UFC 129 BABY!!

 

This card is going to be CRAZY.

So here are my picks:

Jake Shields via submission round 4

Jose Aldo via TKO round 2

Lyoto Machida via TKO round 3

Ben Henderson via TKO round1

RANDY COUTURE RETIRES! It was an honor to witness such a great fighting even at the age of 48!!

Wandy is back!

and he's taking on Chris Leben.  FINALLY.

This match was supposed to happen way back but instead we got:

1. Wanderlei vs Akiyama
2. Wanderlei gets hurt, pulls out of the fight.
3. Leben fights Akiyama, wins.
4. Wanderlei vs Leben.
5. Wanderlei gets surgergy, pulls out of the fight.
6. Leben fights Stann instead, loses via KO.
7. Stann vs Wanderlei.
8. Wanderlei doesn't want to fight him, says Stann is an "American hero" and fans would see Wanderlei as the bad guy.
9. Wanderlei lobbies for Vitor Belfort instead.
10. Dana White sets up fight with Vitor, Wanderlei refuses, wants fight with Leben.
11. Dana White gets annoyed, says Wanderlei never ducks anyone but is now getting complicated.
12. UFC sets up Wanderlei vs Leben.

Moral is, Wanderlei gets what he wants.  You dont say NO to the axe murderer, he says no to YOU.

Now, we already know how this fight will turn out: these two guys are known to slug it out.  This will be an all-out stand-up war, and it will end via KO/TKO.  No decisions here ladies and gents, expect some awesome brawling!

I give the slight nod to Wanderlei due to his fearsome strength and muay thai (and yet to be seen BJJ black belt skills).  Leben may or may not have the slightly better ground game here and equal power in his hands, but seeing him get tagged by Brian Stann is where I give Wanderlei the slight nod.  Expect a KO and the fans going wild for the Axe Murderer

Jon Jones the new champ, GSP vs Shields, and Thiago Silva's test results

Wow, has it really been more than 2 weeks since my last post?
Looks like i'm going to have to play catch up here!


Jon Jones, the new UFC lightheavyweight champion
 First things first, my predictions were WAY off on the Shogun v Bones fight and I've lost all my bets...SHIETT

Shogun had no answers that fight and did not even threaten with any of his leglock attempts.  Jones was too big, too strong, and too fresh.  He toppled the division titleholder and now no one thinks he has anyone left to fight seeing as how Rashad, Rampage, and Forrest Griffin would all most likely be demolished.  Lyoto would stand a chance with his unorthodox striking and elusivity, but Shogun smashed him up and its hard to see that Jones wouldn't do the same or worse.

So it's only fair that fans all across the universe are calling out for Jon Jones vs Anderson Silva.  How sweet would that be? The pound-for-pound king vs the upcoming soon to be pound-for-pound fight...We all know Anderson Silva weighs around 220-230 walking and has dominated via KO in his two matches at light heavyweight, so weight cutting would not be a problem and there would no need for a catchweight fight.  But for now, Jones is busy with fighting his "friend" Rashad (some pussy shit going on there, but that's for another blog post...) and Anderson is still waiting around for the decision to be made as to whether he fights Okami or GSP, which brings me to the next post!


GSP vs Jake Shields

 Okay, so....everyone is saying Jake Shields is deserving of this titleshot.... because of what? His controversial, debatable split decision over Martin Kampmann in which people booed and everyone agreed that he got his ass beat?  Yeah fuckin right, son!  People are also saying he's GSP most dangerous opponent yet, hell even GSP says that, but we know he's just trying to be a gentleman. How the hell is Jake Shields his most dangerous opponent? Because he can eat punches and knees to the face?

His chin is tested, but is he really going to stand and bang with GSP for five rounds? Yeah right.  He is going to try and take GSP down? Of course he'll try, and fail.  How is he going to take GSP down....you dont GET TO TAKE GSP down, everyone in the world knows that.  In fact, you dont get to do anything except get raped.  GSP is a machine, an athletic specimen, and one of the pound for pound greats because he can dictact the pace, dictate the direction, and most of the times dictact the outcome with his athletic prowess and crafty all-around mma game.

Now, whats even crazier is that a lot of people think Shields will submit GSP.  Not try to submit, not "might" submit him, WILL submit GSP.  uhh okay. that seems very unlikely.  He's not going to armbar GSP from the bottom because he will get slammed.  He cant rear naked him because he cant take GSP's back.  His triangles will be outpowered.  Shields might have small chances with kimuras, leglocks, or even a guillotine if gsp does one of his explosive takedowns, but I highly doubt shields will succeed in any of this or win any round on the judges score cards.

Of course, my betting/predicting streaks have gone to shit lately and everyone ive been picking has gone to shit.  Either im still too attached to my mma heroes of the olden days, or these things just happen because anything happens in mma at any given time. So, if anyone wants to take a bet on jake shields with me, you are completely welcome!

Thiago Silva's drug results come back dirty

My last post told us brandon vera has been reinstated with the UFC.  Last week, we found out that Thiago's second drug test failed and that he has indeed been caught with illegal substances.  Thiago Silva has since publicly apologized:

"This was a terrible decision on my part for which I will be punished. I am prepared to accept this punishment, learn from it and move on. I apologize to the Commission, the UFC, Brandon Vera and the MMA fans."

This is sad news for the mma world and for Thiago Silva as he was a great fighter.  He went 13-0 in his first 13 pro fights with 11 knockouts and now all of this is tainted because there is potential he was doping since.  What's even worse is that when his test was first called out by Kizer of the NSAC, Thiago Silva denied anything is wrong with his urine sample because he "didn't take anything".  Which means, if he didn't get caught, he would have gladly taken the win AND let Brandon Vera get cut by the UFC after breaking the man's nose and ridiculing and humiliating Vera by playing drums with his back during which Thiago dominated the fight on the ground with his superhuman strength due to the drugs.

We have yet to hear about Thiago Silva but a suspension/fine is probably looming in the distance.

UFC 129: Shogun vs Jones, day of the fight prediction

Alright folks, we've got less than 10 hours to go until the event starts!

I calling Rua by KO by round 2 or 3.  Who's with me!?!?

Jon Jones -210, Shogun Rua +165

So everyone seems to have picked Jon Jones to win this fight already, and at an almost 2-to-1 rate, it almost seems guaranteed that Jon Jones will absolutely win and that everyone should bet their houses on it.

Then why am I still not sold?

Jones elbows on the ground are vicious, and his pure athleticism in explosive takedowns and top-control have put guys like Matyushenko and Bader in tough positions all through the night (albeit short nights).  His striking and reach is quite flashy and he's never been in real trouble in any of his fights.  And, he's fucking 23 years old.

Things don't look too good for Shogun either as he is coming off knee surgery (last time he did that, he barely beat 46-year-old Mark Coleman), and having a new-age fighter like Jones as your first title defense can be a real bitch.

But can we really see Jon Jones walk away with the belt this Saturday? Is he really going to beat Shogun and become the new UFC light heavyweight champion that fast?  Everything on paper tells me that he most likely will win, but maybe thats because of UFC hype and how good he looked in beating his opponents, but then again his opponents were Bonnar, Vera, Matyushenko, and Bader.....Bonnar lost to Mark Coleman for crying out loud, Vera was kicked off the UFC roster for losing 3x in a row, Matyushenko is solid but beaten by Lil Nog and Tito Ortiz, and Bader's wins over Nog and Jardine made him look sluggish and barely able to win.  And if he does beat Shogun, how will he do it? KO? TKO? Submission? Highly unlikely... a decision, perhaps? A decision would require the fight to last 5 rounds.........how can a fight between someone like Jon Jones and someone like Shogun possibly even go to the distance?

What Shogun's got going for him is that he has beaten Machida (arguably twice), the man who was coined as being a whole new era due to the aura of invincibility that he seemingly carried as he demolished light heavyweight opposition.  and he himself was brutally destroyed by Shogun.

I dont know, i feel like if I bet on Jones, I'd lose.  he has a good chance to beat shogun in wrestling, but thats about it.  he's not going to be able to hang if he decides to stand and bang with one of the worlds best strikers, even with his height and reach advantage.  jones has never faced a champion before, and now hes facing a pride champ and a ufc champ at the same time...

Zuffa/UFC purchases Strikeforce!!

So I'm dead sure everyone has heard the news thats sending shockwaves throughout all the MMA world:

Zuffa has purchased Strikeforce.  Now, the UFC and Strikeforce are all under the same company.  Whether this is good or bad (most likely good) for MMA in the long run is yet to be determined, but if we get to see a Fedor vs Cain or Nick Diaz vs GSP, how can it possibly be bad in the short run!

Word has it that Strikefroce is allowed keep their business model and run the company independently as before and operate as a seperate branch as WEC did.  However, some things are already changing, a major change is that now grounded elbow strikes to the head are allowed in Strikeforce.  There's good and bad to that as well, the good obviously being that the guy on top can seriously fuck the bottom guy up by shooting some dangerous shorts in guard.  The bad being the possibility of quick stoppages due to cheap cuts.  I hope no one exploits this to use as a bitch-move!

Keep checking the news everyone, MMA is blowing up now that the world's two leading martial arts promotions have combined

Brandon Vera returns after being cut from the UFC for 54 days

It looks like our boy, "The Truth", is back in action.  UFC 125 saw Brandon Vera getting smashed by Thiago Silva and the bout left with an awkwardly broken nose and the humiliation of getting bitch-slapped and having his back beat on like a Filipino Dabakan drum.  After the bout, Vera went 7-6 with this having been his third loss in a row and UFC had to cut him.  Articles floated around saying how Vera has lost it and how his slow decline has been a waste of amazing potential ever since he destroyed Frank Mir back in 2006.

I felt really sorry for this guy ever since he got robbed by Randy Couture, got his face fractured by Jon Jones, and then got humiliated by Thiago Silva.  When is he going to get a break already?  Well, the UFC gave him one and decided to let him go.

It turns out however, Thiago Silva's drug test is in question after the fight and is being re-tested.  Chances are that Silva has taken some PEDs and Vera spoke out during interviews:


"I remember when I was underneath him and I was pushing him back and forth. I was thinking, ‘What the hell? Why is this guy so damn strong?’ And I remember thinking during the fight, ‘Yo, I gotta start lifting weights again.’ He was one of, if not the strongest dudes I ever rolled with in my life. Strong b******."

Now according to MMAjunkie, it looks like our boy is back with the UFC, and they are changing his last lost to a no-contest.  That would put Vera's UFC record at 11-6-1 NC.  He's finally got a big break! Good for him! Now feed him some cans so he can look good and marketable again and keep him away from top 10's for a few fights!

Strikeforce 31: Results from the Quarter-final of Strikeforce's Heavyweight Grand Prix

(awesome photo from Esther Lin, taken from Neal Taflinger's post on FIGHT! magazine news)

Fedor falls from grace.  Wow...just a year ago, this guy was considered not only the no.1 best fighter in the world over Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre in the pound-for-pound rankings, he was actually considered to be INVINCIBLE.  Now he's got decisive back-to-back losses via submission and TKO.  Who'd have thought Bigfoot Silva would have won? I sure as hell didn't.  I still think Bigfoot Silva is an average fighter, even after his destruction of the Last Emperor.

Check out Fedor's smashed pizza-looking face by the end of the referee stoppage:

Man, I am now so disappointed that the chances of a Fedor vs Overeem match-up is highly unlikely.  A part of me still hurts that we can never see anyone from the UFC fight Fedor either, I still thought he would have hung high when facing off against the likes of Cain, Brock, or JDS.  But now those chances are completely dead as Fedor, the once-immortal warrior has now lost back to back with his stock dropping fast.

I hope Bigfoot gets smashed quickly by Overeem in the semi-final.

On another note, one Russian was able to pull through, and in flying colors at that:

(awesome photo from Esther Lin, taken from Neal Taflinger's post on FIGHT! magazine news)

Kharitonov, the man I originally had pegged to win in my last blog entry on the Strikeforce grand prix, did so in devastating fashion as he put Arlovski's lights out in a round one vicious KO.  I did not give Arlovski too much credit to win given his history and suspect chin, but last night saddened me to see the Belarusian knocked out so cold.  You can see the stars in the Pitbull's eyes as the referee lunged in to save his dear life!

Sadly now, the tournament bracket should look like this:

It is a sad day for MMA.  Well, unless you are a Bigfoot Silva fan.  But thena gain, if you're a Bigfoot Silva fan, you're living a sad existence anyway.

UFC 126 Results...

The front kick heard round the world.....

[gif from "bruno" on the mmatko forums]

Yeahhhh...so much for everything I had laid out in the previous post.  Vitor got knocked out flat in few a minutes and the fight was officially stopped after Silva followed up with 2 punches.  Good call on the ref.  I don't know what else to say; I guess I'm still shocked that I just didn't see it ending so quickly and in the fashion that it did.  Great, I already owe people lunches, dinners, money, and push-ups.  FML

 

Damn you Steven Seagal!!!!!!! You made me lose all my bets!!! (I hope you all know that I am being sarcastic....)

but in case my sarcasm didn't translate over.....

ummmm.....yeah.  Good night everyone.

UFC 126: Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort

The day is drawing nearer; we are are just a little over 72 hours from this crazy card that I figure I lay out some stats for those of you who are as giddy for this fight as I am.  I am still betting on Vitor Belfort as the winner, despite the odds being far, far away from his favor.  Call me insane, but you can bet me your house if you want!

Hopefully the stats for the Silva vs Belfort match-up that I list below are enough to persuade you to purchase this event on PPVHD, but don't forget that Rich Franklin vs Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader are also on this epic card.  If that doesn't blow your mind, dont forget that WEC vets Miguel Torress and Cowboy Cerrone are on the card too! If this is still not enough to convinec you to get the event, then you must be mentally disabled.

- Vitor Belfort will have been out of action for a total of 504 days by the time he faces off with Anderson Silva (that's almost a fuckin year and a half!)
- This is Vitor's first middleweight fight in the UFC (his fight with Rich Franklin was a catchweight of 195)
- Anderson Silva has defended his belt seven consecutive times, a record for all weight divisions across the UFC banner
- Anderson Silva has not been defeated (legitimately anyway) since 2004 via submission of heel hook
- Anderson Silva demolishes strikers
- Anderson Silva does not bleed
- Anderson Silva has never been KO'd or TKO'd

I'm sure you've realized by now that these stats all favor Anderson Silva and that Vitor Belfort should be shitting his pants, but here are the stats that can prove Vitor has a chance

- Vitor Belfort has some quick, heavy hands. The quickest and heaviest Anderson Silva has ever faced
- Vitor Beflort has a BJJ black belt like the Spider, and more than likely better grappling and wrestling
- Vitor has won his last 5 fights in a row, 4 via vicious knockouts
- Anderson Silva was hurt and losing 4 rounds in a row in his last championship fight against Chael Sonnen
- Vitor's striking is on a whole different level than Chael's.  As in a whole different planet in terms of skill, and if Vitor hits Anderson with even 1/10th of the shots Chael delivered, the Spider may very well find his ass knocked out
- Anderson Silva can be defeated, unlikely, but he has been beaten before
- Vitor has trained with Black House with Anderson, Lyoto, and the Nogueira brothers.  You know he has got to have some kind of strategy going in besides relying on his powerful punching

Those of you who are in Bay Area and would like to bet against me in favor of Anderson Silva, the most dominant champion in UFC history and the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, you are more than welcome to! I still believe Vitor will pull the major upset on February 5th

Don't miss the weigh-in's on Friday!