Post UFC 93 Thoughts

Dan Henderson SD Rich Franklin
I thought Henderson won and I’m glad he did. The winner was always going to move down to Middleweight to fight Michael Bisping and the winner of that was likely going to get a crack at Anderson Silva at the end of the year or early next year. Franklin’s been spanked by Silva twice in extremely one sided bouts while Henderson gave a good account for himself until he pulled guard in his challenge for Silva’s belt. A rematch with Henderson on the back of him beating Bisping (assuming he wins) and Franklin would be much for interesting then watching Franklin’s nose get rearranged by the Spider again.
On the judging, 30-27 for Franklin was retarded. The first two rounds were kind of close, but Franklin definately didn’t win both of them. I thought the 2nd round could have gone either way but the first was definately Henderson’s with the damage he did at the start of the round. Franklin definately won the 3rd but throughout the fight I thought Henderson did better work when he was in a better position then Franklin did when he had the fight where he wanted it. Franklin seemed pissed after the fight (we didn’t get an interview with him because the PPV had no time left) but you would be having not lost a decision before. Losing by close decision sucks and you don’t know how much it sucks until it happens to you. ‘Decision Dan’ strikes again with his 8th split decision won of his career.

Mauricio Shogun KO3 Mark Coleman
I have to say I was extremely impressed with Colemans effort and extremely dissappointed in Shogun. First of all on Coleman, as much as I like to rip on the guy because of his old school approach to a fast evolving sport, I’ll always be a fan of his. He showed an iron chin and an almost unmatched determination in there and it’s great that he got a chance to fight on a big show like this and put in a performance like that. His stamina still sucks (which is part of the reason why I like watching him fight as sick as it does sound) and it’ll always restrict him from beating anyone any good but he continued to fight and it wasn’t over until it was over and you always have to respect that no matter how old school his fighting approach is. That’s not to say I thought it was a great fight because it wasn’t but it would have been a hell of a lot worse had Coleman just lay down in the first round when he got tired.
I really thought the stoppage was bullshit. He was on all fours and he was hurt, but it isn’t boxing; Shogun has to finish him. Let Shogun follow-up and stop it if Coleman doesn’t defend himself from there. Coleman probably would have taken Shogun down again from that position which brings me to Shogun. What the fuck happened to the Shogun who dominated the 2005 Grand Prix? Anyone who says he was always this bad is a fucking moron. The Shogun of 2005 had stamina to fight for 20 minutes at full speed (see his fight with Little Nogueira) and a ground game as good as any Light Heavyweight (again see his fight with Little Nogueira as well as his fights with Randleman, Arona and Overeem).
Shogun’s weak area has always been his boxing and it showed again tonight even though he finished the fight with punches. His strengths have always been his top game and the clinch. After the card it was announced that Shogun will meet Chuck Liddell in the main event at UFC 97. Shogun is going to have to make some serious improvements in his form if he wants to last a round with Liddell. He’s not going to get the fight to the ground and, like Wanderlei Silva, he’ll have a hard time getting a clinch with Liddell where he can deliver his knees. I really hope Shogun can get his old form back because Shogun vs Liddell in 2006 was an MMA fans wet dream.

Alan Belcher Sub2 Denis Kang
What can be said about Denis Kang that hasn’t been said before? The guy has a seriously bad habbit of losing fights he’s dominating by giving his opponents submissions. He’s one of those top grapplers like Jeremy Horn who seem to get submitted a lot by guys they should rape on the ground. Credit to Belcher for finishing with the choke though even if he was getting dominated by a BJJ fighter in his preferred Muay Thai style.

Rampage vs Jardine
It was announced during the broadcast that Rampage will indeed headline the UFC 96 card, but against Keith Jardine and not Rashad Evans. I was skeptical that the title fight would come off so close to the last one, but they’ve come up with a decent main event which tops off the card nicely. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Shane Carwin was never going to sell and Rampage is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. I won’t be looking forward to it as much as I’m looking forward to UFC 94, but it’s a lot better then UFC 95.

Angry Match Maker
New Feature. It might not last but what the hell. After every UFC I’m going to do a list of matchups that could be made based off the results.

Henderson vs Bisping- Makes sense if both guys are coaching on TUF9.
Franklin vs Luiz Cane- A good way for Franklin to bounce back from a loss and a good chance for Cane to prove he belongs in the big time.
Shogun vs Liddell- Already made, it makes sense as both guys were scheduled to fight last year but were both injured. With Liddell coming off a loss a win over Shogun would be a good bounce back for him.
Coleman vs Wanderlei Silva- No one wants to see a repeat of Coleman-Cro Cop or Coleman-Fedor II. He has to fight a 205lber who can be taken down easily and who is still marketable. Wanderlei Silva would be this fighter. There’s bad blood there with the Hammer House vs Chute Boxe rivalry and both guys need a win. Put it on the UFC 97 undercard and then match the winners (hopefully Liddell vs Wanderlei) in a main event later in the year or as a feature attraction on the year end card.
Belcher vs Palhares- Both of these guys are up and comers in the UFC and it’d be a good way to see which one of them belongs in the upper end of the 185lb division.
Lytle vs Davis II- Watch the first fight, these guys could fight three times every year and I wouldn’t care.

Henderson edges Franklin, Shogun KOs Coleman

Former PRIDE 183lb and 205lb Champion Dan Henderson won a narrow split decision victory over former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. The fight took place earlier today (Sydney time) at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland. Henderson started fast, landing one of his feared overhand rights that backed Franklin into the cage in the early moments of the fight. Using his Olympic Greco Roman skills, Henderson scored a takedown and started to land punches from inside Franklins guard. Franklin eventually worked his way back to his feet where he had some success using left body kicks on Henderson, however Henderson’s early work was enough to take the round on my card.

Round two started the same as round three ended, with Franklin controlling the fight standing up but doing little damage to the former two-time Olympian. Midway through the round Henderson again got a grip on Franklin and tripped him to the mat where he worked from inside the former UFC champions guard. Franklin attempted a triangle but Henderson was playing it safe and ended the round after having been on top for the last half of the 2nd frame. With a 20-18 lead on my card, Henderson again scored a takedown early in the 3rd, but Franklin managed to escape and landed several punches to Henderson while he was turtled up. They worked their way back to their feet where Franklin again got the better of a tiring Henderson. With 40 seconds remaining, Henderson pawed with his left hand and poked Franklin in the eye. Franklin was given time to recover and the fight finished on the feet with Franklin taking the only real clear round of the fight.

The judges scored the bout 29-28 Henderson, 30-27 Franklin and 29-28 for Henderson giving him the split decision victory. I scored the bout 29-28 for Henderson with him winning the first two rounds and Franklin winning the third. With the win, Henderson likely earns himself a spot coaching the USA team on the next season of the Ultimate Fighter which will pit a team from the USA and a team from the UK. His rival coach will be British MMA star Michael Bisping and the two will likely meet later in the year. The winner of that fight will probably be condsidered the number one contender for Anderson Silva’s Middleweight title.

In the co feature of the card, PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua made a successful return to the Octagon by gaining revenge for the only loss of his PRIDE career against UFC Hall of Famer Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman. Rua suffered a broken arm as a result of a takedown during the fight at PRIDE 31: Unbreakable 49 seconds into the fight. Despite Coleman scoring numerous takedowns during the fight, Shogun was the fighter doing the damage in round one with vicious leg kicks and right hands to the face. Coleman looked to be tired at the end of the first round but fought valiantly in the second round again taking Shogun down a few times. Each time Shogun was able to escape and land with clean shots as Coleman couldn’t hold his hands above his waist. With both guys exhaused and the fight becoming painful to watch, Coleman took Shogun down again in the third round and looked like causing a massive upset. Shogun worked his way to his feet and landed what was ruled as an illegal knee to the head while Coleman was on his knees (replays showed the knee clearly landing to the body). With both guys again standing up, Shogun unleashed a flurry of punches that put Coleman down again and the referee stopped the fight. With the win, Shogun will meet Chuck Liddell at UFC 97.

In other action former PRIDE contender Denis Kang completely dominated Alan Belcher during the first round only to get caught in a deep guillotine choke midway through the 2nd round. With the submission, Belcher earned submission of the night honours. Rousimar Palhares grinded out a unanimous decision victory over a surprisingly game Jeremy Horn. Despite taking a beating in the first round, Horn was able to get on top in the 2nd and even had the Jiu Jitsu expert mounted for a period, however Palhares better top game and wrestling earned him the shutout decision win. In what won fight of the night, Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle went to war, trading hands and shins for the full three minutes of the fight. The fight was very close with neither fighter wanting to take it to the ground, but Davis sealed the decision win with a dominant round three. Both guys expressed interest in a rematch later in the year.

Preliminary Results
John Hathaway d. Thomas Egan by TKO at 4:36 of Round one (elbows)
Martin Kampmann d. Alexandre Barros by TKO at 3:07 of Round two (punches from back mount)
Eric Scaher d. Antonio Mendes by TKO at 3:34 of Round one (punches from mount)
Thomas Drwal d. Ivan Serati by TKO at 2:02 of Round one (ground and pound)
Dennis Siver d. Nate Mohr by KO at 3:47 of Round three (spinning back kick)

UFC 93 Predictions

The first event of the combat sports calender takes place this weekend in Ireland with UFC 93: Franklin vs Henderson. As the name suggests, the main event is an excellent fight between former UFC Middleweight Champion Rick Franklin and former PRIDE Welterweight (183lbs) and Middleweight (205lbs) Champion Dan Henderson. The winner is rumoured to be coaching the USA team in the upcoming Ultimate Fighter series ‘TUF9: USA vs UK.’ Also appearing on the card is the return of UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC Heavyweight Champion and PRIDE 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix Champion Mark ‘the Hammer’ Coleman who will take on PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix winner Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in a Light Heavyweight battle. There’s two other decent battles on the main card with PRIDE star Denis Kang making his Octagon debut against Alan Belcher and a fight between two of th UFC’s toughest customers in Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle. Considering the talent on the last two UFC PPV cards and the talent that will be on show at UFC 94, this card is an excellent card with two of the UFC’s best fighters without a title battling it out in what should be a very close affair.

Main Card
Rich Franklin vs Dan Henderson
Prediction- Franklin on points
This is a very tough fight to call. Considering this fight is being fought at 205lbs where Henderson has had more success in the past (even though Franklin is undefeated at this weight class), it makes a lot of things very interesting. Both of these guys are very well-rounded and evenly matched. Henderson obviously has the edge in wrestling considering he’s a two time Olympic Greco Roman Wrestler, but even though Henderson has been a Champion at 205lbs, I think Franklin is the bigger man. Franklin also is the better technical striker out of the two although I think Henderson has the power advantage in this fight. Henderson also has an iron chin which will mean that if Franklin is to win, it’ll likely be over three hard fought rounds.
In saying that though, I’m picking Franklin to win this fight by close decision. I think Henderson on his best night is just a bit better then Franklin in most areas of the game with his power balancing out Franklins accuracy and speed, but the big thing that Franklin has over Henderson is consistency. Henderson has a terrible habbit of fighting at about 60-80% of his capacities and with his advanced age (okay, 37 isn’t old old, but it’s showing with Henderson), I think Franklin may just outwork him. Franklin is also the better tactical fighter out of the two as Henderson often puts himself in bad spots that he doesn’t need to go to (ie pulling guard against Little Nogueira in their PRIDE fight and then getting arm-barred about 30 seconds later). In his last fight against Rousimar Palhares, Henderson didn’t look himself and it may be because of the weight cut, but I’m thinking Henderson is getting on a bit and unless he fights at 90-100% of his capabilities he’ll struggle against Franklin who seems to be enjoying fighting again after Silva beat him down in the rematch. I’ll say it now though, I won’t be in the least bit surprised if Henderson wins this one by brutal knockout. His one-punch knockout power is deadly and Franklin has shown that he is suspect to a right hand straight down the middle. The safe pick in this fight though is with the more consistent Rich Franklin.

Mark Coleman vs Mauricio Shogun
Prediction- Shogun by 2nd round knockout
Is it just me who thinks that it’s mean making a former 250lb fighter cut down to 205lbs for the first time in his 40s? Any stamina problems Coleman has had in his career (the only time he hasn’t had stamina problems was the PRIDE 2000 GP and he didn’t fight anyone who was going to exploit them that night) will be quadrupled by the fact that he has to dehydrate and rehydrate before the fight. Add that to the fact that this fight is overseas so he’s going to have to adjust to the timezone as well and I really think Coleman’s gas tank will be lucky to last two minutes.
So basically Coleman needs to go out, get a takedown (there’s no way in hell he KO’s Shogun standing up), hope that breaks his arm again and if it doesn’t he has to hope he can either get a neck crank on a world class BJJ guy or stop him with one of his right hand punches before his gas tank runs out two minutes in. I think Coleman will get his takedown because Shogun hasn’t got much in the way of takedown defence but he’ll eventually work his way back to his feet (he might have to do it two-three times but he’ll do it every time) and each time he gets back to his feet he’ll do a bit more damage. About four minutes in Coleman will have his hands on his knees the way he always does when he gasses and Shogun will start tearing him apart eventually TKOing him in the 2nd round.

Alan Belcher vs Denis Kang
Prediction- Belcher on points
I’m not too sure what to make of Kang. The guy had some serious skills towards the end of PRIDE, coming 2nd in the 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix. Since then though he’s lost two fights inside the distance (one to Gegard Mousasi in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix in which he was favourite to win the whole thing). I think a combination of bad form and ‘Octagon Jitters’ will take place here and Belcher has looked good striking against guys with limited stand-up like Kang. I think Belcher keeps the fight standing and takes a clear-cut unanimous decision.

Marcus Davis vs Chris Lytle
Prediction- Davis on points
Excellent fight. This is the fight I’m looking forward to the most after Franklin-Henderson. This should be a war with both guys favouring the stand-up mode although both of them have good skills on the ground. I think Lytle should win this fight if he puts Davis on his back, but he’ll want to stand and trade and Davis has the better hands. I predict this fight to be fight of the night and Davis to win by split decision in the early candidate for fight of the year.

Jeremy Horn vs Rousimar Palhares
Prediction- Palhares by 1st round submission
It puzzles me how someone like Travis Lutter can be cut from his contract after losing to Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin yet Jeremy Horn can come in with absolutely no interest in fighting and get submitted every time and still be allowed back for more. I like Horn (and I don’t like Lutter I’ll point out) and I hope he pulls off the upset, but Palhares will have too much for him on the ground. I expect he’ll catch Horn in either a guillotine choke or a triangle choke during a scramble. Probably submission of the night.

Preliinary Card
Alexandre Barros vs Martin Kampmann
Prediction- Kampmann on points
I’ve been told that Barros is a tough son of a bitch and I think that combined with Kampmann’s first fight at the new weight class (170lbs) will allow Barros to last the distance, but he won’t be in the fight.

Antonio Mendes vs Eric Schafer
Prediction- Mendes by 2nd round knockout
This fight also has a chance at getting fight of the night. I don’t remember Mendes’ fight with Thiago Silva, but I seem to recall that he has no ground game and excellent kickboxing. Schafer on the other hand has an excellent ground game but limited striking and no stamina. I think Mendes will ride out the storm on the ground and then tear Schafer apart with some deadly combinations.

Tomasz Drwal vs Ivan Serati
Prediction-Drwal by first round knockout
This fight will be decided on the ground after Drwal gets a takedown and shows Serati’s limited game off his back. Ground and Pound stoppage a few minutes into the first round.

Nate Mohr vs Denis Siver
Prediction- Mohr by third round knockout
Both of these guys seem to be on the wrong side of the highlight reels. Both guys have limited ground games, but I think Mohr’s advantage in wrestling will allow him to exploit Siver’s and eventually stop him with punches from side mount after a back and forth fight.

Thomas Egan vs John Hathaway
Prediction- Hathaway by 2nd round knockout