Category: MMA

Last night UFC 117 was held and for the first time in months, I didn’t get a chance to post my pre-fight predictions.  Of course as luck would have it, I went 5-0 on the night but since I didn’t get up my picks pre-fight, you’ll just have to trust me.  You do trust me, right?

Roy “Big Country” Nelson Vs. Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos

Prefight Prediction: I thought that Dos Santos would win via TKO in the first or second.  Everyone else watching with me picked Big Country.

Result:  Junior Dos Santos won by unanimous decision.  Big Country pressed the fight and had some great moments, but Dos Santos earned the victory.  As far as everyone watching with me was concerned, it was a moral victory for Big Country… and I agree!

Matt Hughes Vs. Ricardo “Cacharrao” Almeida

Prefight Prediction: Hughes via a hard fought and potentially close decision.

Result: Hughes won by chokeout at 3:15 in the 1st round.  Hughes landed a solid punch that rocked Almeda then jumped on him and applied the choke.  After that it was lights-out.

Clay “The Carpenter” Guida Vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

Prefight Prediction: Guida by TKO.

Result:  Guida won by tapout at 1:51 in the 3rd round.  Post fight reports say that Dos Anjos fought with a broken jaw from round one.

Jon Fitch Vs. Thiago “Pitbull” Alves

Prefight Prediction: Fitch by decision.

Postfight Result: Fitch won by unanimous decision.  Alves had trouble making weight which I thought would add to Fitch’s advantage.  At the post fight press conference Dana White said he believed Alves should move up a weight class for his future fights.  I agree.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva Vs. Chael Sonnen

Prefight Prediction: Had I posted my fights on Friday, I would have went with Sonnen.  When we made our picks right before the fights, I went with Silva.  I wanted Sonnen to win, but I thought that Silva would find a way to victory.  My thought was that Sonnen would press the fight and possibly score a takedown, but that Silva would get back to his feet and his superior stand-up would end an exciting fight fairly early.

Result: Silva won by tapout to an arm bar at 3:10 in the 5th round.  Up to that point Sonnen had owned Silva. He took Silva down at will.  He pounded him relentlessly for 4 and 3/5 rounds.  And while it’s true that Silva landed a few good shots and elbows along the way, it was Sonnen’s fight throughout.  Credit has to be given to Silva who never looked frustrated and, like a champion found a way to win.

Final thoughts:

• Roy “Big Country” Nelson probably earned more respect and fans in losing to Dos Santos than he did in winning the last season of The Ultimate Fighter.

• Matt Hughes picked up a $60,000 bonus for Submission of the Night Honors (as did Anderson Silva).  My guess is the wins (because of what they meant to their careers) meant more to both Hughes and Silva than the money.

• Clay Guida got more interest from the ladies watching than any other fighter.  Scary, huh?

• Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen each earned $60, 000 bonuses for Fight of the Night.  Don’t you imagine Sonnen would give up the 60K for a chance to redo the last few seconds of the fight?

Mike Fagan, from The Bloody Elbow breaks down (and uses video) to show how Brock’s MMA skills have improved to the point where he could win submission of the night by choking out Shane Carwin.  I was already impressed with Brock’s win, but am even more so after reading Fagan’s analysis.

Tonight is perhaps the biggest MMA fight card ever!  The live gate is sold out and the prediction is that there will be a million buys of the pay-per-view.  The undercard is solid, but it’s the main event pitting UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar against undefeated, UFC Interim Champion Shane Carwin.  Both men are beasts.

Let’s take a look at the entire card along with my predictions:

Kendall “da Spyder” Grove vs. Goran Reljic.  Although this may not be televised, it should be a good match.  Grove has more experience but is a slight underdog due to Reljic’s better record (13-7 vs 8-1).

• Prediction: Grove pulls out a win in a tough match.

Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero.  (Will air on SPIKE TV LIVE starting at 9PM EST) This should be another close bout.  Will “The Silverback” be able to take out Romero like he did Kimbo Slice?

• Prediction: Petruzelli takes the win.

Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub vs. Chris “The Crowbar” Tuchscherer. (Will air on SPIKE TV LIVE starting at 9PM EST)  Both fighters have excellent records (6-1 vs 18-2) but Schaub goes in the favorite.

• Prediction: Schaub wins via TKO.

Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos. Another great fight between two fighters with excellent records (21-4 vs 12-2).  Pellegrino has more experience, is a fan favorite, and a nickname that makes it hard to go against him, but…

• Prediction: Sotiropoulos with the victory in a tough bout.

Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar vs. Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski.  This should be another excellent fight.  Both men have similar records (20-10 vs 14-7).

• Prediction: Soszynski earns the “W”

Matt “The Immortal”  Brown vs. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle. This is a fight many are saying will be the fight of the night! That says a lot considering it’s on the same card as Lesnar vs Carwin.  Lytle goes in the favorite.

• Prediction:  In an upset, Matt Brown gets a hard fought victory.

Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama. Although Leben fought (and won) just two weeks ago, he’s ready to step into the octagon again.  Leben goes in the underdog, but…

• Prediction: Leben toughs out another victory.

Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar. Let the 4th of July fireworks start now!

• Prediction: Carwin takes the title!

It’s no secret that Frank Mir is one of my favorite MMA fighters.  His twitter message above, is just another reason why.  I appreciate the fact that Mir doesn’t want the winner of Lesnar /Carwin or an immediate rematch against Lesnar.  Instead he talks about “working his way to fighting him again.”  Here is the fight preview that featured Lesnar’s comments that irritated Mir.

Last night SPIKE TV featured The Ultimate Fighter Finale. Here are my predictions along with the results:

Rich “The Raging Bull” Attonito vs. Jamie “chosyn-1” Yager.
Prediction: Attonito by decision.
Result: Attonio won by ref stoppage due to punches in the second.
My Record for the Night: 1-0

Spencer “The King” Fisher vs. Dennis Siver.
Prediction: Fisher with a fairly easy win.
Result: Silver won by a unanimous but close decision.
My Record for the Night: 1-1

Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Aaron “The A Train” Simpson.
Prediction: Simpson with the tough decision win.
Result: Leben wins via TKO in the 2nd
My Record for the Night: 1-2

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill vs. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine.
Prediction: Hamill by KO.
Result: Hamill wins a close contest by majority decision.
My Record for the Night: 2-2

Court “The Crusher” McGee vs. Kris “Savage” McCray.
Prediction: McGee will once again find a way to win.
Result: McGee won via 2nd round submission (choke)
My Record for the Night: 3-2

Final Thoughts:

• I don’t see Yager with a sustained career in the UFC.  When he is pressured he folds.

• Although I think the Leben/Simpson fight was stopped early, Simpson was in trouble.  Leben, is not one of my favorite fighters, but the kid is tough.

• Hamill didn’t look great in his win.  Of course he had a staff infection and broke his hand in the first round.  Both Hamill and Jardine will be back.

• McGee and McCray put on a good fight.  It will be interesting to see where their careers take them.

Tonight SPIKE TV will broadcast The Ultimate Fighter Finale.  Here are my predictions:

Rich “The Raging Bull” Attonito vs. Jamie “chosyn-1” Yager. I’m not a Yager fan.  I think if Anttonito can get past Yager’s kicks and pressure him, Yager will fold.
Prediction: Attonito by decision.

Spencer “The King” Fisher vs. Dennis Siver.
Prediction: Fisher with a fairly easy win.

Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Aaron “The A Train” Simpson. I’m not a Leben fan, but he is tough and is probably favored.
Prediction:  Simpson with the tough decision win.

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill vs. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine. This should be a good fight.  I like both of these guys.  Jardine will try to stick and move and stay away from Hamill’s power punches and takedowns.  I think that eventually Hamill will tag Jardine and it will be lights out.
Prediction: Hamill by KO.

Court “The Crusher” McGee vs. Kris “Savage” McCray. Again we have two likeable guys facing off.  Both have found ways to win when the going got tough.  This should be a good scrap.
Prediction: McGee will once again find a way to win.

UFC 115 was on pay-per-view last night. Although the main event between Chuck “Iceman” Liddell and Rich “Ace” Franklin was the only fight I was excited about, the card turned out to have several really good, back-and-forth battles.   It also turned out to be a tough night for my predictions…

Fight: Matt Wiman vs Mac Danzig.
Prediction: Danzig scores the win.
Result: Wiman earns victory due to ref stoppage. The ref thought Danzig had passed out due to a choke, but that wasn’t the case at all.
My Record for the Night: 0-1

Fight: Tyson Griffin vs Evan Dunham.
Prediction: Griffin gets the victory.
Result: Dunham wins via split decision.
My Record for the Night: 0-2

UFC 115 is on pay-per-view tonight.  There’s really only one fight I’m that excited about.  It’s the main event between Chuck “Iceman” Liddell and Rich “Ace” Franklin.  But I’m sure I’ll tune in to the free prelims on SPIKE and be interested in the outcomes of the other fights.  So without further prelude, here are my picks…

Matt “Handsome” Wiman vs Mac Danzig. With Danzig’s 20-7 record [vs the handsome one’s 11-5], Danzig is the slight favorite. 
Prediction: Danzig scores the win.

Tyson Griffin [14-2] vs Evan Dunham [10-0].  I’m a Tyson Griffin fan.  He brings it to each fight and lets it all hang out.  Dunahm is going to have about a 4 inch height  advantage, but my guess is that it will be of little benefit.
Prediction: Griffin gets the victory.

UFC 114 was last night on pay-per-view and SPIKE had the pre-fights for free. Here are my predictions and the actual results:

Waylon Lowe vs. Melvin The Young Assassin Guillard

Prediction: Guillard by TKO.

Result: Guillard won by TKO (referee stoppage from strikes) at 3:28 in the 1st round

My predictions for the night: 1-0

Dan The Upgrade Lauzon vs. Efrain Hecho en Mexico Escudero.

Prediction: Escudero by TKO.

Result: Escudero won by unanimous decision

My predictions for the night: 2-0

Dong The Stun Gun Hyun Kim vs. Amir Sadollah.

Prediction: Kim by decision.

Result: Kim won by unanimous decision

My predictions for the night: 3-0

John The Hitman Hathaway vs. Diego The Nightmare Sanchez.

Prediction: Sanchez by decision.

Result: Hathaway won by unanimous decision

My predictions for the night: 3-1

Jason The Hitman Brilz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Prediction: Nogueira by early TKO or submission.

Result: Nogueira won by split decision

My predictions for the night: 4-1

Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee.

Prediction: Duffee wins by 1st round KO or TKO.

Result: Russow won by KO at 2:35 in the 3rd round

My predictions for the night: 4-2

Dan Miller vs. Michael The Count Bisping.

Prediction: Bisping by unanimous decision.

Result: Bisping won by unanimous decision

My predictions for the night: 5-2

Rashad Suga Evans vs. Quinton Rampage Jackson.

Prediction: Evans by decision.

Result: Evans won by unanimous decision

My predictions for the night: 6-2 [75%]

+++++

Final thoughts:

• I’m not sure what to think about Diego Sanchez.  Dana White, after last night’s fight, said Diego needs to go back down to 155.  Perhaps Dana’s right.
• Although Little Nog barely beat Brilz, there are many who think Brilz won the fight [including one of the judges who scored that fight].

• Mike Russow was a fighter that few [including me] thought had a chance to win last night.  Yet, Russow never gave up and in the 3rd round knocked out Todd Duffee with one shot.  Way to go, Russow.

• Rashad Evans earned the win over Rampage Jackson with a unanimous decision.  I thought it was interesting that Jackson will a co-star in this summer’s A-Team movie and Evans wore trunks promoting The Expendables.  That made me doubly happy that Evans won.  ; )

UFC 114 is tonight on pay-per-view and SPIKE has the pre-fights for free.  Here is how I think things will go:

Waylon Lowe vs. Melvin The Young Assassin Guillard. I’m not a Guillard fan.  With that said, he’s just going to be too much for Lowe. 

Prediction: Guillard by TKO.

Dan The Upgrade Lauzon vs. Efrain Hecho en Mexico Escudero. Oddsmakers have Escudero as a huge favorite.  I think they’re right.   

Prediction: Escudero by TKO.

Dong The Stun Gun Hyun Kim vs. Amir Sadollah. This should be a closer fight than the two previous match ups.  Sadollah is a likeable guy, but that’s not much help in the cage. 

Prediction: Kim by decision.

John The Hitman Hathaway vs. Diego The Nightmare Sanchez. I really thought that Diego was going to be able to do more with BJ Penn in their fight.  Despite the fact that Penn dominated, Diego kept coming.  That’s one of the reasons that Diego is one of my favorite fighters.  This should be a close, tough match tonight.  I think the edge will go to Diego because he won’t quit looking for a way to win. 

Prediction: Diego Sanchez by decision.

Jason The Hitman Brilz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. So we have two “Hitman” fighting on the same card.  Unfortunately for Brilz, I’m predicting a loss for both Hitmen tonight.  Nogueira is just too tough. 

Prediction: Nogueira by early TKO or submission.

Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee. Don’t go for snacks on this one. 

Prediction: Duffee wins by 1st round KO or TKO.

Dan Miller vs. Michael The Count Bisping. I think that this one will go the distance in a fight controlled by one fighter. 

Prediction: Bisping by unanimous decision.

Rashad Suga Evans vs. Quinton Rampage Jackson. The fight the world has been waiting for.  Most folks who are in the know think it will be Rampage by KO or TKO… and it very well could be.  I think that Evans‘ speed, wrestling and ability to take a fighter out of his game plan combined with Jackson’s inactivity in the cage for the last year will all come into play.  This is a tough one to call.  I’m going with my heart and not my head. 

Prediction: Evans by decision.

Photo via MMA Weekly

Here are the results for the top three fights on the WEC pay-per-view card from last night:

Mike Brown Vs. Manny Gamburyan.
Prediction: Brown by TKO.
Result: Huge, huge upset as Gamburyan wins by TKO in the first which makes me 0-1 for the night.
Additional coverage by Cagewriter.

Ben Henderson Vs. Donald Cerrone.
Prediction: Henderson by Decision.
Result: Henderson wins by tapout in the first round taking me to 1-1 for the night.
Additional coverage by Cagewriter and Bloody Elbow.

Jose Aldo Vs. Urijah Faber.
Prediction: Aldo by TKO.
Result: Aldo by unanimous decision so I end up 2-1 for the night.
Additional coverage by Cagewriter and Bloody Elbow.