UFC 123 Rsults

How'd I do?

Rampage Jackson def. Lyoto Machida (split)
This was hardly an impressive fight for either fighter. The first round was a toss-up, with Rampage taking the second by a nose and Lyoto dominating the third. So it all came down to how you viewed the first round. Rampage got the nod, but he wasn't the only one surprised. Rampage didn't win this fight so much as Lyoto lost it due to inactivity. This doesn't move either fighter up my rankings. (0-1)

BJ Penn def. Matt Hughes (KO 1)
Wow. Even though I picked Penn, I didn't have him winning this quick, this easily. Penn caught Hughes with a nice shot to the side of the head and Hughes was done. Crazy. Penn looked smaller than his opponent, but he showed he was sharper. That's what you get when all of your recent fights are big ones and your opponent is fighting stiffs. If Hughes wants to have any kind of career going forward he has to sharpen his skills and face tougher dudes. Otherwise, he should move to the "Legends" division. (1-1)

Maiquel Falcao def Gerald Harris (unanimous)
Harris looked pathetic. All he had was a jab and a big swing. Falcao had opportunities to win this fight outright, but instead coasted his way to a decision. Is Falcoa dogging it or is he not as talented as it would seem? Remind me not to bet on Harris again. And I came THIS close to picking the dog... (1-2)

Phil Davis def. Tim Boetsch (sub 2)
Davis continues to impress. Boetsch was a spectator in this one. Davis finished him with a one-handed kimura! Wow. (2-2)

George Sotiropoulos def. Joe Lauzon (sub 2)
This was my Fight of the Night pick and I was right. I'm shocked George won this easily, though. Both guys have great jiu jitsu but George is SO dominant when he gets on top - something not all jiu jitsu guys handle well. George is definitely in line for a title shot, I'd say. Maybe one more fight against a Kenny Florian or something. (3-2)

Brian Foster def. Matt Brown (sub 2)
Brown was doing well, but Foster pulled off the choke when Brown stuck his neck out. Too bad for Brown. (4-2)

Mark Munoz def. Aaron Simpson (unanimous)
Close fight, but Munoz had the slight edge and got the nod. (4-3)

Dennis Hallman def. Karo Parisyan (TKO 1)
What has Karo been up to all this time? 'Cause it certainly hasn't been training. He looked AWFUL. He looked small, sick and lacklustre. Hallman made him his bitch in no time. Karo may not get another shot in the UFC. Brutal. A shadow of his former self. (5-3)

Edson Barboza def. Mike Lullo (TKO 3)
Didn't see it, but kinda wish I'd stuck around. TKO by leg kicks? Hm. (6-3)

Paul Kelly def. TJ O'Brien (TKO 2)
Paul Kelly won, but didn't exactly impress. Even when he had O'Brien pinned in a crucifix and had him at his mercy, it took a very obliging ref to stop the fight and give him the win. O'Brien was clearly not hurt. I wish they'd let it go and see if O'Brien could make it to the end of the round. Not that O'Brien looked good, either. (6-4)

Nik Lentz def. Tyson Griffin (split)
Didn't see it. (7-4)

7-4. Not bad.

UFC 123 Picks

Alright, some quick picks on the Rampage-Machida card:

Rampage Jackson vs Lyoto Machida (light heavyweight)
This is finesse versus the rabid dog; and it could get embarrassing. I could see Machida easily dodging Rampage's attacks and countering effectively, frustrating Jackson and eventually putting him away or winning a lopsided decision. But, make no mistake, Jackson has a puncher's chance. He may possess Shogun Rua's power, but unless he can move like Rua, it's hard to imagine him getting the KO. I'm picking Machida.

Matt Hughes vs BJ Penn (welterweight)
Penn moves back up to welterweight to settle the score in this rubber match. Is Hughes too old to catch Penn and take him down like he did last time? Is Penn going to use his skills to submit Hughes like he did the first time or will he stand and jab his way to a decision? Hughes hasn't been relevant since he lost his belt, mostly due to a long layoff and a couple of less-than-stellar since his return. (don't get me started on that Almeida fiasco) Hughes isn't the fighter he was, in my eyes, while Penn has been battling top-notch lightweights as champ. Both fighters are on the decline, but Hughes has the head start. I'm picking Penn.

Gerald Harris vs Maiquel Falcao (middleweight)
This has Knock Out of the Night written all over it. These two guys like to bang hard. Falcao is a nobody with an insane record and a mile-long list of first round KOs. I was gonna pick Harris, but this Falcao's record has me second guessing myself. Still, I'll go with the guy who has been under the big lights before - Harris.

Phil Davis vs Tim Boetsch (light heavyweight)
I wish Tim well, but there's NO WAY I'm going against Davis. Forget it. The guy is a machine. I'm picking...Davis.

George Sotiropoulos vs Joe Lauzon (lightweight)
This has Fight of the Night written all over it and I would suggest the winner will be knocking on the Title Shot door. Bot are favourites of mine and possess crazy jiu jitsu skills. But will they respect each other's strengths and choose to box instead? I hope not. I like Joe, but he had his shot at the #1 contendership with his disappointing fight against Florian - I'm cheering for Sotiropoulos.

Matt Brown vs Brian Foster (welterweight)
If Brown loses, I think this might be the last we see of him for a while. Foster has had some tough fights and beaten some decent opponents. I might cheer for Brown, but I'll bet on Foster.

Aaron Simpson vs Mark Munoz (middleweight)
Munoz is a very decent fighter who is much more suited to the middleweight division than his previous status as a light heavyweight. Simpson is a strong wrestler with KO power, which may give him the edge in this fight. I'm picking Simpson.

Karo Parisyan vs Dennis Hallman (welterweight)
Karo (hopefully) makes his return to the octagon against the man who has beaten Matt Hughes twice and never lost (which gives him a leg up over 2-1 GSP). Hallman has VERY good jiu itsu skills with a number of quick submission wins. Can he get Karo to the ground and submit him? Karo has an impressive record himself, but seems to lose big fights just when he's on the cusp of a title shot. He has way too many decision wins for my taste. This is only his second fight in almost two years. I like Karo, but I'll bet on Hallman.

Edson Barboza vs Mike Lullo (lightweight)
Ok, time to make some guesses. Lullo has no profile on Wikipedia and no big fights. Submission skills, though. Barboza is undefeated and knocks guys out. He does have one submission win, so he must have some skills. I'll pick Barboza.

Paul Kelly vs TJ O'Brien (lightweight)
Paul Kelly is a very decent fighter who dropped down to lightweight after a so-so welterweight career. So far he's...so-so. TJ O'Brien is a nobody but has a crazy submission victory record. It's his UFC debut, so Kelly will have a huge experience advantage, but I'll pick the tall, lanky kid to surprise everybody: O'Brien.

Tyson Griffin vs Nik Lentz (lightweight)
The undercard for this event is insane. Is this a dark match? Huh. Lentz is a wrestler who tends to win by decision - a lot of wins, mind you. Griffin is a former contender who is coming off two very disappointing loses. I'll pick the taller Lentz.

UFC 113 Results

Yet again, I missed most of the event. Ah, family.

Let's see how I did.

Shogun Rua def. Lyoto Machida (KO 1)
Wow. Rua really beat him senseless and earned the victory. Did he earn the title? I dunno. As I've said before, I don't think Rua deserved the original title shot, so... It'll be interesting to see if he can hold the belt any longer than his post-Liddell predecessors (Rampage, Griffin, Evans, Machida). Looks like Lyoto didn't learn anything from the first fight as I had thought he might. Well, he paid for it. Look for the winner of Rampage-Evans to get the next shot, especially since Griffin had to back out of his fight with Little Nog and Couture has been served softballs. (0-1)

Josh Koscheck def. Paul Daley (unanimous)
What a mess this fight was. First, Koscheck doesn't stand and bang as his mouth said he would (good thing, 'cause Daley was clocking him when he got the chance), then Daley loses his mind and sucker punches Koscheck after the bell before Koscheck tells the booing crowd where to stick it. Nice. These guys are all class. Unfortunately, Dana White said before the fight that the winner would get GSP after coaching against the champ during the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, so we're stuck with GSP-Koscheck II. If Koscheck wins, I'll cry. I'm serious. Daley, meanwhile, has been kicked out of the UFC which is exactly what I thought would happen as soon as I saw the punch. (0-2)

Jeremy Stephens def. Sam Stout (split)
Missed this Fight of the Night. Looks like Stephens dominated early, Stout came on late, but couldn't get the W. (0-3)

Matt Mitrione def. Kimbo Slice (TKO 2)
Kimbo did well early, but Mitrione came on strong after punishing the street brawler with leg kicks. According to White, Kimbo is done in the UFC. (0-4)

Alan Belcher def. Patrick Cote (sub 2)
This was Cote's first fight back in a long time, so he could be forgiven for being a little rusty. Still, this fight won't help his stock too much as he got manhandled by Belcher, from what I understand. Too bad, as Cote would have been on the fast track back to a title shot had he won. Now it's Belcher calling for his shot. (0-5)

Joe Doerksen def. Tom Lawlor (sub 2)
Doerksen was the only Canadian to win on this night. Yup, that's one of SEVEN. It also explains my miserable record in this event prediction as I tried to pick the Canucks where possible (which excludes Goulet). Apparently Doerksen looked alright. (1-5)

Marcus Davis def. Jonathan Goulet (TKO 2)
As predicted, Davis got a hold of Goulet's glass jaw and shattered it. I seriously believe Goulet has concussion issues or something, because it seems the lightest taps send him reeling. He should retire for his own health. This can't be good. Glad to see Davis back in the win column. (2-5)

Johny Hendricks def. TJ Grant (majority)
I went against the Canadian on this one, too, and it paid off. Hendricks is a great fighter, though he apparently didn't look too good in this. He called it his worst fight ever. And yet he won. (3-5)

Joey Beltran def. Tim Hague (unanimous)
Ugh. Hague loses again. He must be done with the UFC now. Too bad. Seems like a nice guy. (3-6)

Mike Guymon def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (unanimous)
Boy, I just can't catch a break. (3-7)

John Salter def. Jason MacDonald (TKO 1)
This one really shouldn't count as MacDonald broke his leg in two places while taking Salter down. Looks like The Athlete is gonna be on the shelf for a while. That sucks. (3-8)

Ok, surely this event will go down as my worst performance ever. No more picking the Canadian, that's for sure. Ugh.

NEXT!!

UFC 113 Montreal Picks

Not a lot of time to fart around today, so let's get to the picks for UFC 113 in Montreal.

Lyoto Machida vs Shogun Rua (light heavyweight) - This the "much anticipated" sequel to UFC 104 when a controversial decision prompted the UFC to grant an "immediate" rematch. As I said before, I didn't think Rua deserved the original title fight, but, hey, I don't get to pick the fights, so here we are. I'm not sure either of these guys are in the top two in this division, but circumstances have brought them here. I'm going to assume that Machida will be smarter this time and not be surprised by Rua's leg chops. I'll pick Machida. If Rua wins, every fighter who is Forrest Griffin or beaten Forrest Griffin will be chomping at the bit for a shot.

Josh Koscheck vs Paul Daley (welterweight) - If they stay on the feet, Daley will KO the loud-mouthed bleach blonde but if Koscheck can get the fight to the ground, look for him to lay and pray a decision. Koscheck is cocky enough to challenge Daley on his feet, so I'll pick Daley.

Sam Stout vs Jeremy Stephens (lightweight) - Can I really go against the Canadian? I dunno. Stout can be impressive, but at times he is predictable and one-dimensional. He tends to stand and box, but this is MMA not the WBC. Stephens is a spark plug. Still, I’ll pick Stout by decision.

Kimbo Slice vs Matt Mitrione (heavyweight) – Why does Kimbo fight at heavyweight and not light heavy? I don’t get it. He’s listed at 215, so can’t he cut 10 pounds? It puts him at a disadvantage against bigger, heavier guys. Mitrione isn’t the biggest heavyweight around, but he’s close enough. If Mitrione had serious wrestling skills, I’d pick him in a heartbeat, but he tends to stand and bang. He’s got the fists to back it up, too. My head says to pick Mitrione, but Kimbo needs this win and he is being fed his type of opponent. I’ll pick Kimbo for fun, but I wouldn’t lay money on it.

Patrick Cote vs Alan Belcher (middleweight) – Identical records, but Belcher is the bigger guy and has more skills. Belcher seems to always might mid-card guys whereas Cote has a little more time in the sun thanks to matches against Tito Ortiz, Anderson Silva and his TUF experience. When in doubt, go with the Canadian, I guess. I’ll pick Cote.

Joe Doerksen vs Tom Lawlor (middleweight) – Doerksen has an insane amount of experience and, well, he’s Canadian. Lawlor is a wrestler, Doerksen is a JJ guy. I’ll got with Team Canada again. Doerksen for the nod.

Marcus Davis vs Jonathan Goulet (welterweight) – I’m picking Davis. No doubt about it. If you’re betting on Goulet you have too much money to burn. Goulet does occasionally show up, but not recently in the UFC (though he did shockingly win Fight of the Night last time in Montreal – didn’t see it). His fights have been highlight reel fodder for his opponents. Make no mistake: Goulet is on the card ONLY because the event is in Montreal. I’m picking my boy Davis. Let’s hope this is the start of a new winning streak for him.

TJ Grant vs Johny Hendricks (welterweight) – Once again, I’m going to go against the Canadian. TJ Grant has a very decent record but Hendricks has been amazing and remains undefeated. I’m picking Hendricks.

Tim Hague vs Joey Beltran (heavyweight) – Which Hague will show up? The one who debuted with the UFC and choked a dude out or the one who got KO’d in 7 seconds? He was apparently robbed his last time out (didn’t see it) so here’s thinking he’ll be hungry and looking to finish. Beltran has an impressive record but his last fight against Rolles Gracie was far form impressive. I’ll pick Hague.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs Mike Guymon (welterweight) – Yoshida ended up on Koscheck’s highlight reel but he has a better record than that. Guymon really has zip on his resume though he has a decent record. I’ll pick Yoshida.

Jason MacDonald vs John Salter (middleweight) – MacDonald stepped in for David Loiseau who stepped in for Nick Catone. You gotta wonder what this does to Salter. When guys don’t get to prepare for a specific opponent, it’s all about your skill. MacDonald has more experience and he does have skills when he uses his head and sticks to his game plan. I’ll pick MacDonald.

UFC 104 Results

Turns out I pretty much completely missed the event, what with all the hob-knobbing I had to do that night, so I couldn't telepathically tell the fighters what to do. And so, many of my picks lost.

Let's inspect the dammage:

Lyoto Machida def. Mauricio Rua (unanimous) - It seems the three judges at ringside were the only ones who could unanimously agree Machida won this fight. There was an immediate uproar and booing of the champ when he retained the title. I only saw the last two rounds but when I walked in the door, the other guys were already calling it for Rua. One guy even paid his losing bet before the fight was over. We were stunned - STUNNED - when Machida's arm was raised. Judging by the champ's reaction, he was, too. Now there's talk of a rematch. Seriously? Ok, I get it that the UFC thinks Rua might have been robbed, but there are a bunch of guys waiting to fight the champ. Guys who HAVEN'T lost to him. Former champs who didn't get a rematch. When do THEY get their shot? Well, at least I picked the "winner" right. (1-0)

Cain Velasquez def. Ben Rothwell (TKO 2) - More controversy. Apparently this one was stopped early. From what I saw of replays, it looks like Rothwell was getting hammered, but was in no real danger. Oh, the ref was Mazzagatti, by the way. Go figure. From what I hear, Velasquez wasn't exactly impressive in terms of punching power. We'll see how far his wrestling takes him. (1-1)

Gleison Tibau def. Josh Neer (unanimous) - Yup. Should have gone with my heart. (1-2)

Joe Stevenson def. Spencer Fisher (sub 2) - This was a shocker for me. Looks like Stevenson threw Fisher around and then lay the smack down. I'm still in disbelief. Wanna see the replay. (1-3)

Anthony Johnson def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (TKO 1) - I'll be shocked if this isn't the end of Yoshida in the UFC after two massive knockouts. Johnson is gonna get a bigger push now. I'd pay to see him and Koscheck. (2-3)

Ryan Bader Vs. Eric Schafer (unanimous) - Bader dominated most of the fight. He lost some gas in the second but regained enough composure to take the third. Hopefully he learns not to tucker himself out in the first round. Schafer impressed with his chin (is that a compliment?). (3-3)

Pat Barry def. Antoni Hardonk (TKO 2) - Wow. Did Barry ever impress! Look for him to get more face time in the UFC. Fight of the Night for sure. (4-3)

Chael Sonnen def. Yushin Okami (unanimous) - No idea what happened here. I think Okami is likely on his way out of the UFC. (4-4)

Jorge Rivera def. Rob Kimmons (TKO 3) - Apparently Kimmons lost yet another big fight. Didn't see it. (4-5)

Kyle Kingsbury def. Razak Al-Hassan (split) - No idea. (4-6)

Stefan Struve def. Chase Gormley (sub 1) - Seems I did well on the fights I saw. Struve used his height to his advantage, wrapping his legs around Gormley for the choke. Not surprisingly, it won Submission of the Night - it was the only one! (5-6)

So 4-0 on the fights I saw (yay telepathy!) and 1-6 otherwise. I should have been one of those goat staring guys.

UFC 104 Predictions

Time for predictions once again. I can't say this card fascinates me, but I still wouldn't wanna miss it.

Lyoto Machida Vs. Mauricio Rua - I'm blown away that this fight is even happening for the light heavyweight belt. Machida got his shot without fighting any real top flight competition (Ortiz before he left? untested Silva?) in his weight class (he has wins over Rich Franklin and BJ Penn) and Rua has received an even easier road to the title. Rua lost to Griffin, was crap against geriatric Mark Coleman, and beat Chuck Liddell at a time in his career where he was SO dangerous that Dana White promptly retired him after the fight. Honestly: what the f*ck? The light heavy division is stacked with talent and yet these guys get byes to the top. I call bullshit. Anyhow, I pick Machida to beat Rua.

Cain Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell - This fight could be boring as hell if it turns into a wrestling match. It could also end in dramatic fashion if Rothwell can catch Velasquez and tag the chin that Cheick Kongo exposed. Neither is deserving of a title shot, of course, though Velasquez is the latest UFC poster boy. Rothwell has a lot of experience and could pull off the "upset". He's certainly the biggest test of Velasquez's short career. I'll pick Rothwell to shatter Dana White's dreams.

Gleison Tibau Vs. Josh Neer - Both of these fighters have good reputations, but haven't been able to break into the top ranks of MMA, due to disappointing losses to upper-middle guys. Both have submission skills but Neer has more KO power. That could be the difference. My gut says Tibau, but my head says Neer. I usually go wrong when I don't go with my heart... I'll go with my head again. I'll pick Neer.

Joe Stevenson Vs. Spencer Fisher - I used to quite like Joe "Daddy" Stevenson but he just hasn't evolved and has never lived up to the potential he showed in TUF. Fisher is a warrior. I'll pick Fisher.

Anthony Johnson Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida - Yoshida has only beaten some so-so guys and got blasted by Josh Koscheck. Johnson is one scary dude. I'll pick Johnson.

Ryan Bader Vs. Eric Schafer - This could be another boring one. Bader is badass but is a pretty straight forward wrestler. Eric "The Red" is riding a four fight win streak but has always been one of those guys who just hasn't lived up to the hype. He might have the experience to outsmart Bader, though. Tough call. I like Bader, so I'll take him.

Antoni Hardonk Vs. Pat Barry - Hardonk is another underachiever. He has lost to McCully, Kongo and Mir, while beating no one of significance. Like Hardonk, Barry has a kickboxing background and has finished opponents with kicks. He isn't very experienced, but he seems like a scary guy. I'll pick Barry in another "upset". I just can't pick Hardonk.

Yushin Okami Vs. Chael Sonnen - both guys came in with big buzz but haven't quite lived up to the hype. Okami has at least pulled out some ugly victories, but Sonnen has been the poster boy for those who dismissed the WEC as a farm team organization. The guy just doesn't do it for me. I'll pick Okami in another boring decision.

Jorge Rivera Vs. Rob Kimmons - Why Rivera keeps getting face time in the UFC is a bit of a mystery. He really isn't all that good; inconsistent to say the least. He seems to alternate wins and losses, sometimes beating middle of the road guys, but often losing to anyone decent. Kimmons has an impressive record, but seems to lose all of his biggest matches. He has a crazy number of submissions on his resume, though, and so I'll give him the edge against the average Rivera. I'll pick Kimmons.

Kyle Kingsbury Vs. Razak Al-Hassan - Two guys trying to make names for themselves in the UFC and in danger of getting cut if they don't. Kingsbury was a TUF 8 cast member, but didn't impress. Al-Hassan is also making his second appearance in the UFC, after a spectacular loss almost a year ago to Steve Cantwell in which Al-Hassan had his arm broken...and still didn't tap. It was nasty. This one is a toss-up to me, but I'll pick Al-Hassan just 'cause of his guts.

Stefan Struve Vs. Chase Gormley - I can't wait to see this giant fight again to see just what he has to offer. He's 6'11"!! That's nuts. Gormley is making his UFC debut and that usually does not bode well, perfect record or not. Struve is a submission machine while Gormley seems more well-rounded. Another pick-'em, so I'll go with Struve for fun.

This doesn't appear to be an exciting card. I hope that I'll be pleasantly surprised.

UFC 101 - Results : Penn defends, Griffin humiliated

Well, you can’t say I didn’t call it.

Sure, I wasn’t willing to “bet” against my boy Forrest, but I knew when the fight was first announced that he’d get trounced by Anderson Silva.

I was right.

It wasn’t even close.

They say styles make fights, and this was a complete mismatch. Griffin is a puncher with a relatively weak chin and no knockout power. How the hell was he supposed to beat a guy who has awesome stand up and has insane knockout power? His only hope was to clinch and use his weight to try to take Silva down – that strategy was nowhere to be seen.

The UFC sold some tickets and some PPVs, but in the process, they may have spoiled one of their golden geese by exposing Griffin’s weak chin and, essentially, humiliating him in front of millions.

Griffin certainly didn’t help matters by running out of the ring and, as some are stating, the arena. There were some reports that he ran to the back to get medical attention for a broken jaw and loss of hearing, but those reports appear to be false. I’d still like to hear Griffin’s take on the fight and reason for bolting. I thought he had learned from the fiasco that followed the Keith Jardine fight (another fight that shouldn’t have happened – for completely different reasons), but I guess not. He lost a little bit of my respect, but I’m still hoping there’s a decent explanation.

Who should Silva fight? The obvious choice is champion Lyoto Machida, but apparently that won’t happen since they’re training partners and “like brothers”. Machida is a high calibre fighter with skills similar to Silva’s – hard to hit with good knockout power. Clearly, Silva ought to remain in the light heavyweight division, so if he doesn’t fight the champ… Other “tune-up” fight opponents might include Rampage, Rashad Evans or, get this, Randy Couture. Rampage and Rashad are big guys with good chins and knockout power. Randy, on the other hand, would challenge Silva in close and is known for brilliant strategizing.

If the UFC had big brass balls, though, they’d put Silva in with Lesnar and set up a clash of titans. I’d give Silva even odds against the inexperienced Lesnar - at least.

Ok, let’s move on to the results from UFC 101:

BJ Penn def. Kenny Florian (sub 4) – I thought Florian might pull off the upset, but I didn’t count on a stupid strategy of single-leg takedown attempts and cage hugging. This was clearly not working. I don’t know if Florian was trying to take a page out of training partner GSP’s book, but let’s just say he’s no GSP. Florian had to take Penn down or, failing that, stick to leg kicks all night long and wear down the champ until he could pounce into a ground and pound game. Instead, Florian got outboxed by Penn and hugged his leg while Penn punished him. Seriously. WTF? (picked wrong 0-1)

Silva def. Griffin (TKO 1) – See above. Not even close. This was a non-fight from the start. Had Griffin won it would have been the biggest upset in UFC history. (picked “wrong” 0-2)

Johny Hendricks def. Amir Sadollah (TKO 1) – Despite what some may think, this was a good stoppage. Sadollah was out of it, defenceless (he was on all fours and not looking at his opponent) and at risk of injury. Hendricks looked pretty good in this brief bout. I’m looking forward to his next fight. (picked right 1-2)

Ricardo Almeida def. Kendall Grove (Unan Dec) – Grove was never really in this, except for an arm bar that was set up when he illegally grabbed the cage for leverage (which the ref either missed or dismissed). It drives me nuts when refs don’t call cage grabbing when it leads to a submission opportunity. I’ve seen it a number of times. Anyhow, Almeida didn’t look great, but we ought to see more of him after this. Grove, well, I think he’s out of his league in the UFC, but I’m sure they’ll keep him around due to his name recognition. (picked right 2-2)

Kurt Pellegrino def. Josh Neer (Unan Dec) – I missed most of this fight, but hear it was pretty dull. Looked like a lot of laying and praying in the third. (picked wrong 2-3)

UNDERCARD

Aaron Riley def. Shane Nelson (Unan Dec) – This was the famous rematch. Neither fighter was very impressive, but Riley got the nod, justifiably. (picked wrong 2-4)

John Howard def. Tamdan McCrory (Split Dec) – Wish I’d seen this. Sounds like it was a decent fight, but Howard wore McCrory down late. (picked wrong 2-5)

Alessio Sakara def. Thales Leites (Split Dec) – If reports are true, both of these guys should be kicked out of the UFC as I suggested. I hear it was a crazy boring fight and the fans booed. Thales Leites is coming off a title shot, for Pete’s sake, which goes to show how thin the middleweight division is. (picked wrong 2-6)

Matthew Riddle def. Dan Cramer (Unan Dec) – Would have liked to have seen this, too. (picked right 3-6)

George Sotiropoulos def. George Roop (Sub 2) – George looked good, but should have finished sooner. He had boatloads of opportunities and completely outclassed Roop on the ground. Looking forward to seeing more of him. (picked right 4-6)

Jesse Lennox def. Danillo Villefort (TKO 3) – I picked this blind, so can’t take too much credit. (picked right 5-6)

Ok, so the divining rod let me down, but considering I didn’t really pick Forrest to win, it was more like 6-5 than 5-6. I’ll try to do better next time.

Shogun Rua deserves title shot? Really?!

So Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson will be the coaches for season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Sounds good.

I’m not sure Evans is “coach” material (Matt Hughes must be shaking his head), but here’s an opportunity for him to rise to the occasion, like Forrest Griffin did, and establish himself as an elder statesman of the sport.

Rampage has been here before, of course.

The surprising part of this announcement is that Rampage begged off a fight with new champ Lyoto Machida in order to take the (not-so?) TUF gig. Rampage could have taken a shot at regaining the belt he (deservedly) lost to Griffin, but, no, he wants Evans.

This isn’t a total shock as Rampage has little to offer beyond what Evans might have and we all know how Evans did against Machida. This is, as I believe Rampage himself said, an opportunity for Rampage to step back, take some time, and improve his game.

But what of Machida? Who will be his first challenger to the 205 title?

Apparently, it’ll be Mauricio Shogun Rua.

WTF?!?!

Let me get this straight: Rua comes to the UFC after being somewhat of a stud in the defunct Pride organization, promptly gets schooled by Griffin – who submits him no less – wins a lacklustre fight against a positively geriatric Mark Coleman, and knocks out Chuck Liddell (1-3 in his last four) who is an opponent so formidable that Dana White immediately retires him after the fight and THAT gets Rua a title shot?!

Huh?!

You all know I’m a Griffin mark, but, come on; doesn’t he deserve a title shot more than Rua? Griffin beat Rua, beat Jackson and lost to Evans. If Jackson was deserving of a title rematch, why not Griffin? How does Rua leapfrog him, especially considering his boring performances?

There seems to be this UFC tradition, though, that ex-champs have to win a fight before returning to the top of the mountain, and I guess that hasn’t happened yet.

It seems plain to me that the most deserving challenger is the winner of the upcoming Griffin-Silva fight (UFC 101). Since Evans-Jackson won’t happen until late this year, maybe there’ll be time for a Lyoto-Griffin/Silva fight before the TUF coach winner takes on Machida (spring-ish 2010).

Rua? Can you picture him as champ after his 3 UFC performances?

Come on.

UFC 98 Results

Lyoto Machida def. Rashad Evans (TKO 2) – I was a little surprised at Lyoto’s power. I thought this might be another boring ground fight if Evans ever took him down, but the fight never got that far. Since both were counter-strikers, the fight got off to a ridiculously slow start. The second round saw more action, and Evans went down in ugly fashion, looking like he was out of it three shots before he finally hit the canvas. The new champ seems like a decent guy and I hope he defends for a while to return some lustre to the hot potato belt.

Matt Hughes def. Matt Serra (unanimous decision) – This one went just as I predicted. Aside from the brief fireworks at the beginning where Serra clubbed Hughes and almost pulled out a victory, this one was boring as hell. Hughes predictably lay on top of Serra for most of the fight, earning the UFC-style decision. The UFC really has to do something about their judging system, as Serra was by far the more dangerous fighter. Who wants to see Hughes’ boring brand of fighting? Wrestlers are given far too much credit in the current system.

Drew McFedries def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (KO 1) – This one promised to be a short one and it delivered. McFedries knocked F-P into next week in a mere 37 seconds. Good thing, too, since McFedries is useless beyond his initial barrage.

Chael Sonnen def. Dan Miller (unanimous decision) – Pretty dull fight. Sonnen hasn’t been very impressive since his arrival from WEC where he was the middleweight champ.

Frank Edgar def. Sean Sherk (unanimous decision) – Not a terribly exciting fight. Sherk has become a pretty one-dimensional fighter and NOT as a wrestler. He has somehow convinced himself that striking is the way to go. I think it’s the way for the former champ to go out of the UFC. His striking pretty much blows, especially against guys with a reach advantage. Why Sherk doesn’t take advantage of the pro-wrestler UFC is beyond me. Does he forget how he beat Florian?

Brock Larson def. Mike Pyle (sub 1) – Pyle looked pretty good with his multiple jiu-jitsu submission attempts, but Larson survived and managed to get top position long enough to secure an arm triangle choke. I hope we get to see Pyle again, just to give him a fair shake – maybe against the likes of Joe Lauzon.

Tim Hague def. Pat Barry (sub 1) – The Canadian boy looked like he might get knocked out early, but survived and delivered some thunderous shots of his own before slapping on a serious guillotine (he’s 265lbs!!). Reminded me of Gabriel Gonzaga a little.

Kyle Bradley def. Phillipe Nover (TKO 1) – This was a dark match we didn’t get to see. Seems Nover got schooled.

Krzysztof Soszynski def.. Andre Gusmao (TKO 1) – Soszynski looked pretty good, taking some shots and delivering more in return. He keeps his head up when striking which tends to make him more accurate than his opponent and shows great confidence. He’s on a roll and I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots more of him. Let’s see how quickly the UFC tries to move him up the ladder.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Brandon Wolff (sub 1) – another dark match we didn’t see.

George Roop def. Dave Kaplan (split decision) – Another untelevised dark match. Kaplan has been less than impressive in the UFC. Considering this guy looked awful on the Ultimate Fighter show, I’m not sure why he’s seeing so much action in the big show.

Overall, only an ok show. I had expected some long, dull, wrestling dominated fights, so it wasn’t a big surprise. UFC 99 (June 13) ought to be more exciting with lots of big bangers on the card.

UFC 101: Silva vs Griffin

The UFC has announced that Anderson Silva will once again move up to the 205-pound division to test himself against the bigger boys. This time, his opponent will be none other than Forrest Griffin.

This blows.

See, I quite like Forrest. I think he’s a hard worker, a strong talent and a funny, personable guy. He’s gonna get his ass kicked. See, Forrest’s style is somewhat like Rich Franklin’s (mostly a stand up striker). And we all know how well that worked for him in his two fights with Silva. And we’ve seen how Forrest can sometimes get knocked silly by one good punch. He could try to take Silva down, but then he’s playing the jiu-jitsu game against a Brazilian. That’s like playing against a Sicilian when death is on the line. (ok, maybe that analogy doesn’t work)

Forrest’s only hope is to out-point Silva, which could happen I suppose, but I’m not sure I’d wanna stand and trade with Silva.

Who knows? Maybe Forrest will be too big and strong for Silva to bully with his Muay Thai clinch. But what does this fight prove? I mean, wouldn’t it be more interesting to have Silva take on the 205 champ? If Silva wins, does he get Evans/Machida next? If Forrest wins…so what? Is it a big deal for Forrest to beat the god of the middleweight division? Does it move Forrest closer to a rematch for his lost belt? I would hope so, but I’m not convinced. If he loses, where does that leave him? And who here really thinks Anderson Silva is second banana to Rashad Evans? I say let Anderson take on the champ, vacate his 185 belt (when he wins) and make the middleweight division competitive again.

Man, I hope Griffin wins....