Author: Anthony Fusco

UFC 149: Who Wins the Fight Between Hector Lombard and Tim Boetsch?

The UFC 149 card has suffered terribly because of injuries to so many of the fighters. Fortunately, there are still plenty of great fights on the card. The fight I want to focus on is a middleweight collision between …

The UFC 149 card has suffered terribly because of injuries to so many of the fighters. Fortunately, there are still plenty of great fights on the card. The fight I want to focus on is a middleweight collision between the explosive Hector Lombard and “The Barbarian” Tim Boetsch.

This is an interesting fight for a number of reasons. It is Hector Lombard’s UFC debut after coming over from Bellator. There, he was the undefeated middleweight champion.

How will he react coming to the UFC? Will he dominate or fold under the pressure?

Both of these men have fight stopping power in their fists. Consider Boetsch’s last fight against Yushin Okami.  Lombard has also been stopping opponents for a long time, most recently Trevor Prangley. Both of these men hit hard. It is all up to who times their shots better.

Another big question with this fight is who will impose their game plan better. Boetsch has good wrestling and will use this to get the fight to the ground if the stand up isn’t going his way. Lombard, on the other hand, was an Olympic judoka for Cuba. Judoka do their best work from the clinch and Lombard has outstanding takedown defense because of this.

Both of these fighters are explosive talents. I think that Lombard has the advantage in this fight. If Boetsch is losing the stand up exchanges and can’t get the fight to the ground, I see Lombard’s excellent counter punching and ferocity taking over the fight and earning him a KO or TKO victory.

I can’t say for sure who is going to win this fight. In MMA anything can happen. I can predict one thing with complete certainty. This will be a three round fight and there is no way it will go the full time. This is a fight not to be missed!

Check out my twitter @FuscoNation16.

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BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald Lead Fan-Friendly, Stacked Card into Toronto for UFC

There are some upcoming events which I’m looking forward to watching. UFC 150 is one such event, because Edgar and Henderson will have their rematch for the lightweight title. UFC 151 is another, because Jones and Hen…

There are some upcoming events which I’m looking forward to watching. UFC 150 is one such event, because Edgar and Henderson will have their rematch for the lightweight title. UFC 151 is another, because Jones and Hendo will throw down in their title fight.

However, the one event I’m looking forward to above both of these cards is UFC 152, which will take place in my home base of Toronto.

Toronto has had two UFC events thus far, UFC 129 and UFC 140. Both of those cards were stacked, and the events were fantastic.

Simply put, Canadian fans love their mixed martial arts.

UFC 152 will be no different: The atmosphere will be electric, especially because of the matchmaking job Joe Silva and Sean Shelby have done thus far.

Canadian welterweight monster Rory MacDonald will face the recently un-retired BJ Penn. This matchup should be exciting, as both fighters are warriors who compete at the highest level.

In a featherweight scrap, Jimmy Hettes, who many see as the future of the division, will come out to fight hard-hitting  Marcus Brimage, an alum of The Ultimate Fighter ‘s14th season.

Michael Bisping has been calling out every middleweight fighter he can in recent times. He finally got an answer, in the form of Brian Stann: a British fighter against an American fighter on Canadian soil. 

A true multicultural experience.

As for the main event, Toronto plays host to the first-ever flyweight championship fight. Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson will be the two combatants in the cage for that fight.

These are the fights announced for the Toronto card to date, but more are on the way. This card is shaping up to be one of the most exciting, fan-friendly cards in recent memory.

Be prepared for fireworks and dramatic fanfare on September 22!

 

Check me out on Twitter @FuscoNation16.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Silva vs. Sonnen: Is There a Chance for a Trilogy Fight?

Anderson Silva took care of two years of business last night with his victory over Chael Sonnen. With this win, Silva has defeated his biggest nemesis who trash-talked him at every single turn.Now that the fight between these two is over, Sonnen has be…

Anderson Silva took care of two years of business last night with his victory over Chael Sonnen. With this win, Silva has defeated his biggest nemesis who trash-talked him at every single turn.

Now that the fight between these two is over, Sonnen has been brutally sent down the ladder once again.

There are many other middleweights waiting for a shot at Silva, and I don’t think Sonnen will climb his way back up to title contention again.

A large part of him getting this fight with Silva in the first place was his trash talk and promotion of this fight. Yes, he did submit Brian Stann, and he did win a controversial decision against Michael Bisping, but he got this fight largely because he’s the best hype man in the business.

I believe that there are too many other middleweights waiting for a shot at Silva for Sonnen to be able to climb his way back to the top.

Silva is getting older, and no one is sure when he’ll walk away from the sport. Sonnen is in his mid-30s as well, so the chances of both of them continuing to win and finally meeting again are very slim.

That being said, however, Dan Henderson has a title fight coming up. He’s 41 years old.

Age is just a number for some fighters. But I don’t believe that Anderson Silva will ever fight Chael Sonnen again. There would need to be a miracle.

 

Check me out on Twitter @FuscoNation16 for more UFC and other sports thoughts.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Silva vs. Sonnen 2: Why Bad Blood Is Selling This Fight

One of the most anticipated fights in UFC history is set to take place July 7th. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will understand that I am referring to the second fight between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.T…

One of the most anticipated fights in UFC history is set to take place July 7th. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will understand that I am referring to the second fight between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.

There is something distinctly different about the fight between these two men this time around.  The trash talk.

There is legitimate bad blood between these two fighters. You know it, I know and it, and you better believe Anderson Silva knows it.

Chael Sonnen has, for the better part of two years, been poking the sleeping bear so to speak. Eventually the bear will wake up and the consequences will be dire.

Silva has heard enough out of Sonnen for two lifetimes. Sonnen has insulted him from every possible angle: his wife and kids, his training partners and gym, his country of Brazil.

Sonnen’s constant jabs have made Silva very angry. This can lead to one of two outcomes. We will either see the Anderson Silva who is fired up and controlled—that is, the Silva who decimated Vitor Belfort with the front kick—or we will see an emotional Silva who comes out and doesn’t fight smart. It is widely known that if you fight angry, you have a very high chance of making a mistake. If Silva makes a mistake in this fight, it could lead to a repeat of their first fight.

Whatever the outcome, I’m looking forward to the fight between these two with great anticipation. The fans will finally get to see who backs up their trash talk. Will it be the Gangster from West Linn or the greatest fighter in the world? Their blood is boiling and they are ready to go. As soon as the cage door closes, we will know who the true champion really is.

Check me out on twitter @FuscoNation16 for more UFC and other sports thoughts.

 

 

 

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Most Entertaining Fighter from Each UFC Weight Class

MMA is truly one of the fastest growing sports in the entire world. To make it on the biggest MMA stage in the world, the UFC, fighters have to be highly skilled and very entertaining. Every fan out there knows which fighters put it all on the lin…

MMA is truly one of the fastest growing sports in the entire world. To make it on the biggest MMA stage in the world, the UFC, fighters have to be highly skilled and very entertaining.

Every fan out there knows which fighters put it all on the line and put on shows for the fans. In the following slides, you`ll see my picks for the most entertaining fighter from each division.

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UFC on FX 3: Mike Pyle vs Josh Neer Head-to Toe Breakdown

Two crafty UFC veterans will throw down on UFC on FOX 3 card. Mike Pyle is a submission wizard coming of a TKO victory at UFC 142. Josh Neer is a tough test for anybody, as he is currently riding a two fight win streak in the octagon after submitting D…

Two crafty UFC veterans will throw down on UFC on FOX 3 card. Mike Pyle is a submission wizard coming of a TKO victory at UFC 142.

Josh Neer is a tough test for anybody, as he is currently riding a two fight win streak in the octagon after submitting Duane Ludwig in his last bout.

Both are tough competitors who are always down for a tough and entertaining fight. In the following slides let’s take a look at who’s got the better chance of taking home the win.

Pyle or Neer?

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