style,  He will stay outside and pick apart Jackson with kicks and strikes.  I see Jackson’s only real chance is throwing caution to the wind and throwing homerun shots.
Prediction: Machida by decision.

As Brock Lesnar was walking back to his locker room after his loss to Cain Velasquez, he was confronted by the WWE wrestler known as the Undertaker.  According to this report…

• WWE wanted Brock to win the fight.
• Brock/Undertaker were supposed to have a confrontation at the post-fight press conference.
• Brock didn’t attend the press conference because he felt he would be stealing Cain’s moment.
• Undertaker was waiting at the press conference, and when he got word Brock wasn’t coming, he left.

I wonder how Dana White will react if this turns out to be true.

This video of a minor “confrontation” between WWE’s The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar after his defeat at the fists of Cain Velasquez is popping up on the major MMA sites.  So when the ‘Taker asks Brock…

“Ya wanna do it?” …

…what exactly is he talking about?  It’s a safe bet that the Taker’s not suggesting a real MMA match.

So could The Undertaker be trying to lay the groundwork for a Lesnar return to the WWE? The folks at Cageside Seats make a pretty good case that it was a Vince McMahon plan coming together.  It makes me wonder two things:

1. Did Brock know it was going to happen?
2. How will Dana react when he sees the video?

UFC 121 was an excellent card so let’s get right to the results:

• Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor

My prediction: Cote for the win.

The result: Lawlor won by Unanimous Decision.  Cote couldn’t stop the takedowns and it was a one-sided fight.

Making me: 0 – 1 for the night

• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brendan Schaub

My prediction: Gonzaga by TKO.

The result: Schaub won by Unanimous Decision. I really thought that there would be more fireworks in this one and that both fighters would stand in front of each other and swing away.  That did happen in the final few seconds, but the rest of the fight was dominated by Schaub.

Making me: 0 -2 for the night.

• Paulo Thiago vs. Diego Sanchez

My prediction: Diego by decision.

The result: Diego won by Unanimous Decision.  This was an exciting fight.  I had it even going into the final round and that was the round that Diego owned.  This match earned each fighter an extra $70,000 for “Fight of the Night” bonuses… and rightly so.

Making me: 1-2 for the night

• Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz

My prediction: Hamill by decision.

The result: Hamill won by Unanimous Decision.  It was an interesting fight.  Tito didn’t look bad, and although some are predicting that his career with the UFC is over, I think we’ll see him fight again with the company.

Making me: 2-2 for the night

• Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampman

My prediction: Shields via decision.

The result: Shields won with a Split Decision.  It was an interesting battle of strategies.  Shields wanted the fight on the ground and Kampman wanted it to be a stand-up war.  Although it was a close fight, I thought it was clear that Shields won… and I’m glad two of the three judges agreed.

Making me: 3-2 for the night.

• Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez

My prediction: Velasquez via TKO.

The result: Velasquez won via 1st round stoppage.  Although Brock came out strong throwing knees and scoring a quick takedown, Velasquez was immediately up and on the offensive.  And it was all Velesquez from that point on. Velesquez picked up an extra $70,000 for “knockout of the night.”

Making me: 4-2 for the night.

Final Thoughts:

• Patrick Cote looked pretty bad.  I’ve always been a fan, but without a good wrestling base or at least an answer to those with grappling skills, you’re pretty limited with your options in MMA.

• Shaub surprised me.  He controlled the fight and stuck to a good game plan.  It will be interesting to keep an eye on him.  Gonzaga didn’t look terrible, but I’m surprised he wasn’t able or willing to try and take it to Shaub.

• Diego Sanchez is a fighter with a warrior’s heart.  I’m happy for his win and look forward to his next fight.

• Tito looked better in his loss last night than I expected.  He may never get another title shot, but his career isn’t over.

• Shields will get a title shot for his win over Kampman.

• Velasquez dominated Lesnar.  He was better in all areas [punching, wrestling, defense].  In a piece at Yahoo! Sports, Maggie Kendricks wrote…

Dana White said that when watching the monitors during the main event, he thought he saw Brock Lesnar verbally submit to the Cain Velasquez, but Velasquez said he didn’t hear that.

• In an interesting article at Bloody Elbow, Jonathon Snowden raises doubt about Lesnar’s fighting heart.  I don’t question Lesnar’s heart, I think it’s more that he doesn’t have enough experience in how to deal with fighters who have the ability to stand up to him.  He’s not been put in dangerous positions enough to know what to do when he’s getting pummeled.  In both the Carwin and Velasquez fights he basically turned away when not curling up and covering up.  Brock showed some class in his comments after the fight, but he did not make it to the press conference.

• So what’s next for Velasquez and Lesnar?  Definitely not a rematch.  It looks like Velasquez will take on knockout artist, Junior Dos Santos.  For Lesnar, maybe a third outing against Mir?

UFC 121 is live tonight on pay-per-view and has one of the best fight cards in recent memory.  Let’s get to my predictions:

• Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor

This should be an exciting, close fight.  I’m a Cote fan, but Lawler is no pushover.  Lawler needs to get this to the ground where he would most likely have the advantage.  That advantage coupled with the fact that Cote has only fought three times in two years makes Lawlor a tempting pick.  But, as I said, I’m a Cote fan.
My prediction: Cote for the win.

• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brendan Schaub My guess is this one will end early.  Either man has the ability to do the job.  If you think experience is the key, then Gonzaga is the fighter to pick.

My prediction: Gonzaga by TKO.

• Paulo Thiago vs. Diego Sanchez

This should be another exciting fight.  At one point Diego was my favorite fighter, and although Frank Mir has moved into my top spot, Diego not too far behind.  Thiago is a slight favorite.  I think that they’re pretty equally matched, but the smart money will be on Thiago.  Since I’m not betting, it makes my decision pretty easy.
My prediction: Diego by decision.

• Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz

Another interesting fight.  Despite the fact [as MMA Fighting points out] that “that the last time he [Ortiz] finished someone not named Ken Shamrock was in 2001,” many folks think that he’ll beat Hamill.  I don’t see how.  Hamill can wrestle and should be able to stuff any of Ortiz’s takedowns.  Hamill is stronger than Ortiz.  He’s younger than Ortiz.  Of course Hamill is coming off of a brutal loss to Bones Jones and that may play mind games with him for this first fight back.
My prediction: Hamill by decision.

• Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampman

This is Jake Shields’ first fight since his dramatic upset of Dan Henderson.  Shields’ game plan will be to dominate via ground and pound.  Kampman will want this to be a standup war.  I think at some point the fight will go to the ground and Shields will do enough to win.
My prediction: Shields via decision.

• Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez

The fight that will get everyone to tune in.  And it should be an exciting one.  Lesnar is a beast.  He improves with every fight.  Cain is undefeated with punching power, wrestling ability and stamina.  But will all those attributes be enough to stop Lesnar?  We saw the chink in Lesnar’s armor when he fought Carwin.  Of course Lesnar saw it too.  Has he had enough time to shore up his boxing defense?  We’ll find out tonight.
My prediction: Velasquez via TKO.

This should be the best card in recent memory.  Every fight has the potential to be “fight of the night.” I’ll post the results tomorrow.

I’m sorry to say that with just one exception, it was a pretty lackluster night of fights.  Let’s cut right to my predictions and the results:

• C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen
  • Prediction: Dollaway winning by decision.
    Result: Dollaway won by 1st round submission making me 1-0

• Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione
  • Prediction: Mitrione winning via TKO.
    Result: Mitrione won by decision making me 2-0

• Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens
  
  • Prediction: Stephens for a 3rd round stoppage or submission win.
    Result: Guillard by decision making me 2-1

• Chris Lytle vs. Matt Serra
  • Prediction: Serra for the win.
    Result: Lytle won by decision making me 2-2

• Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk
  • Prediction: Dunham for the win in a tough battle.
    Result: In a tough battle, Sherk won a split decision making me 2-3

• Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira:
  
  • Prediction: Bader via a decision.
    Result: Bader won via a decision making me 3-3

• Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Frank Mir
  
  • Prediction: Mir for the win.
    Result: Mir won by 3rd round KO making me 4-3

CB Dollaway earned the “Submission of the Night” bonus of $70,000.  Two bonuses for “Fight of the Night” were awarded.  The Sherk vs Dunham and Mitrione vs Beltran fights both brought each of the fighters another $70 grand.  No “KO of the Night” award was given despite the fact that Mir knocked out Cro Cop.  Sure, it was a boring fight right up until the KO, but shouldn’t Mir still get the bonus?  I believe he should since he did score the lone knockout of the evening.

UFC 119 is tonight so let’s go right to my predictions:

• C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen: Although I’m not a fan, I see Dollaway winning by decision.

• Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione: Both guys will be swinging for the fences.  I think Mitrione can take whatever Beltron lands and I see Mitrione winning via TKO.

• Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens: I’m not big on Guillard.  He’s talented and might be coming into his own now, but I’ve seen him fold and am not too sure it won’t happen again.  I’m going with Stephens for a 3rd round stoppage or submission win.

• Chris Lytle vs. Matt Serra: This has fight of the night potential.  Both guys need a big win to insure a spot in the UFC.  I think that Serra has the better punching power and ground game so I’m going with Serra for the win.

• Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk: This should be a great fight.  I’m a fan of both guys.  I think this will go the distance and I’m going with Dunham for the win in a tough battle.

• Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: If Serra vs Lytle doesn’t win fight of the night, then Bader vs Little Nog should.  This should be an exciting war.  Nog has trained and is ready for Bader and all he brings to the cage [superior wrestling skills, strength, brutal punching power and an undefeated record].  If Bader doesn’t gas out and doesn’t make a stupid mistake he could launch himself into title contention.  My prediction is Bader via a decision.

• Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Frank Mir: It’s no secret that I’m a huge Frank Mir fan. I believe Mir is going to be able to avoid Cro Cops brutal leg kicks and punches to submit him, possibly early in the fight.  With that said, Mir has done more than his share of trash talking for this fight and that never bodes well.  Added to the mix is that Cro Cop needs the win to show that he’s not over the hill in regard to a legitimate run at the title.  If Cro Cop tags Mir early or is able to take this fight into the later rounds, Mir will find himself in deeper, more dangerous waters.  I’m hoping for a solid, if not devastating performance from Mir, so of course I’m going with Mir for the win.