Even if you don’t plan on ordering tonight’s Pay-Per-View event for UFC 137, you may still want to tune in for the preliminary matchups on Spike TV at 8 p.m. EST.Tonight’s bouts consist of some exciting matchups.The first fight will feature Tyson Griff…
Even if you don’t plan on ordering tonight’s Pay-Per-View event for UFC 137, you may still want to tune in for the preliminary matchups on Spike TV at 8 p.m. EST.
Tonight’s bouts consist of some exciting matchups.
The first fight will feature Tyson Griffin and Bart Palaszewski.
Griffin was dominant early in his career. He entered 2010 with an all-time record of 14-2, but would struggle throughout the year suffering three straight losses.
After the losses Griffin announced his decision to drop classes to Featherweight. His win over Manvel Gamburyan earlier this year has him back on track.
Palaszewski is an MMA veteran making his UFC debut tonight. He has a career record of 34-14, but has never faced a fighter the caliber of Tyson Griffin.
This one will go the distance, and Griffin will walk away with the victory.
The second bout of the evening will be one that will intrigue wrestling fans everywhere.
Dennis Siver and Donald Cerrone will take on one another in what may be the most exciting match between pure wrestlers in quite some time.
Siver has a career record of 19-7. He is 9-4 when the match ends by submission.
Although impressive, Siver is not quite as talented in the submission game as Cerrone. During Cerrone’s 16-3 career 13 of his bouts ended in submission. He is 12-1 when the match ends this way.
This battle between two of the more skilled submission specialists will be exciting to watch.
If you haven’t heard much talk about UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz around the water cooler at work lately, don’t be too alarmed—you’re not the only one.Saturday’s event at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas has been through more changes than a Saturday Night Liv…
If you haven’t heard much talk about UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz around the water cooler at work lately, don’t be too alarmed—you’re not the only one.
Saturday’s event at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas has been through more changes than a Saturday Night Live set, changes that extend far beyond the withdrawal of Georges St-Pierre.
The bouts were originally scheduled to take place on October 15th at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, though problems with syncing up dates and broadcasting rights left Dana Whiteto walk alone…all the way back to Sin City.
Then came the usual rash of injuries and back-outs that tend to reshape UFC events. Sam Stout was the first to go, taking his “Hands of Stone” to make way for Donald Cerrone to “Cowboy” up against Dennis “The Menace” Siver in a lightweight bout.
The middleweight match between Tim Credeur and Brad Tavares has since morphed into a dust-up with Dustin Jacoby and Clifford Starks on account of “unknown reasons” for Credeur, and injuries for Tavares.
Of greater import, though, is the kerfuffle that has befallen what was supposed to be a fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Nick Diaz had been in place to fight titleholder Georges St-Pierre, but was pulled from the fight by Dana White after failing to show up for a series of promotional appearances. White replaced Diaz with Carlos Condit, who was supposed to fight B.J. Penn, and then put Diaz up against Penn.
Confused yet?
A knee injury forced St-Pierre to withdraw from his title defense against Condit, thereby leaving Condit to back out as well and open the way for Penn-Diaz to jump into the top spot on the fight card at UFC 137.
So there you have it, folks. A fight card without a championship on the line at a different date, time and place than originally expected. Don’t get me wrong, these bouts still figure to be entertaining, with excellent matchups all around.
But if you’re looking for the intensity of a real title fight, you’ll just have to wait for November 12th, when Cain Velasquez defends his Heavyweight Championship against Junior dos Santos on Fox.
The fight card at UFC 136 is stacked with exciting fights, but none carries as much gravitas or potential for an all-time mixed martial arts classic as the main event, featuring Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Edgar will defend his claim to the UFC lig…
The fight card at UFC 136 is stacked with exciting fights, but none carries as much gravitas or potential for an all-time mixed martial arts classic as the main event, featuring Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.
Edgar will defend his claim to the UFC lightweight championship, if only by the slimmest of margins.
These two men are anything but strangers in the octagon, with two previous encounters on their records. Maynard “bullied” Edgar into a win by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night back in April of 2008. Edgar “answered” back on New Year’s Day at UFC 125: Resolution with a rousing comeback to force a split decision with Maynard and retain the UFC Lightweight Championship belt as a result.
Granted, that draw did anything but resolve the lingering questions surrounding Edgar and Maynard, which brings us to this weekend’s festivities at the Toyota Center in Houston. Edgar has demonstrated vast improvement in the three-and-a-half years since suffering the first and only loss of his MMA career. No longer is Edgar quite so susceptible to Maynard’s menacing takedowns, thanks in large part to fancier footwork and a stronger stand-up game.
Edgar doesn’t have the sort of power to put Maynard out of his misery in one or two shots, but what he lacks in strength, he more than makes up for in conditioning, boxing skills and sheer determination. Maynard seemingly had Edgar beaten in their last bout, with a furious 97-strike rally right out of the gate. However, Edgar was able to withstand the early barrage and recover with some beautiful takedowns to pull even on the judges’ scorecards.
That being said, Maynard still owns the advantage in sheer brute force and devastating power. It’s seemingly to Maynard’s advantage to come out swinging, so to speak, as he lacks the stamina to outlast a scrappy, scrambling opponent like Edgar.
The difference in this bout will come down to which combatant can dictate the location of the action. If Edgar can funnel the fight to the center of the Octagon, he’ll be better able to exploit his advantage in speed, dexterity and escapability to wear out the more cumbersome Maynard.
However, if this one ends up against the cage, then the pendulum will swing squarely in Maynard’s favor. “The Bully” needs to be just that—a bully—to pound his opponent into submission. Anything short of that and Maynard will leave himself vulnerable and open to attack in the later rounds after exerting himself to little avail.
Neither fighter figures to claim a decisive edge in this one. As such, the difference between winning and losing could come down to a big takedown here or a heavy exchange there. All told, look for Edgar to escape the night with his title belt still fastened around his waist, however precariously, after narrowly outlasting his biggest nemesis.
Mixed martial arts fans are in for a treat on Saturday night, with a fight card on tap for UFC 135: Edgar vs. Maynard III that is as deep as any we’ve seen this year and, as such, has as much potential for heart-pounding, bone-crushing entertainment as…
Mixed martial arts fans are in for a treat on Saturday night, with a fight card on tap for UFC 135: Edgar vs. Maynard III that is as deep as any we’ve seen this year and, as such, has as much potential for heart-pounding, bone-crushing entertainment as any UFC event in 2011.
First and foremost, we have the main event between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. These two nemeses have enough history between them that this bout could be a headliner even without the benefit of waist wear.
Of course, they’ll be duking it out for the UFC Lightweight Championship, so the stakes will be that much higher. This isn’t the first time they’ve met to decide a title, though. Edgar and Maynard last met in the Octagon at UFC 125: Resolution on New Year’s Day.
Ironically enough, not all was resolved that day, particularly between Edgar and Maynard, who fought to a draw. That allowed Edgar to retain the title but did little to make up for his loss to Maynard at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon back in April of 2008.
As exciting as the latest edition of Edgar vs. Maynard will be, it won’t be the only fight with championship implications this weekend. Jose Aldo will also be at the Toyota Center in Houston, but certainly not as a spectator. Rather, he’ll be climbing into the Octagon, Featherweight Championship and all, to take on former lightweight contender Kenny Florian.
Aldo has been as dominant as any fighter in his respective division, though this will mark only his second career UFC bout. Florian, meanwhile, will be taking his third, and perhaps final, shot at a title after twice losing championship bouts as a lightweight.
But wait…there’s more! The third fight on the main card, between top 10 contenders Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann, could very well determine who gets the next crack at Anderson Silva‘s seemingly unbreakable hold on the Middleweight Championship.
Sonnen last climbed into the Octagon 14 months ago, when Silva forced him into submission to claim the title belt at UFC 117. Sonnen would’ve had a shot at an immediate rematch had he not been suspended for elevated levels of testosterone and mixed up in a money laundering scandal.
Sonnen has been rather flippant in his approach toward tomorrow’s bout, telling USA Today:
“This is the most unsophisticated and un-well-thought-out thing you need to do in life. Two half-naked men are going to get into a steel cage and fight for the applause of a drunken, rowdy crowd. … We don’t need to plan for this.”
But while Sonnen may not be so inclined to planning ahead, MMA fans should be, at least in so far as making sure they catch all the championship-caliber action at UFC 136.
So you’re ready to watch UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, but you want to up the stakes a little bit, make the viewing experience more interesting. You also just so happen to be in a town where gambling is legal, like, say, Las Vegas.Maybe you’ve been there…
So you’re ready to watch UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, but you want to up the stakes a little bit, make the viewing experience more interesting. You also just so happen to be in a town where gambling is legal, like, say, Las Vegas.
Maybe you’ve been there all week, trying to recoup the money you blew on a bet that Victor Ortiz would knockout Floyd Mayweather with his mouth guard.
We’ve all been there. Mistakes have been made.
Anyhow, you’re trying to place some solid bets but you have no idea who or what to wager on. If you’re lookin’ for some easy money, you’d be well advised to plunk down some cash on these terrors of the Octagon.
Jon Jones
You know a guy is special when he has Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-8, 7-2 UFC), the former UFC light heavyweight champion, looking like a chump on paper and at the casino.
Jon “Bones” Jones (13-1, 7-1 UFC) is the best mixed martial artist this side of Anderson Silva‘s left foot and it’s not even close. At 24 years of age, Jones is nine years Jackson’s junior, but might as well be that many years senior with the whoopin’ he’s about to administer.
Jones is a physically dominant specimen in the Octagon, a guy whose reach is so ridiculously long that he’s hardly ever hit the cage fence while in poor position.
And that’s not to mention his incredible agility and athleticism, his masterful skill in just about every facet of fighting and his devastatingly deceptive strength.
Jackson’s only hope, aside from rekindling the spirit of Mr. T, is to survive the onslaught and hope to land one or two powerful hits at opportune times in important places.
In other words, Jackson’s got no shot.
Josh Koscheck
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Josh Koscheck (15-5, 13-5 UFC) isn’t exactly in ideal shape in the world of MMA after being thoroughly dominated by Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124.
But he’s waaaay better off than Matt Hughes (45-8, 18-6 UFC), who suffered an embarrassing knockout in his last fight out against B.J. Penn, just 21 seconds into the first round of their fight at UFC 123.
Hughes is all about the ground-and-pound but, at 37, is no longer the hulking dynamo he once was.
At least not enough of one to overcome the more versatile and athletic Kos, who will put Hughes to shame with his stand-up game before subjecting the veteran and fan favorite to a bitter taste of his own medicine on the mat.
Travis Browne
It’s not every day that you see a guy who’s 6’7″ and 250 pounds putting on moves and packing punches in a fighting arena.
Then again, it’s not every day that you come across a fighter as physically imposing as Travis Browne (11-0-1, 2-0-1 UFC). “Hapa” is just entering his prime and is still improving his footwork, adding a touch of swift movement behind his deadly punch.
The big Brit will look like a dwarf next to Browne, just long enough for everyone to get a good, quick look before Hapa knocks him out cold within the first two or three minutes of the fight.
After demolishing Yushin Okami at UFC 134, Anderson Silva will be turning his attention to the next star to be challenging for his UFC Middleweight title. With 15 straight victories, there is no doubt that Silva is the best in the business, and his nex…
After demolishing Yushin Okami at UFC 134, Anderson Silva will be turning his attention to the next star to be challenging for his UFC Middleweight title.
With 15 straight victories, there is no doubt that Silva is the best in the business, and his next opponent will be just a speed bump in the tenure of the longest-reigning champion in UFC history.
There is no word on who is next for the Brazilian champion, but expect one of these three gentlemen to be the next in line to challenge for Silva’s belt.
And lose.
Michael Bisping: With only three loses to some of the toughest fighters ever, Bisping has 20 victories and deserves a shot to show that he can stand toe to toe with the champion Anderson Silva.
Bisping is the kind of star that has enough experience and confidence not to be shaken by Silva’s name, but he will still get knocked out by a much better striker than Bisping has ever faced.
Brian Stann: The most likely opponent for Silva will be one of the next two names, and Brian Stann looks to be in the best position to take the opportunity and advance to fight Silva. If Stann beats Chael Sonnen on October 8 at UFC 136, he will be ready to fight Silva next.
Stann is a former US soldier, and no matter where he goes in the United States he has the crowd support, but Silva doesn’t care what the crowd thinks when he is knocking out their favorite fighter.
Chael Sonnen: Just like Brian Stann, Chael Sonnen has the opportunity to propel himself into title contention with a big victory at the UFC 136 show in Houston Texas.
While Sonnen is a great fighter, he doesn’t have the ability to stand with Stann, and he proved in his loss to Anderson Silva that he can’t stand with the best in the division either. Stann deserves to win and would be the much better fight for Silva
If you haven’t heard much talk about 