Category: MMA

Kirik Jenness at MixedMartialArts.com asks Did Anderson Silva Fight Dirty? and provides a good deal of evidence that Silva did.  There was the questionable knee (to the face?) while Sonnen was down, Silva grabbing Sonnen’s trunks, and the most blatant violation, at least in my opinion, Silva spreading grease from his face over his arms and chest.

Are any of these violations enough to change the ruling of the fight.  Of course not.  Are any of them alone so bad?  Not really.  Except for the spreading of the grease, they occurred during the heat battle.  Taken together though, they seem to show a fighter truly concerned about the other guy’s chances of winning.  That should be some consolation to Sonnen.

UFC 148 was held last night and featured three fights that had my interest.  Normally, I post my predictions prior to the events [otherwise they wouldn’t be predictions, would they?) and then the results the following day.  I just couldn’t decide who I thought or wanted to win.  So no predictions this time, but here are the results and my thoughts:

• Cung Le defeated Patrick Cote by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  Thoughts: Although he’s 40, Le is still in excellent form.  I always enjoy watching Cote fight and actually thought the fight was closer than the judges (although I still gave the edge to Le).

• Forrest Griffin defeated Tito Ortiz by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  Thoughts: This was an interesting fight with a good deal of back and forth.  After the final round, Griffin left the ring in a hurry (a la his loss to Anderson Silva) and had to be called back to the cage for the decision…. which he won.  Leaving the cage before the decision is read shows a lack of respect for the other fighter and fans.  This is the second time that Griffin has done that.

• Anderson Silva defeated Chael Sonnen by TKO (Ref Stoppage, 2nd Round, 1:55)
  Thoughts: Sonnen took Silva down four seconds into the first round and totally dominated him.  It seemed like this could be a replay of the first fight.

  The second round quickly showed that wouldn’t be the case.  Silva stuffed a takedown and then rocked Sonnen.  Both men ended up against the cage and Sonnen was unable to take Silva down.
  When Sonnen missed with a spinning backfist and fell to the mat, Silva kneed him in the chest and then rained down punches.  The ref stepped in to stop it.

  Although I think the fight could have gone on a bit longer, there’s no doubt that Silva was in control and I’d rather see a fight stopped too early than too late. 

  Silva showed class in the post fight interview when talking about Sonnen.  (However when asked in the post fight conference, if he would like to fight Jon Jones, Silva simply replied, “No.”  Where’s the champion’s heart, Anderson?)

UFC 146 on pay-per-view last night was an excellent card,  Here are the results and my thoughts on the three top fights:

• Roy Nelson vs Dave Herman
  Prediction: Nelson by decision
  Result: Nelson won via first round KO [51 seconds] [Making me 1-0 for the night]
  Thoughts: Nelson is a fan favorite with power and he showed it last night.
  

• Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva
  Prediction: Velasquez by TKO
  Result: Velasquez by first round TKO [3:36] [Making me 2-0 for the night]
  Thoughts: Velasquez took Silva down and swarmed him with punches and elbows which opened up a cut producing one of the bloodiest bouts in memory.  Velasquez should be next in line for a title shot.
  

• Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir
  Prediction: Although the odds are against him, Miir is my favorite fighter so in an huge upset special – Mir by submission.
  Result: JDS won via second round TKO [3:04 seconds] [Making me 2-1 for the night]
  Thoughts: JDS and Mir are both class acts with each praising the other after the fight.  Mir couldn’t get JDS to the canvas and JDS was not willing to go there, so the fight remained a stand-up battle that ended as predicted.

Other thoughts:

• Jason Mayhem Miller rocked CB Dollaway a couple of times but had no answer when CB took him to the mat and rode him for the remainder of the rounds.  Of course CB couldn’t do much except ride, so it made for a boring match met with a lot of boos.  CB won the decision and Miller was cut from the UFC.
  

• Brock Lesnar was in the crowd and it was reported that he wanted to meet with Dana White causing speculation that Lesnar may want  to return for another run.  My guess is that if Lesnar was thinking about a return to the UFC, it would have been for a title shot if Mir had won.
  

UFC 146 airs on pay-per-view tonight and it features three fights of interest:

• Roy Nelson vs Dave Herman
  Prediction: Nelson by decision

• Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva
  Prediction:  Velasquez by TKO

• Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir
  Prediction: Although the odds are against him, Miir is my favorite fighter so in an huge upset special – Mir by submission.

Last night UFC 143 was held.  Let’s take a look at the results of the three top fights:

Josh Koscheck defeated Mike Pierce via Split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Thoughts: Koscheck is perhaps the most disliked fighter in the UFC.  Koscheck, the self-proclaimed “most hated guy in MMA  knows it, and loves to get the crowd riled up and booing.  Split decision wins make it even easier for fans who already don’t like Koscheck to have another reason to hate him.

Fabricio Werdum defeated Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Thoughts: I’m glad to see Nelson getting in better shape.  He came in 20 pounds lighter than his previous fights.  As for Werdum, perhaps a battle with Frank Mir should be next.

Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Thoughts: Condit came in with a perfect game plan consisting of lots of leg kicks and movement.  He stuck to it and pulled off the upset victory and won the UFC interim welterweight championship.  After the fight Diaz claimed he was done with MMA.  My guess is that he’s not.  It was his first loss after 11 straight wins in a four year period.  Diaz is just 28 years old and love him or hate him, people enjoy watching his fights.  He’ll be back.

Last night UFC on FOX featured what should have been three very good fights.  And that’s what they were.  Good fights.  None rose to greatness, but that happens sometimes.   Let’s take a look at them and my predictions:

Demian Maia (15-3) vs Chris Weidman (7-0)
Prediction: Weidman scores the win.
Result: Weidman defeated Maia via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).  Making me 1-0 for the night.

Chael Sonnen (27-11-1) vs Michael Bisping (23-3-0)
Prediction: Bisping in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
Result: Sonnen defeated Bisping via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) making me 1-1 for the night.

Rashad Evans (21-1-1) vs. Phil Davis (9-0)
Prediction: Evans scores the win.
Result: Evans defeated Davis by Unanimous Decision (50-45,50-45,50-45) making me 2-1 for the night.

Final Thoughts
* Weidman took the fight on 11 days notice and had to lose over 30 pounds to make weight.  So I wasn’t shocked when Weidman began to gas out late in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.  I was surprised that Maia gassed as well.  Conditioning could have been the difference in the fight and it wasn’t.
* Hats off to Weidman for taking the fight on short notice and winning!
* I thought Bisping won the fight.  By my scoring he won the 1st and 2nd rounds and lost the 3rd.  I wasn’t alone in thinking that.  Seems that even Sonnen felt it could have gone that way.  Unfortunately, the judges felt differently.
* Rashad Evans dominated Phil Davis in every round and every aspect of the fight.  Hats off to Sugar Rashad.  His next fight is going to be for the title against Jon “Bones” Jones and should be a great battle.

Tonight the UFC on FOX features what should be three very good fights.  Let’s take a look at them and my predictions:

Demian Maia (15-3) vs Chris Weidman (7-0)
Thoughts: Maia is the BJJ expert and Weidman is known for his superior grappling.  Weidman could be at a disadvantage since he took the fight on two weeks notice and had to drop over 30 pounds.  Still , Weidman is favored.
Prediction: Weidman scores the win.

Chael Sonnen (27-11-1) vs Michael Bisping (23-3-0)
Thoughts: This is the fight that I’m most looking to seeing.  Sonnen totally dominated Anderson Silva when they fought.  Who else do you see doing that?  The winner of this fight is supposed to get a shot at Silva and the title.  I’d love to see a Sonnen / Silva rematch.  Sonnen is going in as a HUGE FAVORITE against Bisping.  Although I think that Bisping is under-rated, and everyone is picking Sonnen, I’ve got a crazy feeling that we may be in for a HUGE UPSET.
Prediction: Bisping in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

Rashad Evans (21-1-1) vs. Phil Davis (9-0)
Thoughts: Evans and Davis are both excellent wrestlers, with perhaps Davis getting the edge.  Evans has the better stand-up.  The winner of this bout should get a shot at Jon “Bones” Jones and the title.
Prediction: Evans scores the win.

Last night UFC 141 provided fights that shocked a lot of people.  Let’s look at the results….

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks.
Prediction: Fitch by unanimous decision.
Result: Hendricks won via 12 second KO making me 0-1 for the night.

Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone
Prediction: Cerrone wins a tough battle.
Result: Diaz won a unanimous decision making me 0-2 for the night.

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
Prediction: Overeem by TKO.
Results: Overeem won via TKO due to strikes in round one making me 1-2 for the night.

Final Thoughts:

• The only person who had a worse night than me [1-2] was Brock Lesnar.  Even Fitch could argue his loss was a lucky punch.  Brock and I, though, just got badly spanked.

• Some are arguing that the Fitch fight was stopped early.  They make the point that Fitch was still fighting back when the fight was stopped.  While that is true, he was fighting the ref since Hendricks had already been declared the winner and had walked away.

• It’s no secret that Dana White didn’t like Fitch’s fighting style and called it boring even though Fitch was beating everyone in front of him.  I’ll bet Dana is glad that this loss will put a stop to all of the questions that White was getting about a title shot for Fitch.

• I was glad to see that Cerrone and Diaz had a mutual respect for each other after their 3 round war.  I wonder though, if Cerrone had won, would Diaz have shown the same respect that he received from “the Cowboy”?

• The Lesnar fight ended the way I thought it would.  No surprise there.  The shock, at least for some, came when Brock announced his retirement before leaving the octagon to go to his dressing room.  I’m not shocked or even surprised.  Think about it.  What was left for Brock in the UFC? 
  

• Lesnar had repeatedly shown he not only didn’t like to be punched, but that he couldn’t deal with strikers.  Cain Velesquez and Alistair Overeem destroyed Brock.  Were they to fight Lesnar, both Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin would probably go in as favorites.  [And yes, I know that Lesnar beat Carwin the first time they met in the cage.  Would that happen again?  I seriously doubt it.]  Frank Mir [who split wins with Lesnar in two fights] and even Dan Henderson [a light heavyweight] had let it be known that they’d welcome a fight against Lesnar.

• Who was left for Lesnar to fight that he could beat?  All of the top contenders had his number.  Suppose Lesnar fought Mir again and won.  Would that put Lesnar closer to a title shot?  No.  What if Lesnar fought Henderson?  If he won, which is questionable, he’d have beaten a light heavyweight.  If Lesnar fell victim to Hendo’s punching power, it would be more evidence of Lesnar’s inability to take a punch.

• So, with it clear that Lesnar would be out of the hunt for a title shot, what’s he to do?  The obvious answer is to retire and go back to the WWE where he can make a ton of money by just working the big event pay-per-views.  What’s even better for Brock is that he’ll know going in that he’s going to win.

• Alistair Overeem gets the next title shot against Junior Dos Santos.  THAT should be a great fight.

Tomorrow night, that‘s right the pay-per-view breaks tradition and airs on a Friday, we have one of the most highly anticipated MMA cards of the year when Brock Lesnar enters the octagon against Alistair Overeem at UFC 141.  So, let’s look at the top three fights and my predictions:

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks.
Thoughts: In the last few years Fitch has been able to beat everyone except the champ.  Fitch grinds out wins.  He’s not fighting the champ.
Prediction: Fitch by unanimous decision.

Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone
Thoughts: This should be an excellent fight.  Both guys are tough.  Neither cares for the other.  Nate Diaz comes across as a thug, but wins fights.  Cerrone is definitely the good guy in this fight… even if he wears a black cowboy hat [which, by the way, Diaz knocked from his head at the weigh-ins].
Prediction:  Cerrone wins a tough battle.

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
Thoughts: Lesnar is the underdog.  Overeem is considered perhaps the hardest striker in the UFC.  Lesnar has had trouble against strikers.  Lesnar is a world class wrestler and will want to take Overeem down.  I have no doubt that he will.  I just wonder if he’ll be able to keep him down.  Frank Mir thinks that Lesnar will win.  I trust Mir’s opinion, but…
Prediction:  Overeem by TKO.

UFC 140 lived up to the hype.  Let’s go right to the results…

• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Tito Ortiz
  Prediction: Ortiz wins via a close decision.
  Result: Nogueira won via TKO at 3:15 of the 1st round making me 0-1 for the night.
  

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Frank Mir
  Prediction: Mir wins with a via TKO.
  Result: Mir won by submission at 3:38 of the first round making me 1-1 for the night.
  

• Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida
  Prediction: Jones wins via KO.
  Result: Jones won via choke out at 4:26 of round two making me 2-1 for the night.
  

Final Thoughts:

• Chan Sung Jung earned a $75,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for his 7 second KO of Mark Hominick.  Jung tied the record for the fastest KO in UFC history.
  

• Frank Mir picked up the Submission of the Night award and the $75,000 bonus that goes with it.  What makes this result even more impressive is that Mir had been tagged hard and looked to be on his way to a loss.  When Mir was knocked to the canvas, Nog went down to finish him.  Mir grabbed one of Nog’s arms and went into a kimura that either broke or dislocated Nog’s arm.
  

• Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida earned Fight of the Night honors and $75K each.  Machida won the first round and in the second, Jones ended it.

• After the fights, there were rumors that Alistair Overeem was going to have to pull out of his December 30th fight against Brock Lesnar.  Overeem has denied that his fight with Lesnar is off, although Overeem flew back to Holland to be with his mother who is battling cancer. Frank Mir has been listed as a possible replacement.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
  

UFC 140 is live tonight on pay-per-view with what should be very entertaining fights.  Let’s take a look at the card and my predictions…

• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Tito Ortiz – I’m a fan of both fighters.  Ortiz, who recently appeared to be on his way out of the UFC, has looked good in recent fights.  Although a slight underdog, I’m going with the former Huntington Beach Bad Boy.
  Prediction: Ortiz wins via a close decision.
  

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Frank Mir – are two more fighters that I love to watch, although for the record, Mir is my favorite UFC fighter. The two fought before and Mir won by KO.  After the fight the news came out that Nog had been dealing with a staff infection and wasn’t at his best.
  Prediction: Mir wins with a via TKO.
  

• Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida – Jones is the current champ and Machida is the former champ.  This is supposed to be a very close fight.  I don’t see it that way.
  Prediction: Jones wins via KO.

This will probably not surprise regular readers, but I be back in the morning with the results!

Last night the Ultimate Fighter Season 14 finale aired live on SPIKE. The fight I was really looking forward to was Bisping vs Miller.  I figured Bisping would win in a fairly close, hard fought match.  Boy, was I wrong.  Bisping dominated Miller before earning a third round TKO.  It was such a lopsided win that Dana White said we may not see Miller back in the UFC.

Dennis Bermudez vs. Diego Brandao. A lot of people were surprised when Bermudez took it to Brandao in a standup battle.  There were a lot of powerful exchanges and Bermudez appeared to be in control and on his way to a victory when Brandao grabbed Bermudez’s arm and spun into an armbar forcing the tap at 4:51 in round one.

John Dodson vs. T.J. Dillashaw.  This was shaping up to be an interesting fight until Dillashaw got cracked across the face and went down.  He quickly tried to stand up but was wobbly and when he went down again, Dodson jumped on him with hammerfists.  The fight was stopped although Dillashaw wasn’t out and was attempting to get a single leg.  Dodson proceeded to run around the cage doing flips, gyrating and screeching his “laugh”.  Pretty classless.

Yves Edwards vs. Tony Ferguson.  Ferguson won via a unanimous decision.

Johnny Bedford vs. Louis Gaudinot.  Bedford won via 3rd round TKO.

Tonight the Ultimate Fighter Season 14 finale airs live on SPIKE at 8PM.  It’ll be the first time in years that the coaches actually fight on the same card… and that’s the way it should be.  Here are the bouts we have to look forward to…

Michael Bisping vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller
Dennis Bermudez vs. Diego Brandao
John Dodson vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Yves Edwards vs. Tony Ferguson
Johnny Bedford vs. Louis Gaudinot

Although I think we’re in for an entertaining evening of fights, it’s the main event that I’m really looking to see.  Bisping goes in as the favorite, but Miller shouldn’t be a pushover.  I think the fight is going to go to a decision and I’m taking Bisping. 

While we’re on the subject of MMA, have you see this preview for the Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem fight.  THAT fight is going to be entertaining.  I can’t wait to see those two giants enter the octagon.

UFC 139 featured several outstanding fights and a main event war that Dana White called “one of the top three fights in UFC history.”  So, let’s see who won and how I did on my predictions.

Ryan Bader (12-2-0) vs Jason Brilz (18-4-1)
Prediction: Bader takes the win via stoppage
Result: Bader won by 1st round KO making me 1-0for the night

Stephan Bonnar (13-7-0) vs Kyle Kingsbury (11-2-0)
Prediction: Bonnar wins by decision
Result: Bonnar won by unanimous decision making me 2-0 for the night

Rick Story (13-4-0) vs Martin Kampmann (20-6-0)
Prediction: Kampmann wins via decision
Result: Kampmann won via decision making me 3-0 for the night

Brian Bowles (10-1-0) vs Urijah Faber (25-4-0)
Prediction: Faber wins by decision in what could be the fight of the night
Result: Faber won via submission due to a choke in the 2nd round making me 4-0 for the night

Wanderlei Silva (33-11-1) vs Cung Le (7-1-0)
Prediction: Le wins via KO
Result: Silva won via 2nd round TKO making me 4-1 for the night

Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (20-5-0) vs Dan Henderson (27-7-0)
Prediction: Henderson via TKO. 
Result: Henderson via unanimous decision making me 5-1 for the night

Final Thoughts:

• Michael McDonald earned KO of the Night and the $70,000 bonus that came with it.
• Urijah Faber picked up the 70K bonus for Submission of the Night.
• Dan Henderson vs Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and  Wanderlei “The Ax Murderer” Silva vs Cung Le earned Fight of the Night bonuses of $70,000 for each fighter.
• Hats off to Wanderlei who showed doubters [including me] that he is still a force to be reckoned with.
• Faber’s win over Bowles should show naysayers that Faber IS worthy of another title shot.
• While many are saying that Henderson vs Rua was one of the greatest UFC fights ever, almost as many are saying that it should have been a draw.  To those folks, I say, should have, would have and could have.
  
  Complaining about the decision makes about as much sense as a  Hendo fan saying, “Yeah, but if the fight had only been three rounds [since it was a non-title match], Hendo would have been seen to have totally dominated Rua.  The fight wasn’t scheduled for just three rounds and the judges didn’t score the last round 10-8.  Let’s deal with the facts.  Hendo won and Rua deserves a rematch!