UFC 101: Penn vs Florian, Griffin vs Silva

Most MMA fans knew anyway, but the two main fights for UFC 101 in Philadelphia on August 8th were going to be the Lightweight Championship match between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian as well as an intriguing Light Heavyweight clash between former champion Forrest Griffin and Thiago Silva. The UFC officially announced the signing of both fights, and it was only then did it come as a surprise that it wouldn’t be Thiago Silva that Griffin would face, but instead Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva would again venture up to the 205lb ranks to this time take on one of the top fighters.

Forrest Griffin vs Anderson Silva is one hell of a matchup. The two things that Griffin bring are his size and his workrate and I’m curious to see how Anderson deals with it. The way I think he’ll deal with it is by knocking Griffin out in the first round of the fight, but what if he doesn’t? I’m expecting Silva to rise to the occasion as he has done in the past when presented with a serious challenge (and no, Patrick Cote and Thales Leites weren’t serious challenges for Silva) like when he fought Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson. The fact remains that Griffin is a big dude with good skills and his cardio is probably second to none, and should be not be slaughtered in the opening moments of this fight he could smother Silva with his workrate as he’s done to opponents before.

As for the title clash, I just hope Penn is in shape because if he isn’t he’s going to be in for a rude awakening. I think one of two things are going to happen in this fight. Either Penn has not mentally recovered from the loss to St Pierre and will train poorly as he’s done in the past and take a beating from Florian or he’ll be extra motivated for this fight in which case I see him winning but by late stoppage or submission after a tough fight with Florian. I really hope he trains hard for this one because him and Florian will be a dynamic matchup between two well rounded fighters which could end up being the war that Penn had with Pulver in their first fight.

One other note, it appears that Keith Jardine will instead face Thiago Silva, but at UFC 102 later in August which is likely to be headlined by Nogueira vs Couture.

Froch KOs Taylor, Juanma KOs Penalosa

Apologies for the lateness of these reports, been real busy lately, gonna try and put a few things up tonight. One thing, the rankings will probably be a day or two late. They should be up Saturday.

Carl Froch KO12 Jermain Taylor
What a fight! Not fight of the year so far (Dunne-Cordoba and Marquez-Diaz sit ahead of it for me so far) but definately right up there. Jermain Taylor decked Froch early and seemed in control and was on his way to winning on points until Carl Froch exploded on him in the 12th and stopped him in the final seconds of the bout. Two things I noticed from this fight. First, Froch needs to keep his left up if he’s going to hang with the likes of Bute or Kessler or even Abraham or Pavlik. Second, Jermain Taylor needs to completely change whatever conditioning program he is on because it clearly isn’t working. This is the 2nd time he’s looked the better fighter and lost by KO because of his conditioning.

Juan Manuel Lopez TKO9 Gerry Penalosa
Lopez seems the real deal. The fight was completely one sided even though Penalosa was game. Lopez is ready for the likes of Vazquez or Caballero, and thats all I have to say about that.

Felix Sturm KO7 Koji Sato
Sturm really looked the goods in this fight. He made Sato look like an amateur for most of the fight and punished him whenever he got the chance to. I’m really interested to see how Sturm goes against Mundine and whether he can do most Australian boxing fans a favour and put Mundine to sleep.

Boxing Breakdown: Froch-Taylor, Lopez-Penalosa

With all the K-1 and UFC going on, I didn’t even realise these two fights were on this weekend. Two very good fights between young undefeated fighters taking on former champions. These two fights should be good to get us in the mood for the big Hatton-Pacquiao bout next week (well me anyway, most of you guys either follow MMA, or boxing or K-1 and when you follow all three it can be strange watching a whole heap of K-1 then an MMA match or whichever combo you use). There’s also a couple of other decent fights on this weekend, with Felix Sturm putting his WBA Middleweight crown on the line against undefeated OPBF champion Koji Sato and a not so big fight in the return of Danny Green.

Carl Froch vs Jermain Taylor
(WBC Super Middleweight title)
Interesting fight this one. I’m picking Taylor, but I haven’t seen Froch’s last fight and all my English friends assure me he looked the goods so I’m not picking with any real confidence. Taylor should win this fight though, he’s had plenty of time to get over the Pavlik losses and scored an impressive win on his comeback. His experience of being in there with Hopkins, Wright and Pavlik alone should seperate him from Froch who is still very green on the big stage. None of those three were able to dominate him, even Pavlik when he scored that memorable stoppage was on the canvas and losing on points before he found the shots to put Taylor away. Another factor in this fight is Froch has rarely fought outside of the UK so travelling into Taylor’s backyard so to speak and fighting a fight on this level may mean he doesn’t perform to his full abilities. I think the fight will be close, but Taylor should prevail. Jermain Taylor on points.

Juan Manuel Lopez vs Gerry Penalosa
(WBO Junior Featherweight title)
This fight has the potential to be a war, or a quick knockout. We don’t know a whole lot about Lopez other then that he can punch and punch very hard. Penalosa is a durable fighter so I’ll be extremely impressed if Lopez blows him away, but I won’t be that surprised because Lopez is that good. Penalosa has never been stopped and is coming off some impressive victories including a 7th round KO over Jhonny Gonzalez. The two things that factor heavily in Lopez’s favour are that he is left handed and that he has youth on his side. Out of Penalosa’s losses, three of them (at least) have come against southpaws (the two losses to Takayama and the loss to Ponce de Leon) and that’s enough for me to give Juanma the edge although I think he’ll be extended 12. Juan Manuel Lopez on points.

Felix Sturm vs Koji Sato
(WBA Middleweight title)
I smell an upset here although I’m going to pick Sturm. Sato is a dangerous fighter with a 14-0 record and 13 knockouts, he’s only been extended past the 6th round once. His biggest win comes over Australian contender Adam Vella, who took Sato to the 9th round but was broken down by Koji. Sturm is very hot and cold and if he isn’t on form in this fight I think he loses by knockout. My balls aren’t big enough today to back him though. Felix Sturm on points.

Danny Green show
With all the good fights on this weekend, why am I forced to either pay $50 to watch boxing or stay up past midnight going to a pub surrounded by morons in order to watch anything? Former WBA Light Heavyweight champion Danny Green returns from his retirement and takes on some South African no one has heard of and this is PPV worthy? I must sound like a broken record, but why? Couldn’t Green have headlined a Friday Night Fights card on Fox Sports instead of charging people $50 to watch him? As much as I like Green, I bag on Mundine for charging $50 for his joke fights so Green gets nothing different. The fact that we’re getting Hatton-Pacquiao on PPV next week for $40 shows how much of a rip-off this is. There you have two of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet squaring off, but for $10 more you could get Danny Green knock out some chump in two rounds?

Drago beats Sato at K-1 Max Final 16

Gago Drago showed up in form on Tuesday night and advanced to the Final 8 in place of one of the heavy favourites in last years semi finalist Yoshihiro Sato via unanimous decision after an extra round. Drago has been eliminated by the champion before the final in the last three years; losing to Buakaw in the 2006 semi finals, Andy Souwer in the 2007 quarter finals and Masato in the 2008 Final 8. The fight was won by determination and conditioning as both fighters traded evenly over the first three rounds before a three minute assault by the Armenian in the extra round sent him through to the quarter finals in July.

Sato set the pace early, tattooing Drago with kicks to the legs and body as well as timing Drago’s rushes with knee strkes to the midsection. Drago had several good moments of his own in the first round, landing several stiff overhand rights as well as a hard uppercut in the second half of the fight that kept the round even. The pace increased in the 2nd round although the pattern of the fight remained the same. Sato continued to outbox Drago early in the round before Drago landed several heavy shots to keep things even. In the 2nd, Drago scored frequently with his high kick as well as two vicious leg kicks designed to slow the two time K-1 MAX Japan champion down. Nothing could seperate the two warriors in the third round however as Drago raised his hands in victory, Sato looked gassed after three rounds. 

As expected the fight was sent to an extra round after all three judges scored every round even (you’d have to have serious bias to score it to one fighter or the other). If you watched the extra round and then the other three, you wouldn’t have believed it was from the same fight. Drago immediately pounced on the fatigued Sato and punished him for three minutes. Sato was struggling to keep his hands up and could only push his punches out as Drago repeatedly hammered him with heavy right hands. Sato was game to the end, but couldn’t find the energy to deal with the rampaging Drago and all three judges awarded the extra round to Drago and his spot in the Final 8.

 Nieky ‘The Natural” Holtzken advanced in the co main event with a three round majority decision win over K-1 Rookie Chahid. Very little seperated the fighters in the first round with Holzken using hi superior reach and speed to score with clean combinations while the compact Chahid bulled his way inside where he worked both sides of Holtzkens legs as well as scoring with punching combinations to the head. Holtzken pulled ahead after the 2nd round, stunning Chahid briefly with a left hook and scoring with the cleaner and harder shots. The third round was very even again, as both guys let their strikes go but neither could score a clear advantage. One judge scored the bout a draw with the other two scoring it for Holtzken in a fight that realistically should have gone a 4th.

Three of K-1’s former champions also advanced to the Final 8 in July. Andy Souwer, the 2005 and 2007 champion, was given a good fight by Leroy Kaetsner but two first round knockdowns was too much for the Peter Aerts trained Kaestner to overcome. The fight was close throughout much of it, but Souwer’s experience and ability to capitilise on the openings given to him was the difference and he took a three round unanimous decision. 2004 and 2006 champion Buakaw Por. Pramuk’s night wasn’t nearly as easy against Andre Dida. Dida shocked everyone scoring a knockdown via a left hook in the opening minute of the fight. For the rest of the round he pursued Buakaw but despite landing some solid right hands, couldn’t put the former champion away. The rest of the fight was a different story as Buakaw punished Dida with knees to the body as well as his deadly kicks to the legs and midsection. After three rounds the judges scored the fight a draw meaning the fatigued Dida had to endure another three minutes of Buakaw’s fury. He held on, but the extra round was all Buakaw and a point deduction against Dida for holding made the decision easy for the judges and Buakaw procedes to the Final 8 for the sixth year in a row. The original K-1 MAX champion Albert Kraus made light work of Yuichiro Nagashima (who had the most bizarre walk in I’ve ever seen). Known more for his flamboyant personality rather then fight skill, Yuichiro was dropped by Kraus less then a minute into the fight before finishing him with a deadly assault of punches on the ropes at the 69 second mark. After falling short against Buakaw last year in the Final 16, it’s good to have ‘The Hurricane’ in the Final 8 this year and with his now seven fight winning streak, he has a serious shot at the crown.

In a fight that will likely provide cannon fodder for one of the other Final 8 members, 2009 K-1 MAX Japan runner-up Yuya Yamamoto outpointed K-1 MAX Korea champion Chi Bin Lim over three rounds. Lim took the early lead over Yamamoto, who was a late substitute for the injured Taishin Kohiruimaki, scoring with sharp combinations on the inside. Lim seemed to be leading in the 2nd round as well until he was dropped by a spinning back fist which gave Yamamoto an advantage after two rounds. The third round saw very little seperate the two combatants and was ruled a draw, giving the decision to Yamamoto. I’ll be very surprised if Yamamoto makes the Final.

Last years Finalist Artur Kyshenko advanced earlier on the card with a devastating first round knockout victory against overmatched Alviar Lima. Lima opened the fight fast, but soon tasted the Ukranian’s power and was down in the first minute. Kyshenko picked his shots from there on scoring a standing eight count late in the round before a further barrage finished Lima off. The card was opened up by Giorgio Petrosyans stoppage win over dangerous Dzhabor Askervov. Petrosyan controlled the first round from the outside, using a variety of boxing combinations as well as a well timed body kick and leaping rear knee to pepper Askerov all while skillfully avoiding his return fire. After an accidental groin kick by Askerov at the start of the 2nd, Petrosyan fought him on the inside and continued to get the better of just about every exchange. Scoring with uppercuts, body rips and knees to the head, the young Italian was too slick for the semi finalist of ‘The Contender.’ Early in the third, Petrosyan went to sweep Askerov’s legs and after knocking him off balance, he ended the night with a perfect knee to the liver that Askerov was unable to recover from.

(I’m fully aware that the card took place nearly a week ago but US viewers didn’t get it until Friday so that’s why this was put off for a week).

Escudero vs Miller first fight added to UFC 103

TUF8 Lightweight Champion Efrain Escudero gets a baptism by fire in his first non TUF UFC fight when he takes on in form Cole Miller. Miller recently competed at the last UFC Fight Night (Kampmann vs Condit) where he submitted TUF8 semi finalist and world class douchebag Junie Browning by guillotine choke quickly in the first round. This is a fight that I’m definately looking forward to as both are young guys with loads of potential and a win for either guy moves them a fair bit up the ranks at 155lbs.

The fight will take place on the so far unannounced UFC 103 event, which is rumoured to take place in September although a venue and a main event so far haven’t been leaked. Considering most of the UFC’s main draws are currently tied up in matches, I think there’s a good chance it’ll be either Rampage against the Machida-Evans winner (although I think that fight is more then likely going to end up on the end of year show), or Anderson Silva defending his belt or havin a fight at 205lbs. Another option could be Rampage vs Shogun II although I’m speculating on all of those with absolutely nothing to go on.

DREAM.9 card announced

The DREAM featherweight Grand Prix continues May 26, but it’s the undercard that will likely attract the most viewers as DREAM includes it’s first non tournament title match as well as the return of a former champion. In a rematch from last years DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix quarter final, Ronaldo Jacare will take on Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller for the vacant DREAM Middleweight title that was vacated by Gegard Mousasi, who will also appear on the card in a Light Heavyweight match against Sokoudjou. In addition to those two fights, Tatsuya Kawajiri takes on Gesisas ‘JZ’ Calvacante in a highly anticipated Lightweight showdown that has fight of the year potential.

The Featherweight matchups see the return of Kid Yamamoto, who will take on the dangerous Joe Warren. Warren defeated Chase Beebe in his pro MMA debut at DREAM.7, but will be up against it when he takes on Yamamoto who has a Fedor-like record of 17-1 with only 3 fights going the distance and his only loss coming via cut stoppage early in his career. Yamamoto is the heavy favourite in the tournament with victories over Royler Gracie, Genki Sudo, Rani Yahya and Bibiano Fernandes already in his career. Also matched up are former WEC fighters Yoshiro Maeda and Hiroyuki Takaya. Former Jiu Jitsu World Champion Bibiano Fernandes takes on former DEEP Featherweight Champion Masakazu Imanari and in the fourth fight, Abel Cullum takes on Hideo Tokoro, who despite his loss to Daiki Hata in the opening round advances as Hata couldn’t be fit for the DREAM.9 bout.

For the full card plus other MMA cards, see the MMA schedule.

Silva and Shogun score wins at UFC 97

Anderson Silva was extended the five round limit for the first time in his UFC career yesterday as Thales Leites basically adapted the butt-scoot technique in order to survive. Leites offered very little offence during the fight as Silva toyed with him waiting for something to counter off. The fight would probably have been the worse in UFC history had Silva not been so creative with his striking, throwing side kicks to Leites’ knee as well as jabbing at his thigh. The fight was painful to watch at times as Silva was standing within range for Thales to do whatever he pleased to him yet Thales was that reluctant to engage that he didn’t throw anything. The fight was only worstened by one of the judges who somehow thought the fight was up for grabs going into the last round and gave Leites two of the rounds. I was hard pressed to give Leites the 2nd round despite him scoring a takedown and ‘working’ from on top for a good portion of the round.

The question remains, when are the UFC going to give Silva a decent challenge. His last three fights he’s faced guys so clearly out of his league that it’s starting to damage his reputation. We know what he’s capable when he’s put in with a guy who he feels threatened by. He destroyed Rich Franklin twice as well as Dan Henderson and Nate Marquadt in performances that would make most contenders think about changing weight divisions. Actually that’s not a bad idea for Silva, maybe a forced move to 205lbs is what’s needed for his career as he’ll likely find guys in his own league up there. Or maybe should St Pierre defeat Thiago Alves they’ll make that super fight for their end of year show. There’s no one for Silva to fight at 185lbs who makes me think will bring any better a performance out of him. Maia has a chance of pulling off a victory as he’s much more aggressive with his Jiu Jitsu game, but I think we’d see Silva toy with him as he pleased as well. It’s got to be 205lbs or Georges St Pierre for Anderson Silva as far as I’m concerned.

In the co feature, Mauricio Shogun returned to form with an entertaining first round knockout of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell. The fight was entertaining with both men landing hard shots and scoring takedowns in what was a wild first round. At one stage Shogun dropped down for a leg lock on Liddell who showed (for me anyway) surprising knowledge of how to escape the position. Then in the final minute, Shogun landed a leaping left hook that dropped Liddell and finished him with some of his famous ground and pound. Liddell rose shortly after the stoppage but was unaware of his surroundings or what had just happened.

The fight answered some questions, but left one big one unanswered. Is Shoguns conditioning there yet? He didn’t appear to gas which suggests that it’s definately better then it has been, but we didn’t see him in the 2nd and 3rd rounds where it was painful to watch him against Coleman. The questions it did answer is that Shogun has a world class skill set and it was probably his leg kicks that set up the victory. His ground game is also awesome for those of you who think on that performance that he is a striker. The other question it answered was that this has to be the end of the line for Liddell. It’s three times in his last five fights that he’s been laid out and while they were to three of the best guys in the game, you don’t want to see the guy become a punching bag. I’ve always been a big Liddell fan and while I’m also a big Shogun fan and was happy to see the guy back in form, part of me felt bad for Liddell that he went out like this. Hopefully the guy makes the right decision and retires with his health.

Also on the card, Kryzstof Soszynski scored a first round submission victory with a kimura over Brian Stann. Cheick Kongo battered Antoni Hardonk despite breaking his hand in the first round, finishing the fight with ground and pound in the 2nd round. Luiz Cane and Steve Cantwell engaged in a rather boring striking match that makes me wonder if these guys know that they’re allowed to wrestle? In a bonus fight on the PPV card, Sam Stout and Matt Wiman went to war and fought three very close rounds with Wiman getting the best of the positions and Stout doing more damage. In the end, Stout scored a close but unanimous decision (I thought Wiman won) in front of his home crowd.

On the preliminaries, TUF8 veterans Elliot Marshall and Vinny Magalhaes went the distance in a fight many people thought Vinny should of won (according to a few reports he had Marshall mounted and eating punches in two rounds while Marshall did shit) yet Marshall scored a 30-27 victory on two cards and 29-28 on the third. Canadians Denis Kang, TJ Grant and Mark Bocek all scored much needed wins, while David Loiseau copped a beating from Ed Herman and Jason MacDonald was stopped in the first round by Nate Quarry.

Full Results
Anderson Silva UD5 (50-46, 49-46, 48-47) Thales Leites
Mauricio Shogun TKO1 (punches) Chuck Liddell
San Stout UD3 (29-28) Matt Wiman
Kryzstof Soszynski Sub1 (kimura) Brian Stann
Cheick Kongo TKO2 (punches) Antoni Hardonk
Luiz Cane UD3 (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) Steve Cantwell
Denis Kang UD3 (30-27) Xavier Foupa Pokam
Nate Quarry TKO1 (punches) Jason MacDonald
Ed Herman UD3 (30-27, 30-26, 30-27) David Loiseau
TJ Grant SD3 (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) Ryo Chonan
Mark Bocek Sub1 (Rear Naked Choke) David Bielkheden
Elliot Marshall UD3 (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) Vinny Magalhaes

K-1 MAX Final 16 on Tuesday

I’ll put the focus on UFC 97 aside for a second as K-1 MAX starts this week with the Final 16 event on Tuesday. I have to say that since I started watching K-1 about eight months ago I’ve been blown away by some of it. The K-1 cards are now right up there with the UFC cards or a good boxing match. There’s either fights with a lot on the line or some quality beatings in store for you at a K-1 card. I’ve spent the last six weeks watching K-1 MAX for the last few years and I’m very much looking forward to Tuesday’s event. After defending champion Masato’s retirement (he’ll face the MAX champion at the New Years Eve event), the final 16 look for their spot in the quarter finals which will take place in July. The field sees past champions Buakaw, Andy Souwer and Albert Kraus return again as well as stand-outs from last years MAX series Artur Kyshenko and Yoshihiro Sato. Also on the card is an exhibition match between Masato and rising Japanese star Hiroya.

Leroy Kaestner vs Andy Souwer
Two time champion (2005, 2007) Andy Souwer returns to the MAX Final 16 and his opponent is a rising star in the sport. Souwer is one of the more accomplished kickboxers in the world holding multiple world titles in different organisations and boasting an incredible record of 130-7 (17-3 in K-1). Souwer is a very well rounded striker who doesn’t have many weaknesses at all. Last year Souwer was eliminated in the quarter finals by Ukranian young gun Arthur Kyshenko which snapped a winning streak that dated back to 2006 and included his MAX title in 2007. Souwer’s last outing saw him drop a decision to Italian star Giorgio Petroysan who is among this years Final 16.
Kaestner is the youngest competitor in this years MAX at just 20 years of age. Training out of Team Aerts, he won the K-1 Holland event last year with three wars on the same night to qualify for this tournament. Standing at just 5′5, his short compact style can be hard for the fighters without enough power to discourage him. Souwer really shouldn’t have too many problems in this fight, I expect him to win a lopsided decision or score a late TKO. Andy Souwer by 3rd round knockout.

Nieky Holtzken vs Chahid Oulad El Hadj
Two relative K-1 newbies will square off in the Final 16 with Holtzken and Chahid in what could be an explosive battle. Holtzken stands over 6′ and knows how to use his reach well. He’s scored some stunning knockouts in his short K-1 career where he’s won five of his six bouts with his only loss coming at the hands of Buakaw. Chahid is making his K-1 debut and I don’t know much about him as I’ve been unable to get any footage of him. From what I understand he’s a very technical fighter who likes to draw the lead of his opponents and counter with fast and accurate shots. I think the experience and size advantage that Holzken has will give him the edge. Nieky Holtzken on points.

Artur Kyshenko vs Alviar Lima
Last years MAX runner-up Artur Kyshenko has one of the tougher fights in order to qualify for the Final 8 in July against hard punching Alviar Lima. I’ll go out on a limb now and say that Kyshenko is my pick for the MAX title this year. The 23 year old Ukranian has bowed out to Masato in both 2007 and 2008 in the semi finals and final respectively. In recent times Kyshenko has defeated Yoshihiro Sato, Andy Souwer, Jordan Tai and Yasuhiro Kido while only losing to Masato in the last two and a half years. His win over Sato in New Years Eve was one of the better fights of the night and with Sato’s recent form it cemented Kyshenko as the best of the new breed of K-1 fighters. Lima is just dangerous, that’s the only way to decribe him. His power doesn’t stand out because of his low KO%, but his knockout of Nieky Holtzken last year shows that when he hits you you’ll go to sleep. Still, Kyshenko is my pick for this years title and I think he’ll make easy work of Lima after a hard fought first round. Kyshenko’s body punches should take their toll and he’ll put Lima away early in the 3rd. Artur Kyshenko by 3rd round knockout.

Chi Bin Lim vs Yuya Yamamoto
Probably the weaker of the eight matches on this years Final 16 card, 2009 Japanese MAX runner-up Yamamoto replaces 2009 Japanese MAX champion Taishin Kohiruimaki after the champion suffered an injury in training. Lim is a three time Korean MAX champion and gets another shot in this years Final 16. I’ll be very surprised if the winner of this fight is anything other then cannon fodder for some in the quarter finals, but this could prove an exciting scrap between two guys who will be desperate to get a win on the big stage. I’ll pick Lim, but only because Yamamoto is taking the fight on short notice. Chi Bin Lim on points.

Dzhabar Askerov vs Giorgio Petroysan
This is the fight I’m looking forward to the most on this card. Two fighters with little K-1 experience but fierce reputations in other organisations. I’ve already mentioned Petroysan earlier in this article as he is coming off a win over Andy Souwer via decision after an extra round. He’s also head Buakaw to a draw and defeated the likes of K-1 veterans Marco Pique and Warren Stevelmans. Petrosyan’s record stands at 55-1-2 in his young career so far, and he’s appeared in K-1 three times, winning twice and drawing with Buakaw. Askerov is known for his semi final achievement on ‘The Contender- Asia’ where he lost to John Wayne Parr in the semi finals. He lost comprehensively on points to JWP in a rematch last September in Australia. Petroysan is someone to watch out for in the future as he’s nly 23 and has already beaten some big names. I expect him to go through with a hard fought decision victory here and he could be a dark horse to take the title this year with a bit of luck on his side. Giorgio Petroysan on points.

Drago vs Yoshihiro Sato
This has potential for fight of the night as do most of Sato’s fights. Last year Sato engaged in two wars with Buakaw, losing one via split decision after an extra round before avenging it with a 3rd round KO to earn his spot in the MAX semi finals. Once there, he went to war with Masato, dropping him before losing a unanimous decision. He finished the year out with a majority decision loss to Kyshenko at Dynamite! but has since snapped the losing streak with a 2nd round KO over Sergey Golyaev in February. Drago is a fan favourite who sits behind the Souwer’s, Masato’s and Buakaws on the 2nd tier MAX fighters. Drago is always dangerous with his heavy hands and aggressive style and could put Sato out if he’s on his game. I expect that Sato will use his leg kicks to wear Drago down and stop him in the later rounds, but if he lets Drago in close his iron chin will certainly be put to the test. Yoshiro Sato by 3rd round KO.

Andre Dida vs Buakaw Por. Pramunak
Former Chute Boxe member Andre Dida is the first round opponent for two time champion Buakaw Por. Pramunak. Dida is more famous for MMA then K-1 where he has only had one fight. He was eliminated in the first round of last years DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix by Eddie Alvarez via TKO in an electrifying battle. Buakaw is one of the more lethal strikers on the planet and despite his recent poor form (which I think can be put down to over fighting) is one of the favourites to win the MAX this year. The 2004 and 2006 champion will look to become the first three time MAX champion this year but has lost two of his last three fights. After bowing out in the quarter finals last year in an exciting war with Sato, he defeated Kultar Gill by first round KO at the MAX final before dropping a decision to Albert Kraus in November in Holland. Buakaw fought seven times last year (two against Sato and two against Kraus) which I think he’ll need to cut back so he can be fresh for a run at the title. He was back in the ring within three weeks after beating both Kraus and Sato earlier in the year which is just too much fighting at this level. I expect Buakaw to have an easy nights work with Dida. His leg kicks and punching combinations will be too deadly and I’ll be surprised if this fight goes to a third round. Buakaw Por. Pramunak by 2nd round KO.

Albert Kraus vs Yuichiro Nagashima
Despite Nagashima losing in the Japanese MAX tournament earlier in the year, he had a strong chance of winning the crown had he not lost on a cut in the 2nd fight to Yamamoto. Albert Kraus appears to be reviving his career with recent wins over Buakaw, Warren Stevelmans, Mike Zambidis and Yashihiro Kido included in his six fight winning streak. Kraus lost to Buakaw in the Final 16 round last year but likely would have gone further had he been given an easier first round match. K-1’s first MAX champion is among the favourites to win this years event, and should prove too skilled for the flamboyant Nagashima. Nagashima dresses in weird clothes, but can fight as hard as the rest of them with a dangerous punch and iron chin, he’ll likely take a beating before going down to Kraus, in fact he’ll probably be crazy enough to last the distance. Albert Kraus on points.

Other Fights
As I sais before, also on the card is the first of Masato’s three fight retirement plan which is an exhibition match with Hiroya, the young Japanese superstar who many are tipping to be the next Masato. Also included in this plan is a fight (likely with DREAM standout Tatsuya Kawajiri) at the MAX final before a showdown with the winner on New Years Eve. The reserve fight sees K-1 MAX Japan semi finalist Yasuhiro Kido take on K-1 MAX Korea runner-up Su Hwan Lee.

UFC 97 Weigh-ins

All fighters made weight for the weigh in bar David Bielkheden who had two hours to drop an extra pound (not sure if he did or not). Shogun looked in as good a shape as I’ve seen him since he went to the UFC. Anderson Silva looked to have a good size advantage over Leites despite coming in at 182lbs. The weigh ins went off without any incidents with Liddell getting by far the biggest reception followed closely by returning Canadian star David Loiseau who challenged Rich Franklin for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 58.
The full list of weights:

Thales Leites 185
Anderson Silva 182lbs

Chuck Liddell 206lbs
Mauricio Shogun 206lbs

Antoni Hardonk 249lbs
Cheick Kongo 232lbs

Luiz Cane 206lbs
Steve Cantwell 205lbs

Krzysztof Soszynski 204lbs
Brian Stann 206lbs

Vinicius Magalhaes 204lbs
Elliot Marshall 205lbs

Xavier Foupa-Pokam 185lbs
Denis Kang 185lbs

Jason MacDonald 186lbs
Nate Quarry 186lbs

Ed Herman 186lbs
David Loiseau 185lbs

David Bielkheden 157lbs
Mark Bocek 154lbs

Ryo Chonan 171lbs
TJ Grant 169lbs

Sam Stout 155lbs
Matt Wiman 155lbs

UFC 97 (Silva-Leites, Liddell-Shogun) Predictions

 

I left these a little later then I wanted to and I apologise to all of you who want to look good to your friends by stealing my in form predictions, but the De La Hoya retirement put it back a few days. There’s only really two fights on this card worth going into, actually there’s only one but the other is for a title so this won’t be as in depth as some of my other predictions articles. Basically this card consists of a mismatch title fight between one of the best (if not the best) pound for pound fighters in MMA against a guy who hasn’t really proven himself against top competition. Thales Leites is an excellent fighter, but he quite simply isn;t ready for a title shot against a dominant champion like Silva. Why Okami didn’t get his shot this time around I have no idea as Leites hasn’t been that much more marketed. The real fight on this card is the Chuck Liddell vs Mauricio Shogun battle in the co-feature which sees the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion against the PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion. The rest of the card will be entertaining for sure, but nothing with any major implications.

Main Card
Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites
(UFC Middleweight Championship)
Prediction- Silva by 1st round KO
Anderson Silva didn’t look that motivated in his last title defence against Patrick Cote and seemed to cruise through the bout until Cote busted his knee. With another soft touch (compared to Silva anyway) I think Silva needs to and will make an example of Leites to basically say that he needs a challenge and it’s not safe letting these guys anywhere near him. Leites is a solid ground fighter with good power standing up and a good chin, but his stand-up is technically retarded, his wrestling is pretty average and his stamina is questionable. His top game is as good as anyones in MMA. He transitions to the back with ease, his ground and pound is world class and he has very strong submission abilities. In saying that, I really think his stand-up is that bad that if Silva opens with a barrage he’ll take Leites out.

Chuck Liddell vs Mauricio Shogun
Prediction- Liddell by 2nd round KO
I want to try and educate some of those who haven’t seen much of Shogun. The man is a ground and pound fighter. He is not and never will be a Muay Thai gun like so many claim. His hands are awful as evidenced by the fact that Coleman repeatedly caught him with his Great Grandpa jab. Shogun’s strength has always been his knees in the clinch, his striking from on top and his escapes from the bottom. We all know what Liddell’s strengths are; he avoids clinches and takedowns like they’re AIDS and he knocks mother fuckers out. I think this fight is a bad matchup for Shogun stylistically. I’m definately not one of those people who think Shogun was always overrated because the Shogun that brutalised Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 would stand a chance with any man. Shogun I don’t think trains as hard as he used to when he was fighting out of Chute Boxe and his physical strength doesn’t match up to Liddell’s. ‘The Iceman’ should wear him down while avoiding the clinch where Shogun is most dangerous and finish him off in the 2nd round. I’d love to see Shogun return to form and retire Liddell (not because I don’t like Liddell, not at all) so all those Shogun haters can be silenced but this fight is a bad matchup for him.

Kryzstof Soszynski vs Brian Stann
Prediction- Stann on points

Antoni Hardonk vs Cheick Kongo
Prediction- Hardonk by 2nd round KO

Luiz Cane vs Steve Cantwell
Prediction- Cane by 1st round KO

Preliminaries
Vinny Magalhaes vs Elliot Marshall
Prediction- Magalhaes by 1st round submission

Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs Denis Kang
Prediction- Kang by 2nd round submission

Jason MacDonald vs Nate Quarry
Prediction- Quarry by 2nd round KO

Ed Herman vs David Loiseau
Prediction- Herman on points

David Bielkheden vs Mark Bocek
Prediction- Bocek on points

Ryo Chonan vs TJ Grant
Prediction- Grant on points

Sam Stout vs Matt Wiman
Prediction- Wiman on points