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Rousey vs. Kaufman Predictions: Rowdy Will Squeak by in Strikeforce Main Event

American female mixed martial artist Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey will retain her Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title on Saturday night in San Diego, but it won’t be easy.In fact, Rousey will just barely squeak by her championship challenger, Canadian Sarah…

American female mixed martial artist Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey will retain her Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title on Saturday night in San Diego, but it won’t be easy.

In fact, Rousey will just barely squeak by her championship challenger, Canadian Sarah Kaufman.

Kaufman has been dominating inside the cage for much longer than Rousey, and she will give the hometown fighter everything she can handle this weekend.

Rousey is currently the No. 1-ranked female fighter in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings. But Kaufman is No. 2, and 15-1 during her fighting career, falling only once to an armbar in October 2010.

Oddly enough, Rousey, who is 5-0 during her brief career, has ended every single one of her fights in the first round with an armbar.

With that said, I expect Rousey to move to 6-0 via a submission victory over Kaufman on Saturday night, but in a grueling, multiple-round bout rather then a 30-second highlight.

After a series of lightning-quick fights to begin her career, Rousey was finally forced to deal with some adversity against then-bantamweight champ Miesha Tate last March.

Tate and Rousey battled for nearly four-and-a-half minutes before Rousey landed what has become her signature armbar.

Although her bout with Tate didn’t make it past the first round, none of her previous four fights had even lasted a minute, proving that Rousey had yet to really be tested.

That’s exactly why Kaufman will push Rousey harder than she has ever been pushed inside the cage this weekend. Kaufman’s experience in fights that go the distance will force Rousey out of her comfort zone and into an unfamiliar state of fatigue.

Again, Rousey will keep her Strikeforce title. It’s hard to see this fight shaping up any other way. But don’t expect it to be over in the first round like so many of Rousey’s other bouts.

Kaufman has accomplished much more than Rousey in the sport and demands to be respected up until she is defeated.

Rousey is too dominant to lose, and that’s why she will just squeak by in Saturday’s Strikeforce main event.

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UFC 149: Renan Barao and Fighters Who Added Excitement to Lackluster Event

Renan Barao brought some rare excitement to a lackluster UFC 149 on Saturday night in Calgary. Barao’s unanimous decision victory over Urijah Faber provided fans with a first look at a legitimate bantamweight contender, and what he is capable of d…

Renan Barao brought some rare excitement to a lackluster UFC 149 on Saturday night in Calgary.

Barao’s unanimous decision victory over Urijah Faber provided fans with a first look at a legitimate bantamweight contender, and what he is capable of doing against the best in mixed martial arts.

In an event that was less than anticipated, a handful of fighters rose up to the challenge of adding some excitement to UFC 149.

Let’s take a look.

Matt Riddle

American welterweight Matt Riddle ran his record to 7-3 on Saturday night, taking out Chris Clements via submission with a third round arm triangle. The 26-year-old has an entertaining fighting style with plenty of potential, and fans who tuned in on Saturday witnessed it.

Riddle looks to become more of a serious threat to the division in the future, and there’s no reason why he can’t. Wins against tough competition at big events like UFC 149 can do wonders for a fighter’s confidence. Riddle’s exciting result over Clements certainly stood out at an underwhelming event.

Renan Barao

The 25-year-old Brazilian overcame one of the world’s best bantamweight brawlers, Urijah Faber on Saturday night, outlasting The California Kid through five rounds to take a decision. Barao has now won his last 29 fights, and is next in line to claim the true division championship.

Although Barao could have provided some buzz for UFC 149 with a knockout of Faber, his opponent was having nothing of the sort. Faber fought a solid fight and Barao went for it all despite it being just his first title fight. Barao deserves a great deal of respect for the courage he demonstrated and the entertainment he provided fans this past weekend.

Ryan Jimmo

Canadian fighter Ryan Jimmo ignited the prelims with a knockout of Anthony Perosh that came just seven seconds into the fight. Although knockouts happen all the time in mixed martial arts, whenever they happen this early fans are shocked. If this had been a title fight then we would be mightily disappointed, but it was a build-up bout, and it provided the perfect warm up to the main event which was lacking in shock factor.

Jimmo’s nickname is “Big Deal,” and after Saturday night’s first round fireworks it’s not hard to see why. If the 30-year-old can continue to annihilate the competition in less than 10 seconds then he will be headed to the main card in no time.

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Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: The Spider’s Victory Sends Strong Message

Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s impressive beatdown of Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 Saturday night in Las Vegas sent a strong message to the rest of the mixed martial arts world. The Spider’s win signaled that he remains the best pound-for-pound fighter …

Anderson “The Spider” Silva‘s impressive beatdown of Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 Saturday night in Las Vegas sent a strong message to the rest of the mixed martial arts world.

The Spider’s win signaled that he remains the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA and that he is here to stay.

Silva (32-4) ended Sonnen’s (27-12-1) hopes of avenging his heartbreaking loss to The Spider two summers ago when he landed a crushing knee to Sonnen’s chest in the second round. Silva would then pounce and end the fight via TKO.

It’s not so much that Silva won as it is about how Silva won this past weekend that sends the strongest message to future challengers. Sure, the 37-year-old extended his winning streak to 16 fights and remains a flawless 15-0 in the UFC, but it was his crippling execution against a scorching-hot Sonnen that proved most stunning.

Silva made Sonnen pay for his poorly-timed spinning backfist in the second round. He showed that possessing a powerful takedown game is absolutely crucial to surviving the UFC middleweight champion.

Despite his age and all of his bumps and bruises from years of competition, Silva remains arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. He has matured superbly over the years and is capable of winning a fight in any fashion. Silva has 19 knockout wins, six submission victories and seven wins via decision.

It’s outright scary just how confident and versatile Silva is right now. He’s defended his title successfully 10 times in a row now and looks to be the class of the UFC. Even more impressive, though, not a single one of his victories have been clouded in controversy.

There is no denying how great Anderson Silva is and that what we are watching comes around once in a generation or so. Silva’s victory at UFC 148 sent a strong message to the rest of the mixed martial arts world, one that will be heard for some time.

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Chael Sonnen: Middleweight Challenger Will Fall to Anderson Silva at UFC 148

UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen will fall to Anderson Silva at UFC 148 in what will be his second missed attempt to steal the division crown from Silva.The two fighters will meet July 7 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand to decide who walks a…

UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen will fall to Anderson Silva at UFC 148 in what will be his second missed attempt to steal the division crown from Silva.

The two fighters will meet July 7 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand to decide who walks away with the UFC middleweight championship in hand, and who goes home with plenty of questions to be answered.

Sonnen and Silva met nearly two years ago in August 2010 at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif. Sonnen had Silva right where he wanted him before getting lured into a triangle armbar in the fifth round to lose the championship fight via submission.

Sonnen has made believers out of many, winning his last two fights since the loss to Silva, but meanwhile, his opponent is 14-0 since making his UFC debut in 2006. Silva has defended his middleweight title nine times since he claimed it almost six years ago.

Silva, 37, is fighting on another level and has been since he came to the UFC. Sonnen is a tough fighter and a legitimate challenger in the middleweight division, but his last five losses have all come via submission, showing a glaring weakness in his game.

Silva feasted off Sonnen’s defensive shortcomings in the first meeting at UFC 117, and he’ll do the same when both men meet again this summer.

Silva has only had two of his 14 career UFC fights go to a decision. His knockout power is no joke, and if he doesn’t put Sonnen to sleep on July 7, he will find a way to put him in a compromising position where he is forced to tap.

There is a reason why Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and on July 7 against Chael Sonnen, he’ll prove it once again.

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Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida: The Carpenter’s Game Plan Ruins UFC Main Event

Clay Guida’s (29-13) game plan against Gray Maynard (11-1-1, 1 NC) at Friday night’s UFC on FX was something of a disgrace, and effectively ruined the night’s main event. The fight went all five rounds in part because Guida never showed any desire…

Clay Guida’s (29-13) game plan against Gray Maynard (11-1-1, 1 NC) at Friday night’s UFC on FX was something of a disgrace, and effectively ruined the night’s main event.

The fight went all five rounds in part because Guida never showed any desire to engage Maynard, but instead looked to avoid him at all costs.

In the end, it was Maynard walking away with a split decision win (48-47, 47-48, 48-47).

UFC President Dana White was arguably more upset over Guida’s strategy than anyone in attendance at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday night:

“Nobody can win or lose a fight when a guy is running around in circles, [Guida] was literally running. I had some guys, some fans on Twitter who were saying ‘great footwork.’ This isn’t f—ing “Dancing With the Stars,” you know what I mean?” – via ESPN.com

White makes a great point, though, no matter how harsh he is in his assessment of the bout.

Guida was content to change who he is inside the cage on Friday night, and abandon the heroic style of fighting that earned him so much respect from the fans and his peers.

The Carpenter has now lost two decisions in a row and has plenty to prove in his next outing. Maynard was without question the more deserving fighter in Friday night’s main event, electing to attack and be the aggressor in a sport that demands both men do so.

Maynard vs. Guida had the potential to advance the UFC and to capture a wide audience, but Friday night’s presentation fell flat thanks to Guida’s game plan.

Who knows what the UFC veteran had planned before the fight, but the end product of Guida’s preparation was well below even average expectations. Guida’s normally fearless style inside the Octagon has made him who he is, but on Friday night it was a strategy built on fear that led to his demise.

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Dos Santos vs. Mir Results: Highlighting the Biggest Moments from Each Fight

Bring on who’s next.UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos capped off UFC 146 with an impressive TKO win over Frank Mir in a style that suggests taking the belt from the Brazilian brawler will be near impossible.Dos Santos made mincemeat of former …

Bring on who’s next.

UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos capped off UFC 146 with an impressive TKO win over Frank Mir in a style that suggests taking the belt from the Brazilian brawler will be near impossible.

Dos Santos made mincemeat of former champ Cain Velasquez last November to earn the heavyweight title, and now looks poised to retain it for a long, long time.

The champ’s strong boxing arsenal proved too much to handle for Velasquez months back, and on Saturday night former heavyweight title-holder Frank Mir was simply no match.

Here are the rest of the results from UFC 146:

Junior dos Santos Defeats Frank Mir

Although it was a powerful right-hand shot from Dos Santos in the second round that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight, the heavyweight champion’s first-round flurry may have sealed the deal.

Cain Velasquez Defeats Antonio Silva

Former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez sent a brutal message to the rest of the division on Saturday night with a bloody TKO win over Antonio Silva. Velasquez dominated on the ground with his elbows and gloves.

Roy Nelson Defeats Dave Herman

Big Country needed no more than a minute to get his swagger back with a swing-for-the-fences KO of Dave Herman 51 seconds into the fight.

Stipe Miocic Defeats Shane del Rosario

In a battle of undefeated fighters, Stipe Miocic took advantage of second-round blood to put the finishing touches on Shane del Rosario.

Stefan Struve Defeats Lavar Johnson

Stefan Struve was able to put Lavar Johnson in a wicked armbar and submit him around one minute into the first round.

Darren Elkins Defeats Diego Brandao

Diego Brandao essentially ran out of gas late against Darren Elkins and dropped a close, well-fought match that ended via unanimous decision.

Jamie Varner Defeats Edson Barboza

Jamie Varner connected on a solid punch to the head of Edson Barboza, knocking him down and pouncing to earn an impressive TKO win.

C.B. Dollaway Defeats Jason Miller

C.B. Dollaway dictated the style of his fight against Jason Miller and worked him on the mat to take a unanimous decision win.

Dan Hardy Defeats Duane Ludwig

A brutal left hook to the chin of Duane Ludwig was all it took for Dan Hardy to earn a KO victory in the first round on Saturday night.

Mike Brown Defeats Daniel Pineda

Mike Brown overwhelmed Daniel Pineda on the ground with his strength and essentially grounded out a unanimous-decision victory.

Glover Teixeira Defeats Kyle Kingsbury

Hyped-up fighting talent Glover Teixeira dropped Kyle Kingsbury to the mat and ended the fight thanks to an arm triangle in the first round.

Paul Sass Defeats Jacob Volkmann

Paul Sass went to his go-to arm triangle in the first round and it worked flawlessly as he submitted Jacob Volkmann quickly.

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