Posts Tagged ‘ufc’

This Is It! – UFC 100

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

imageJuly 11th, 2009 is a major date in the mixed martial arts world, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship 100 will unfold.

I started watching the UFC from the first event on  November 12, 1993 and became an instant fan.  It was raw and brutal violence back then, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission fighting, dominated the earlier events. I can still remember the female commentator at UFC 1 turning pale and going silent, as a tooth from the mouth of a kicked fighter flew past her.  16 years have passed and the UFC has come a very long way.  Although some will still deem it brutal and barbaric, rules and measures have been put into place, making it safer for the fighters. The fact that fighters take the sport more seriously now, learning all of the ways to fight and becoming multi-dimensional fighters, proves to make the fights more tactical and a little less brutal.

With that 16 year and 99 event history, UFC 100 looks to be a great card, with a great heavyweight grudge match between Brock Lesnar & Frank Mir.  Mir won the first fight, and I feel he will also win the second. Lesnar is a monster of a man, but I feel he lacks the skills to beat Frank Mir.  However, there is always a punchers chance and with the lunch boxes Brock Lesnar calls fists, one punch can mean lights out for Mir. Georges St. Pierre will take on Thiago Alves in a welter-weight match-up that is going to be hard to call.  My heart is with GSP and his skills and ability to become better in every fight. “The Pitbull”, Alves is no scrub and probably one of the most powerful and aggressive fighter this weight class has seen.  And a fight that has been gaining a lot of steam, thanks to the Ultimate Fighter show, is Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping. Yes, Henderson is getting old, but he is tried and tested like a training partner of his, Randy Couture, and we all know how well he did.  Bisping is in for a surprise if he thinks he is going to walk over Dan Henderson, as the only area he beats Dan Henderson is in the running of the mouth. I’m hoping for a knock-out in that one.

Enjoy the card and congratulations to the Dana White and UFC for hitting the 100 event milestone and check out Bodog to place your UFC wagers!  I’m hoping to clean up! :)

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UFC 97 – Slow Beatdowns

Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Rua delivers the knockout blow to Liddell I’ve been MIA this month, with way too many things going on, but I am still alive.

I’m back with an entry about the UFC card that went down last weekend in my birth town of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  UFC 97 didn’t really have a lot of fights that I was interested to see.  As you know I’m not a big fan of Chuck Liddell’s and I knew that Anderson Silva was going to handle Thales Leites.

It is apparent that after his knockout loss to Mauricio Rua, Chuck is probably at the end of his fighting journey.  He’s had a great career, held the championship belt and even beat the hell out of Tito Ortiz… What more can you ask for?  He seemed gun-shy in his fight and couldn’t get off with his punches, although I think he should have been trying to kick more.  Although Rua beat Chuck, I’m still not overly impressed with either.  It should be interesting to see him fight younger, skilled talent like Evans, Machida and even crazy Quinton Jackson.

The main event of Silva vs. Leites was truly a letdown. Leites was outclassed in the octagon and had no idea how to handle Anderson "The Spider" Silva.  Silva was too fast, too crafty and too accurate for Leites and really anyone else in that division for now.  I feel bad for Anderson, because he always wants to put on a good show for the fans and this was surely not it, as the crowd was booing more than cheering the entire 5 round decision.

With UFC 97 done, I’m looking forward to UFC 98 on May 23, 2009. Predictions of the main fights go like this:

Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida – Evans by 3rd round knockout.
Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra – Hughes by 2 round knockout (earlier I hope though, cause I can’t stand Matt Serra!)

With several decent fights on the undercard, UFC 98 looks and should be a better event than UFC 97!

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UFC 96 Card Match-ups

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

March 7, 2009 at 7 pm. begins another MMA card brought to you by the UFC.  It should be a pretty good night of fights and looking forward to seeing the main event.  Here’s the card and some predictions. :)

Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
“Rampage”
Height: 6′ 1" (185 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 29-7-0

Keith Jardine
Keith Jardine
“The Dean of Mean”
Height:6′ 2" (188 cm)
Weight: 205 (93 kg)
Record: 14-5-1

This should be a very good fight and if Rampage isn’t focused, he’s going down, just like he did against Forrest Griffin.  So I’m calling for an ‘A’ game Quinton Jackson and he TKO’s Jardine in the second round.  Not that Jardine isn’t a tough guy, with a strange herky-jerky style, I just think that Rampage will be too much for him.  Too strong, too fast, too dominant.  It should be a good fight though.

Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga 
“Napao”
Height: 6′ 1" (185 cm)
Weight: 242 (110 kg)
Record: 10-3-0

Shane Carwin
Shane Carwin 
Height: 6′ 3" (191 cm)
Weight: 262 (119 kg)
Record: 10-0-0

I’m not too sure about either of these fighters. Carwin is undefeated, but doesn’t have a lot of known fighters on his resume. Gonzaga is tough, he knocked out a very skilled Mirko Crocop with a head kick (Mirko’s specialty) and Gonzaga was  beaten pretty badly by Randy Couture. Gonzaga is very strong and skilled on the ground with good submissions.  Carwin is a ground and pound specialist, with great knockout power.  Tough decision, but I will go with Gonzaga to win by knockout or submission in round 2. Hopefully he can get passed round one against the heavy hands of Carwin!

Those are the premier fights that I’ll be looking for. If you want more info on the other fights, check out the UFC Official Website, and enjoy a night of good fights!

170 lbs.: Pete Sell (8-4) vs. Matt Brown (8-7)
205 lbs.: Matt Hamill (5-2) vs. Mark Munoz (5-0)
155 lbs.: Jim Miller (13-1) vs. Gray Maynard (6-0)

Under card (May not be broadcast):
170 lbs.: Ryan Madigan (5-0) vs. Tamdan McCrory
185 lbs.: Kendall Grove (9-5) vs. Jason Day (17-7)
205 lbs.: Tim Boetsch (8-2) vs. Jason Brilz (16-1-1)
205 lbs.: Brandon Vera (9-3) vs. Mike Patt (12-3)
155 lbs:: Aaron Riley (27-10-1) vs. Shane Nelson (11-3)

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Evan Tanner: RIP to a Warrior.

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

evantannerEvan Tanner is definitely not someone I would want to meet in the UFC octagon. He had heart and a never say die mentality and drive that I only see in 2 other fighters: Randy Couture and Forrest Griffin. It was very sad news to hear that Mr. Tanner; born on February 11th, 1971, passed away on September 8th, 2008. It appears that he died in the desert while on a warrior type excursion that he seemed pumped to go on. Details are sketchy at this point, but all I know is Evan was quite a talented, smart and strong individual. If you’ve ever read his blog, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  He didn’t pull any punches and let his fans and readers know exactly what he was going through, like dealing with alcoholism, not to mention that he achieved UFC champion status being a self-trained fighter.  Evan Tanner, you will be missed, but your spirit and dedication will lead others as an example of what it takes to be a true champion and that the path to get there is not paved with rose petals. Condolences to your family and friends.  Rest in peace.

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Rashad Evans says: "Good-night Chuck!"

Monday, September 8th, 2008

rashad-evsns-wall-smI have never been a fan of Chuck Liddell’s as I really never thought he was that good of a fighter. Although I really enjoyed when he knocked the hell out of Tito Ortiz, a guy I really don’t like. But on September 6th, I picked the upset by Rashad “Sugar” Evans to not only win the fight against Liddell, but to knock him out in the second round and some people still owe me some money for that one!  UFC 88 offered a decent fight card with Rich Franklin winning a good TKO over Matt Hamil and of course the beautiful over-hand right thrown by Rashad that left Chucky-Boy seeing stars.  Rashad is normally a slow starter in the Octagon, but I knew Chuck did not have the tools to deal with the agility and fast hands of Rashad.  People for some reason thought it would be the usual, “try to take Chuck down all night” affair, but for Rashad to win, he had to take it to Chuck and take it to him hard. He did just that and surprised a lot of his critics and especially Chuck Liddell.  I’m not sure if Rashad Evans is champion material yet, because his fight game still has holes.  Although he is very quick and strong, he is missing the submission skills that can take him to the next level.  Kevin Randleman and even Quinton “Rampage” Jackson lacked the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to have true longevity although both were champions in the UFC. Guys, pay a visit to one of my favorite fighters: Antonio Nogueira and I guarantee all 3 of you will be extremely difficult to beat. Congratulations Rashad, enjoy the great win and keep the intensity up and keep striving to win that UFC belt!

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