Amir Sadollah back at UFC 101

Yeah I know, I normally only write big news, but I’m trying to expand the site so I’m going to try and make daily contributions with whatever is happening in MMA, Boxing or K-1.
TUF 7 champion Amir Sadollah makes it take three at UFC 101 after pulling out of UFC 91 and then UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs Stephens both with injuries. His opponent with be undefeated WEC veteran Johnny Hendricks and the fight could likely end up on the televised portion of UFC 101 which features a main event of BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian for the UFC lightweight title. Hendricks has solid wrestling credentials as he was a runner-up at the 2007 NCAA division one National Championships (to put that in perspective, guys like Brock Lesnar and Mark Coleman were NCAA National Champions so this guy can obviously wrestle). This fight could be real interesting as Sadollah has very dangerous submissions and striking but his wrestling isn’t all there and with his year long lay off, Hendricks might be able to push the pace on him a bit more then he’ll like.
Another fight added to UFC 101 is Tamdan McCrory vs John Howard. McCrory is coming of a win over Ryan Madigan at UFC 96 where he was up against a complete novice in terms of ground fighting. John Howard should provide a sterner test. The vive year veteran brings a 11-4 record with a 1-0 record in the UFC having edged out Chris Wilson in January by split decision. The two will likely fight on the untelevised portion of the card. Also, Chris Leben is rumoured to be on the Couture-Nogueira undercard at UFC 102 against Jake Rosholt. Leben was serving a suspension for a failed drug test after his loss to Michael Bisping at the UFC 89 main event. Rosholt seems to be a bit of a soft touch for Leben as he has only six pro fights, losing his only UFC fight to Dan Miller in 67 seconds by submission.

UFC Updates: Evans vs Machida (not Rampage)

Just thought I’d post something different seeing how there’s limited action over the coming weeks until the K-1 event at the end of March. A few big fights have been announced over the last few weeks. I’ve beek keeping a MMA schedule on the main page (when I get around to updating it anyway) so if you want to see who’s on what card that’s coming up this might be a good place to check out.

Evans to fight Machida, not Rampage
That’s right, like I said Rampage fighting three times in a little over five months was too much especially considering one of those was a hard fought fight with Keith Jardine who is a strong, powerful bastard. Machida will instead get his shot in probably the least exciting fight for a UFC title since the Pat Miletich reign at Welterweight. This fight could be very boring, but then again I’ve been wanting to see what it takes to beat one of these guys for a while so at least that’ll satisfy that bit of curiosity for me, that and the fact that Rampage will likely tear apart whoever wins this fight.

TUF 9 Finale features Sanchez-Guida and Diaz-Stevenson
The two main fights apart from the Finals for TUF 9 will feature another round robin of lightweight clashes. After Nate Diaz and Clay Guida beat Josh Neer and Mac Danzig respectively, Diaz fought Guida and Danzig took on in bouts following. The same has happened again with Guida and Diaz, who will meet Sanchez and Stevenson in respective bouts. The Guida-Sanchez fight has serious implications with the winner probably next in line to battle BJ Penn (or Kenny Florian) as both guys have been in good form and are on winning streaks. Diaz and Stevenson should be another good test for Diaz and one that I think he’ll pass. The big thing will be whether or not he can finish ‘Daddy’ because he’ll deserve serious props if he does.

Coleman to face Bonnar at UFC 100
UFC 100 features a hall of fame member in what will be a sad showing as he’ll likely lose to one of the UFC’s average Light Heavyweights. Former UFC and PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman will take on TUF1 Runner-up Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100. Bonnar should win this fight on conditioning alone as Coleman struggles to fight for more then two minutes without being short of breath.

Post UFC 95 Thoughts

Sorry for this being this late. I’ve been busy with other stuff and really couldn’t be bothered posting it. The card was very good for one of those cards that lacked a big name. Sanchez-Stevenson was fairly unevenftul I thought mainly because Stevenson did nothing but follow Sanchez around (how he thinks he won is beyond me, just because you can take his punches and avoid his takedowns it means shit if you don’t do anything back). I’m not looking to see either of these guys again anytime soon to be perfectly honest, let alone in a main event.
The impressive performances came from Demian Maia and Nate Marquadt. Both guys dominated respected opponents and put themselves in the line for a shot at Anderson Silva. Maia I thought was by far the most impressive and out of everyone he has the best shot at beating Silva because of his wicked Jiu Jitsu skills. Silva has been taken down and he has been submitted before and Maia is among the best BJJ guys I’ve seen in MMA. Marquadt has well rounded skills and has improved since Silva raped him at UFC 73, but I don’t think he’s improved that much. Josh Koscheck getting KTFO was sweet as well.

Angry Matchmaker
Before I start, I’d like to thank Joe Silva for taking on board my suggestion of a fight between Cain Velasquez and Heath Herring, which will likely take place on UFC 99.

Demian Maia vs Nate Marquadt
Marquadt hasn’t beaten anyone decent since his loss to Silva, so a win over Maia is the win he needs to push himself into title contention. Maia is in the same boat although his wins have been over better opposition. A win over Marquadt, especially in a co main event or a Fight Night main event would build him up enough to make a Silva-Maia fight marketable.

Diego Sanchez vs Sean Sherk
This fight would let us know a lot about Sanchez. GSP, Hughes and Penn who are (were in Hughes’ case) elite fighters all dominated Sherk so this fight would be a measuring stick to see how Sanchez is. Also, Sanchez’s losses came to top wrestlers at 170lbs and Sherk is one of the top wrestlers at 155lbs.

I’d also like to say that the broadcast was excellent as they showed every fight which definately won’t happen everytime but the more fights they show the better. It’s better then filling up the broadcast with more ads so big props to the UFC there for giving the fans what they want yet again.

Lauzon submits Stephens at Fight Night

Joe Lauzon Sub2 Jeremy Stephens (Armbar)
Even though Stephens ground game is pretty average I was impressed a lot by Lauzon. He used some unorthodox but effective takedowns and guard pulls (including flying leglock attempts) to get Stephens where he wanted him and worked his ground game effectively. The armbar finish from Lauzon was great and he’s definately one to watch in the 155lb division. Credit to Stephens though for hanging in there with Lauzon on a limited preparation.

Cain Velasquez TKO2 Denis Stojnic (Referee stoppage)
Velasquez is in a lose lose situation fighting a guy like Stojnic. Sure he won by one sided beatdown, but thats what he was supposed to do. Stojnic doesn’t belong in the UFC let alone on a main card against a rising star. Velasquez needs to be in there with someone like Heath Herring who will make him work for the win (and may even beat him) or else he won’t be learning as much as he needs to. Velasquez vs Herring is a main card pay per view fight and one that I think should be booked as soon as both guys are ready. Still, it’[s unfair to be hard on Velasquez for this performance as it’s his 5th MMA fight.

Josh Neer sub2 Mac Danzig (Triangle Choke)
In my opinion (and the UFC’s) this was fight of the night. The first round went back and forth with Danzig getting the better of the striking landing some solid combinations and Neer landing some hard elbows from on top and almost securing a triangle. Neer stormed out at the start of the second round, taking the TUF 6 champion down and landing vicious elbows from inside the guard for an extended period of time. Danzig escapes and gets a sweep only to land in a triangle from Neer who semi-rolls Danzig over to force the tapout.
Neer is really a contender at lightweight right now. He’s beaten Din Thomas, lost a close decision to Nate Diaz and then submitted Mac Danzig. He’s definately not champion material or anything (right now anyway), but he’s not an easy fight for anyone. I’d have no problems seeing him in there with Sherk, Florian, Stevenson (again, Neer beat Stevenson a few years back), Sanchez etc anytime soon. Danzig needs some easier fights, sure the guy is experienced but he’s had by far the toughest run of TUF winners (bar the seaosn 4 winners) so far. Give him some guys he can whip and then raise his competition as he wins. A fight between Danzig and Sotiropolus would be a good fight right now for both men.

Anthony Johnson KO1 Luigi Fioravanti (punches)
Impressive win for Johnson. Sanchez took three rounds to stop him and Fioravanti went the distance with Chris Leben. Johnson is among the top strikers in the 170lb division right now. His takedown defence is improving with each fight and considering he’s only had eight fights he’ll be learning rapidly in the next few fights.

Kurt Pellegrino Sub2 Rob Emerson (Rear Naked Choke)
Finally! Someone finally did what anyone fighter with any title aspirations should be doing to Rob Emerson and that is raping him. Emerson is very unimpressive and I’m glad his ‘run’ has been ended by a fringe contender like Pellegrino. Good Riddance!

Gleison Tibau Sub1 Rich Clementi (Guillotine Choke)
Clementi’s game needs some work. He is well rounded but his game is at the level where he’ll beat anyone with a massive hole in his game (like Melvin Guillard) but anyone who can control where the fight goes against him will beat him. Tibau is like a bad smell that won’t go away. No one really wants to be near it, but at the same time they’re curious to find out who dropped their guts.

Matt Veach TKO1 Matt Grice (punches)
This was a great fight and it would have won fight of the night if there was a little more skill involved. Both fighters were in trouble at some point in the fight and both guys showed a lot of heart to fight at that sort of pace. The stoppage was bullshit even though I think Veach was going to finish Grice anyway considering the position he was in. Veach was in much more trouble earlier in the round after he got dropped and the referee jumped in way way too early. Veach looked good on the ground and showed an iron chin but (even though he knocked Grice down with a punch) his stand-up sucks. He needs to get himself a real stand-up coach and not Robbie Lawler.

UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs Stephens Predictions

 

Another UFC card is on this week in the form of a fight night and it’s turning out similar to the cursed UFC 85 card from last June. The main event was supposed to be between Joe Lauzon and Hermes Franca, but Franca pulled out of the fight due to a knee injury (?) and Jeremy Stephens, who is slated to fight Efrain Escudero in April, took the fight on short notice. While it’s disappointing that Franca is out of action, at least he didn’t do what he did last time he got injured preparing for a fight. TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah was also forced off the card with another injury postponing his post TUF career. George Sotripolous also had to withdraw from the card due to injury. Still, there’s some good fights on this card and while I won’t go into a great deal of detail, here’s my picks:

 Main Card
Joe Lauzon vs Jeremy Stephens
Prediction- Lauzon TKO 2nd round
The big difference between these two is on the mat and Lauzon is a very intelligent person and will take the fight there ASAP. I think he’ll pass Stephens guard without too much trouble and beat Stephens up from side control and mount until he is rescued in the 2nd round.

Cain Velasquez vs Denis Stojnic
Prediction- Velasquez KO 1st round
Velasquez should win this easily. Stojnic is apparently a good sambo guy who trains at Golden Glory kickboxing gym so he might do alright, but I think he’ll end up underneath Cain quickly and will be finished with strikes not too later.

Mac Danzig vs Josh Neer
Prediction- Neer on points
Tough fight to call. Neer is a crafty veteran and Danzig doesn’t really excel in any particular area so Neer could frustrate Danzig and win a decision. I think either fighter could win wherever the fight goes however Danzig should have the advantage on the ground but if he’s on the bottom he’ll struggle to get anything to work for him. I think Neer will win a razor thin split decision.

Luigi Fioravanti vs Anthony Johnson
Prediction- Fioravanti on points
I’m not totally sold on Johnson yet and while he has a chance in this fight, Fioravanti should prove too experienced and well rounded for him.

Preliminaries
Rob Emerson vs Kurt Pellegrino
Prediction- Pellegrino on points

Jake Rosholt vs Dan Miller
Prediction- Miller Sub2

Matt Grice vs Matt Veach
Prediction-  Veach Sub1

Rich Clementi vs Gleison Tibau
Prediction-  Tibau Dec

Nick Catone vs Derek Downey
Prediction-  Catone KO2

Steve Bruno vs Matthew Riddle
Prediction-  Riddle Dec

UFC 98 looking massive

All rumours so far, but UFC 98 is scheduled for May 23rd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and so far the main bouts are good ones. The UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will meet the interim Champion (and only man to defeat him) Frank Mir in a ‘unification’ fight. This is one of the most anticipated fights of the year and while I think Fedor, Arlovski and Barnett would rape both of these guys, I’ll definately be looking forward to this bout. It’ll be very interesting to see how they both match given how much better they both looked since their first fight at UFC 81 last year.
The co-main event will be between former Welterweight Champions and TUF6 Coaches Matt Hughes and Matt Serra in an injury delayed grudge match. People have been saying that no one will care when this fight eventually comes around, but these two definately care. Matt Serra hates Matt Hughes because ‘Matt Hughes is a dick’ and Hughes hates Serra because ‘Hughes is a dick’. It won’t take too long for these two to rebuild their rivalry. After UFC 94 next weekend, this is the next big MMA card I’m looking forward to.
By the way, I’ve included an MMA schedule on this page now, check out the link on the menu across the top. It’s still a work in progress and I hope to add more to it soon.

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.

2008 Angry Fight Fan MMA Awards

These are also late, but even more then boxing these had to be left until the new year so all the events could be done and everything taken into consideration. As it turns out, a few of the last few events of the year won some awards.

Fight of the Year- Eddie Alvarez TKO 1 (7:35) Tatsuya Kawajiri (DREAM.5)
This fight took place in the semi finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix and a cut suffered by Alvarez in winning this fight left him unable to continue in the tournament marking the way for alternate Joachim Hansen, the man Alvarez beat in the Quarter Finals, to fight in and win the Final against Shinya Aoki. Both fighters traded heavy shots on their feet throughout the fight and both fighters were knocked down. Alvarez dropped Kawajiri with a left hook-right cross about three minutes in but he used good survival skills to get himself out of trouble. After the doctors ruled Alvarez’s cut was okay to continue, Kawajiri dropped him heavily with a right hand and then passed his guard and mounted him. Alvarez escaped the mount and got back to his feet where both guys traded heavy shots and hurt each other more then once. Alvarez then pinned Kawajiri against the ropes and dropped him again, took his back and finished him with heavy strikes to the head. I picked this fight over some of the other ones on the list because it was fast paced for the full distance of the fight unlike some of the other candidates this year and because the whole way through the fight you had no idea who was going to win. If you haven’t seen the fight, here it is:

Honourable Mentions- Miguel Torres TKO3 Yoshiro Maeda (WEC 34), Forrest Griffin UD5 Rampage Jackson (UFC 86), Eddie Alvarez UD (15 mins) Joachim Hansen (DREAM.3).

Fighter of the Year- Gegard Mousasi
This might come as a strange pick to some people, but the big factor in this pick was that he went 6-0 this year (plus his victory under K-1 rules against MUSASHI) and four of those wins were against decent opposition in winning the DREAM Middleweight Tournament. After winning two fights early in the year (one over PRIDE veteran Evangelista Cyborg), Mousasi entered the Grand Prix as one of the dark horses. Matched up against PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Runner-up Denis Kang in the first round of the tournament, Mousasi’s triangle choke victory came as a big upset to most people. A workman-like decision win over Dong Sik Yoon in the Quarter Finals earned him his spot in the Final Event where he had to face Melvin Manhoef in the Semi Finals, and then fight again on the same night to win the title. Most were expecting a Manhoef-Ronaldo Jacare final, but Mousasi had other ideas, scoring a victory again via triangle choke in 88 seconds over the feared striker. Facing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Jacare in the Final, Mousasi ended up on his back early, but at the 2:15 mark of the first round a dramatic upkick followed up by punches with Jacare in his guard left his Brazilian opponent unconscious and made Gegard Mousasi the new DREAM Middleweight Champion. Some of the other fighters (particularily in the UFC) scored bigger wins this year, but all of them fought only twice this year and you can question the level of some of their wins. While some of Mousasi’s opponents certainly wouldn’t make it in the UFC, going 6-0 against that sort of competition is very impressive stuff. I definately don’t think he’d beat Anderson Silva or anything like that so save your time from writing some idiotic comment saying Silva would crush him or whatever because that’s not what this is about. It’s about which fighter accomplished the most in the calendar year and it was in my opinion Gegard Mousasi.
Honourable Mentions- Frank Mir, Rashad Evans, Georges St Pierre.

Knockout of the Year- Rampage Jackson KO1 (left hook) Wanderlei Silva (UFC 92)
This knockout just edged out Rashad Evans knocking out Chuck Liddell. I almost made it a tie, but then I measured my closet and realised I wasn’t big enough to fit into it so I could come out of it after making it a tie and acted like a man and made the pick. I think the deciding factor was the importance of the knockout for Rampage in this fight after avenging two brutal KO losses to Silva from their PRIDE days with an equally if not more devastating KO win himself. I would put a clip of the KO up, but ZUFFA are pricks about this sort of thing and don’t allow any of their fights to be on youtube so I’ll have to describe it. Wanderlei attacked Rampage while he was near the fence and threw a left hook-right hook combo. Rampage countered the left hook with a tighter one of his own and caught Wanderlei square on the jaw with his own hook putting him out cold right away while he was in the middle of throwing his own shot. Rampage then followed it up with two or three shots while Wanderlei was out. Both Rampage and Rashad will likely fight for the belt later this year and hopefully we’ll see another KO of the year candidate (and hopefully it’s Rashad who is on the receiving end).
Honourable Mentions- Rashad Evans KO2 (overhand right) Chuck Liddell (UFC 88), Wanderlei Silva KO1 (rape choke + right hands from mount) Keith Jardine (UFC 84), Anthony Johnson KO3 (left high kick) Kevin Burns (TUF8 Finale).

Submission of the Year- Shinya Aoki Sub1 (5:12)(Aokiplata/Gogoplata from mount) Katsuhiko Nagata (DREAM.4)
I watched this about 50 times in a row after I saw it. It was so cool it has to be given it’s own name and I will from now on refer to this as the Aokiplata no matter how much my friend who has done Jiu Jitsu longer then me tells me that the gogoplata was originally done from the mount before the guard and that the one he did on Hansen should therefore be the Aokiplata because I think he’s wrong. Anyway, unlike KO of the year, I have a clip, so I’ll shut up and you can enjoy:

Honourable Mentions- Dustin Hazelett Sub2 (Flying Armbar from Whizzer) Josh Burkman (TUF7 Finale), Dustin Hazelett Sub1 (Cutting Armbar against his own leg) Tamdan McCrory, Demian Maia Sub2 (Triangle Choke from Mount + Punches) Ed Herman (UFC 83).

Event of the Year- UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 (December 27th)

The UFC stacked their last show and it proved to be the best event of the year. On the card we had two title fights between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir for the UFC interim Heavyweight title and Rashad Evans challenging Forrest Griffin for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in the main event. Also on the card was a fight featuring one of the best grudges in MMA between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva; one that has been around for more then five years since before their first bout at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. Thw two other fights that filled up the main card saw an excellent knockout by Cheick Kongo over Mustafa Al Turk as well as a great Middleweight battle between CB Dollaway and Mike Massenzio. The UFC put six of it’s top starts against each other in fights that had plenty of impact on their respective divisions as well as plenty of impact in future fights that can be made. This card had great matchups that turned into great fights, upsets plus some great finishes and you really can’t ask for anything more (other then the odd submission).
Honourable Mentions- Affliction: Banned, UFC 81: Breaking Point, UFC 84: Ill Will.

Performance of the Year- Fedor Emelianenko Sub1 (36 seconds) Tim Sylvia (Affliction: Banned)
There was a lot of hype around Fedor’s return to US soil and him fighting his (apparent) first ‘real’ opponent in former Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. Plenty of people thought that Fedor was all hype and no skill and the new promotion he represented, Affliction, depended on him to prove them wrong in order to succeed. That he did. After a brief feeling out process off about 10 seconds, Fedor dropped Sylvia with a series of big punches, battered him on the ground with even heavier punches, took his back and made him tap with a rear naked choke. It was easily the most you could dominate someone in just 36 seconds. Anyone who wasn’t impressed by Fedor in this fight is an idiot and I really don’t care what anyone has to say about it. Fact of the matter is he’s the best Heavyweight in the World until someone beats him. Guess what, I found a clip of it as well:

Honourable Mentions- Anderson Silva Sub2 Dan Henderson (UFC 81), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92), Georges St Pierre TKO2 Matt Serra (UFC 83).

Upset of the Year- Mike Brown TKO1 Urijah Faber (WEC 36)
Faber was easily the top Featherweight in the World and was considered miles ahead of anyone else. He was a top pound for pound fighter as well and no one expected him to lose anytime soon. Mike Brown was a former UFC competitor (he had one fight and got tapped out by Genki Sudo) who had only lost to top fighters and usually fought at Lightweight. While a respectable fighter no one really thought he standed much of a chance with Faber. Two minutes 23 seconds later he had caught Faber with a big right hand as Faber attempted a spinning elbow and rained down punches until the referee pulled him off. I didn’t even bother watching this fight until I saw the result (plus I would have had a hard time finding it online because they broadcast fuckall down under in terms of MMA) because I thought this would be business as usual for Faber. None of the other upsets this year come close to that one.

Honourable Mentions- Junior dos Santos KO1 Fabricio Werdum (UFC 90), Rashad Evans KO2 (UFC 88), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92).

Before I get onto some of the lesser more comical awards, I’m going to explain my lack of a round of the year award. I prefer the Japanese 1 10 min/1-2 5 min rounds because I think MMA is a sport that doesn’t need rounds. It’s a proper fight and while I don’t care about having rounds as much as I care about say stand-ups and while I understand that they allow more fights to get sanctioned and make some fights more exciting, I still prefer the fighters to go for as long as they can for a round or two then a couple of shorter rounds at the end so I will not include a round of the year. If I did have one I’d give it to Alvarez-Kawajiri because it ended in the first round even though that round was 10 minutes long.

Now, seeing how MMA isn’t as old as boxing, these are all going to be completely new and made up awards named after whoever wins them as I go remembering some of the funnier moments of the year.

Shonie Carter Award for Best Referee Stoppage/- Shonie Carter (Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker)
Bryan/Parker Award for Double KO of the Year- Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker
And here it is:

Just a prior warning, the next few awards go to EliteXC for their ‘Heat’ show, so make sure you have a bucket handy.

Shamrock/Kimbo Award for Most Entertaining Weigh-in of the Year- EliteXC: Heat
This weigh-in had two big feuds that almost flared up as well as some nudity from someone not quite as ugly as Kimbo Slice. Undercard attraction and probably the most well known female MMA fighter Gina Carano failed to make weight for like the 4th time in her MMA career but instead of letting it go like what has happened in the past, EliteXC officials made her strip all the way to see if the limited clothing she was wearing accounted for extra weight that she was over. Somehow it did. About four towels covered Carano (and from what I read on a few message boards the wet dreams of many fight fans) that were being held up by her handlers and a very embarrassed Carano made the contracted weight for her fight with Kelly Kobald. After the Arlovski-Nelson weigh in went off without any problems, EliteEX Welterweight Championship competitors Paul Daley and Jake Shields had to be seperated after Shields blew Daley a kiss during the staredown. The main event for this fight was between UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and Youtube star Kimbo Slice (well at that stage it was) and going with his usual style, Shamrock decided to start some shit before the fight. While posing for the media in attention, Shamrock for absolutely no logical reason (Shamrock thinking he’s been disrespected isn’t a logical reason) pushed Slice in the back and caused the second near brawl of the weigh-in. This one took a lot longer to calm down though as both fighters had bigger entourages then Daley and Shields. Unfortunately, the actual card was no where near as entertaining as the weigh-in.

Jared Shaw Award for Worst Matchmaking of the Year- Kimbo Slice vs Seth Petruzelli (EliteXC: Heat)
Kimbo Slice Award for Most Pathetic Knockout of the Year- Seth Petruzelli KO1 (14 seconds) Kimbo Slice (EliteXC: Heat)
Ken Shamrock somehow got himself cut warming-up for the fight and EliteXC needed someone to step in and fight Kimbo Slice in their main event. After an offer from commentator Frank Shamrock was turned down because Shamrock, despite being 50lbs lighter then Kimbo, has some serious skills and would likely have beaten Kimbo anywhere the fight went and EliteXC couldn’t risk their main drawcard getting beaten by a Middleweight. Instead Jared Shaw came up with former TUF2 competitor Seth Petruzelli who was fighting in a Light Heavyweight bout on the preliminary card. Petruzelli was an unorthodox but fairly handy striker who also had some wrestling ability and Shaw tried to make sure it was his striking skills that he would be using against their apparent ‘top 10 Heavyweight boxer in the World’ by asking that Petruzelli stand with Kimbo. What Shaw didn’t know is that there is a difference in levels of striking between your good street fighters and your trained fighters. It took only 14 seconds for him to be wishing that he picked Frank Shamrock. Kimbo rushed across the cage in his usual fashion and backed Petruzelli against the fence. Petruzelli flicked out a jab while off balance and to his and everyone else’s surprised it dropped Kimbo onto all fours. Petruzelli pounced and landed several shots while on Kimbos back, then rolled him over and landed a barrage from, side control that forced the referee to stop the fight at just 0:14 of the first round.

Bob Sapp Award for Biggest Mismatch of the Year- Jan Nortje vs Bob Sapp (Strikeforce: At the Dome)
Some people might be surprised that I picked this fight over the Kinniku Mantaro fight against Sapp at the end of the year. Well the answer is obvious, that fight was competitive, this fight wasn’t. Jan Nortje was receiving a lot of hype for his 1-5 record that earned him a spot in the Strikeforce main event. They brought in monster of a man Bob Sapp to fight him because that wanted to see what happens when Nortje picks on someone his own size. The fight ended quickly after Nortje landed several hard blows that forced Sapp to run away, then chased him down and finished the job 55 seconds into the first round. It truly was a mismatch and the matchmakers at Strikeforce deserve an enquiry much more then EliteXC officials for bringing in someone as poor as Bob Sapp to fight a stud like Jan Nortje.

YAMMA Award for Worst MMA Show of the Year (maybe ever)- YAMMA Pit Fighting
Seriously this was just horrendous. The creators of the UFC tried to bring back eight man-one night tournaments and make MMA ‘more exciting.’ The tournaments were impossible to do like they used to be done, so they had to compromise. Because fighters could only fight five rounds a night, the first and second rounds of the tournament would be one round of fighting each with the Final fight being three rounds. YAMMA also had a ‘revolutionary’ new fighting surface in which the area of the mat around the edge of the fence would go up on an angle so that the wrestlers couldn’t just pin you up against the cage and drop elbows on your head. Basically YAMMA wanted their organisation to be striker friendly. Instead, the wrestlers backed their opponents onto the ‘ramp’ then took them down with ease because they were off balance and because the fights were only one five minute round, the fight was over right there and then. The tournament consisted of every match being won by lay and prey (including the three round final). The only slightly entertaining part of this event was the super fights between Butterbean and Patrick Smith (mainly because Butterbean got royally fucked up) and Oleg Taktarov vs the man who ate Mark Kerr (Taktarov won by kneebar about one minute in). The event was bad from the fights to the Ring Announcer, who was so bad I’ve named an Award after him.

Scott Ferrall Award for Worst Ring Announcer of the Year- Scott Ferrall (YAMMA Pit Fighting)
Scott Ferrall was funny but I wasn’t laughing with him. The guy was way too weird to be allowed to have his thoughts expressed on a microphone. He first announced referee Dan Miragliotta as “Big Dan Miragliotta STOMP YOU OUT!” and then “Big Dan the Man, How can I be the man if you’re the man, Dan Miragliotta (to which Dan shook his head in disgust).  Pulled off a terribly lame call in “Travis ‘The Diesel’ Gimme a room with a Wiuff.” One fighter he said “hadn’t eaten in a week because he’s going to the electric chair.” Referred to the YAMMA Championship belt as ‘the strap-on’ and probably the weirdest call he made was “Kevin Mulhall will be the referee for this beautiful matchup of warriors and freaks ready to pound and dance…”

Gone but not Forgotten
It’s sad that I have to do one of these for MMA. Boxing has been around for over 100 years and past champions are going to pass away each year and I feel it’s important to remember them. MMA on the other hand has been around for just 15 years and this year my favourite fighter, Evan Tanner, passed away way earlier then he should have.

Evan Tanner- Former UFC Middleweight Champion. Challenged Tito Ortiz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 30 but lost. Defeated Dave Terrell for the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 51 and won with strikes in the first round. Lost the title to Rich Franklin on a doctors stoppage in his first defence at UFC 53. None of this was why I liked Evan Tanner. He kept a blog on his website which I read for over a year about everything that went on in his life, including all his adventures and even his battle with alcohol which he beat in order to return to the UFC this year. I admired not so much the way the man led his life but the way he was completely honest with himself about who he was and who he wasn’t. He died in September of this year from heat exposure after his motorbike broke down in the desert and he ran out of water. He was 37.

Evan Tanner (1971-2008)

Evans, Mir, Rampage score KOs at UFC 92

Evans pounds out Griffin in three
In what was the best fight of the night, undefeated winner of season two of The Ultimate Fighter Rashad Evans won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with a third round technical knockout over Season one winner Forrest Griffin. The win marks the third man to hold the Light Heavyweight belt this year, with Griffin taking it from Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at UFC 86 before losing it in his first defence yesterday.
Both fighters started the first round of the fight slowly with Griffin landing more shots compared to Evans solid but infrequent bombs. The second round saw some furious exchanges with both guys looking hurt at different points in the fight. Evans ate a left hook early in the round which prompted Griffin to open up and chase Evans across the Octagon raining down blows. Evans retaliated by tauning Griffin then countering with a left hook. Later in the round Evans landed a series of bombs on Griffin that looked like they hurt the champion but Griffin fired back. Griffin landed heavily with a right hand at the end of the round which cemented the round for him on my card.
In the third round the fight finally hit the deck after Griffin slipped and Evans was quick to pounce, landing some hard shots from inside the champions guard. Griffin entually got wrist control but couldn’t control the challengers posture which made his submission attempts near impossible. Griffin tried a kimura from his back but Evans never let him get close. A triangle choke attempt from Griffin saw Evans briefly pass his guard and land some shots although Forrest was quick to get back to full guard. Evans finally got the opening he was after and landed a thunderous right hand from the guard which dazed Griffin. Numerous follow-up shots with first the right hand and eventually both hands had Griffin seriously hurt. Steve Mazzaghatti finally stepped in and halted the bout after what looked like Griffin tapped (although he claimed in the post fight interview that he didn’t and was just flailing from the punches) and crowned Evans the new champion at 2:46 of the third round.

Mir becomes first man to stop Nogueira
Fedor Emelianenko couldn’t do it. Josh Barnett couldn’t do it. Mirko Cro Cop couldn’t do it and either could Tim Sylvia or Heath Herring. But Jiu Jitsu stylist Frank Mir became the first man to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with strikes in the second round of their five round clash for the Interim UFC Heavyweight title. The win sets up a rematch for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship with Brock Lesnar, a rematch from a great fight earlier in the year which Mir won by kneebar in 90 seconds after taking heavy punishment for at least 60 of those seconds.
Right from the start Mir dominated the fight with his stand-up against the sluggish looking Nogueira. Landing with crisp combinations usually consisting of  right uppercut from his southpaw stance, Mir constantly kept Nogueira off balance and forced him back when he tried for a clinch. After a brief battle on the ground courtesy of a Mir takedown, Mir then dropped Nogueira with a combination and looked to finish on the ground. Nogueira showed his usual composure when hurt which has seen him score famous come from behind victories over the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Bob Sapp and saw off Mirs attack before Mir took the fight back to the feet. Standing up, Mir continued to get off first with crisp combinations while Nogueira failed to pull the trigger on anything before Mir again dropped Nogueira at the end of the round.
Nothing changed in the second round with Mir again easily outboxing the former PRIDE Heavyweight champion and landing with clean, crisp combinations. Mir then dropped Nogueira for the third time of the night with punches but this time was able to follow up and force referee Herb Dean to step in and rescue Nogueira for the first time in his 38 fight career. An emotional Mir thanked his team and his family for helping him to get back to where he was after his horrific motorcycle accident in 2004 which cost him the UFC Heavyweight title last time he held it.

Rampage scores sweet knockout over bitter rival Wanderlei Silva
Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion made his comeback fight a successful one, avenging two previous knockout losses against Wanderlei Silva with a one punch left hook knockout at 3:21 of the first round. Silva had twice knocked Rampage out in fights for the PRIDE Middleweight (205lbs) title (one was the final of the 2003 Grand Prix) but lost his fourth fight in his last five appearances, his third by knockout. For Rampage, the win likely sets up another shot at the UFC crown he lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 earlier this year.
Both fighters came out striking with Rampage looking the quicker early on. After eating two shots from Silva, Rampage attempted to take the fight to the ground but ate a knee for his trouble. Silva appeared to be getting set, landing a few vicious leg kicks to Rampage’s left thigh. Rampage though kept his cool and after en exchange of punches near the fence, Rampage countered a Silva left hook with one of his own that landed flush on the jaw and put the former PRIDE Middleweight champion down and out cold. Three follow up shots from Rampage left Silva unconscious for around three minutes before he woke up.

Other Results
CB Dollaway TKO1 (strikes from back mount) Mike Massenzio
Cheick Kongo TKO1 (strikes) Mustafa Al Turk
Yushin Okami UD3 Dean Lister
Matt Hammill TKO2 (strikes) Reese Andy
Brad Blackburn UD3 Ryo Chonan
Patt Berry TKO1 (leg kicks) Dan Evenson

UFC 91 Undercard Predictions

This weekend sees probably the biggest UFC card of the year (so far anyway, UFC 92 has it well covered as long as the fights stay the same). Despite Foxtel showing a few live boxing matches on this Sunday and the UFC on the next morning (no, it wasn’t because of the boxing, it was because they had to replay Andre fucking Rieu’s fucking pansy arse concert, honestly the only PPV that would be worth buying with him in it is if they chose him to be Fedor’s freak matchup on New Years Eve!), this card is that big that I will be isolating myself from everything including the Jeff Lacy-Jermain Taylor clash on Sunday in order to be able to watch this fight without having anything spoilt. With the main event being of the magnitude that it is, I’ll do a seperate post later in the week for that fight. As for now, here’s the undercard. I’m hoping my recent form with boxing predictions is going to translate into this UFC card.

Main Card
Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson
Prediction- Florian on points
This is a good fight. Both guys have excellent ground games but the big difference between the two of them is that Florian is also a very dangerous striker. Stevenson has decent technique with his hands as far as Jiu Jitsu guys go, but he doesn’t have the sharp punching or the well rounded striking game that Florian has and I think this will be the deciding factor in what should be a close fight. However, I do give Stevenson the edge on the ground and I think he could submit Florian if the fight hits the ground. The fight is bound to be close and while it won’t have the anticipation of the main event, it could very well be fight of the night. Florian to take a close, but unanimous decision after he wins the stand-up battle after a stalemate on the ground.

Nick Cantone vs Amir Sadollah
Prediction- Sadollah by 2nd round knockout
I can’t see the UFC putting their TUF 7 champion who has only had a couple of professional fights (is it 1 or 2?) in against anyone too dangerous first up. This will probably be a fight to showcase Sadollah to the Pay Per View audience and I expect Sadollah to use his body kicks and knees to the head to systematically break Cantone down before knocking him out. However, I know fuck all about Cantone and I’m basing this off absolutely nothing other then me thinking the UFC won’t risk Sadollah against anyone too good.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs Josh Hendricks
Prediction- Gonzaga by 1st round knockout
The second mismatch on the main card. Gonzaga is on his way back after those back to back losses and looked the business against an overmatched opponent last time out. Expect the same here. Gonzaga will take him down, pass his guard and elbow his face into mince meat before the referee stops the fight.

Demian Maia vs Nate Quarry
Prediction- Quarry on points
There is a very good chance that I score one out of five on the main card and this is very much a gamble. The safe money is with Maia who is on a tear right now while Quarry is never overly impressive. However, I think with Quarry’s previous experience training at team Quest with the likes of Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland, his takedown defence is likely to be very good. I think he’ll force Maia to fight him standing up and pepper him with shots en route to a unanimous decision. It’d be much better for the division though if Maia submits him quickly as we’ll then have someone for Anderson Silva to fight.

Preliminaries
Dustin Hazelett vs Tamdan McCrory
Prediction- Hazelett on points
This is an interesting fight, but one I think Hazelett should win easily if he fights the right fight. I think McCrory will be tentative about taking Hazelett down early, but when he starts havig trouble with Hazeletts lanky frame and decent boxing skills he’ll try his luck in “McLovin’s” guard. Hazelett has excellent sweeps and submissions from his back and I think he’ll end up on top in each round and bust up McCrory en route to a shutout decision.

Jorge Gurgel vs Aaron Riley
Prediction- Gurgel on points
This could be a war as well. Both of these guys are as tough as they come (Gurgel especially who is rarely in a dull fight) and I think they’ll put on a show. Hopefully Gurgel fights like he should and take Riley down and actually uses strikes when he gets a dominant position. However, I think he’ll duke it out and it’ll be a harder fight then it needs to be, but Gurgel will prove that bit better in all aspects. Gurgel should definately avoid going to his back against Riley, anywhere else and he should be in control of whats going on.

Rafael dos Anjos vs Jeremy Stephens
Prediction- Stephens on points
Anjos is a Gracie Jiu Jitsu student who boasts a 11-2 record making his UFC debut. I think Stephens is probably a bit too much for him first up and he’ll expose Anjos’ lack of stand-up and win a boring unanimous decision.

Mark Bocek vs Alvin Robinson
Prediction- Robinson by 1st round submission
This will be my pick for submission of the night. Both guys are good Jiu Jitsu practioners, but Robinson being a Royce Gracie black belt has the edge. Boceks best chance is to keep this up, but I think even doing that he won’t be able to avoid going to the ground. Robinson to finish Bocek quickly with a rear naked choke.

Matt Brown vs Ryan Thomas
Prediction- Brown by 2nd round knockout
Brown steps in to replace fellow TUF7 veteran Matthew Riddle on short notice. That shouldn’t make a difference however as I think Brown will just overwhelm Thomas and pound him out in the 2nd round after a near 10-8 first round. Brown is simply just too powerful.