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MMAFIX 2013-02-26 12:56:55

Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann The Axe Murderer needs to take this fight into deep water, but Stann is know for quick fights. Wandy’s chin has been in question for awhile, and it.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann

The Axe Murderer needs to take this fight into deep water, but Stann is know for quick fights. Wandy’s chin has been in question for awhile, and it doesn’t help that he is facing someone so heavily handed. Silva has the cardio to go a full five rounds, but on the flip side, five rounds is more than enough time for Stann to land that finishing blow. Chances are the two will stand toe to toe, so between Stann’s solid chin and Wandy‘s wide punches, this is a match that Stann should come out the victor.

Pick : Brian Stann

Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve

Struve has an unusual ability to come back to win the fight after taking a brutal beating. His striking and Jiu-Jitsu makes him the more diverse fighter of the two, but he has a tendency to let powerful strikers bully him. Junior dos Santos, Roy Nelson and Stipe Miocic were all able to get inside Struve’s long reach and land damaging shots to the head and body. Although he came back and pounded out Miocic in the second round, Struve won’t finish Hunt so easily. Not too many fighters have a chin anywhere close as good as Hunt. As he proved in his bout with Cheick Kongo, when he hurts his opponent, he doesn’t let them recover. As a tall, lanky fighter, Struve won’t possess the physical strength to stop Hunt’s onslaught. His last resort will be his Jiu-Jitsu, but Hunt has been submitted by fighters like Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem, and Gegard Mousasi. He was submitted by Sean McCorkle, but McCorkle is an enormous heavyweight with one of the best guards for his weight class. Bottom line, Struve doesn’t have what it takes on the feet or on the ground to stop or out score Hunt. Hunt will bully him early and get the finish in the same fashion he finished Kongo.

Pick : Mark Hunt

Takanori Gomi vs. Diego Sanchez

Sanchez has been sidelined due to injury, so there’s no telling how his training has been going. I’d like to think a fighter with Sanchez’s aggression and pace will get right back on the horse, and fight just like he always has in the past, but no one can say for sure. Gomi has been on the downside of his career, and has shown little success in the octagon, but fighting in front of the Japanese crowd might light a fire under his ass. Even if it does, unless if the Dream’s ring rust is the worst we’ve ever seen, he should over power Gomi. He will have the better strinking and grappling, and be the more aggressive fighter.

Pick : Diego Sanchez

Hector Lombard vs. Yushin Okami

Okami showed good ground control in his fight with Alan Belcher, but he left openings for Belcher to counter. Luckily for him, Belcher was unable to capitalize with his striking or submission attempts. Against a powerful fighter like Lombard, Okami won’t be so lucky. Not only will Okami have a difficult time taking the Judo black belt down, but he’ll have to worry about defending the takedown as well. As proficient a wrestler as Tim Boetsch is, Lombard make taking him down look easy. These potential problems may cause Okami to be frantic, which will allow Lombard to open up with a flurry of punches, and we’ve seen the damage he can do when he fought Rousimar Palhares.

Pick : Hector Lombard

Mizuto Hirota vs. Rani Yahya

Hirota isn’t beating Yahya on the ground, period. He showed some solid boxing in his fight with Pat Healy, but Hirota won’t prevent Yahya from taking him down. Josh Grispi tried keeping the fight on the feet when he fought Yahya, and was successful for about a minute. If Hirota had exceptional footwork, boxing skills, or wrestling; then maybe he could prevent the takedown, but that’s not the case.

Pick : Rani Yahya

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Siyar Bahadurzada

I was dead wrong when I thought Paulo Thiago would be able to get Bahadurzada to the ground and control him. Like Thiago, Kim is primarily a grappler, and one who is most effective while in top position. Bahadurzada has knocked out his last five opponents, and since Kim isn’t exactly a threat on the feet, he will most likely face the same. Get ready for a déjà vu of when Kim fought Carlos Condit.

Pick : Siyar Bahadurzada

Quick Picks

Riki Fukuda < Brad Tavares

Takeya Mizugaki > Bryan Caraway

Cristiano Marcello > Kazuki Tokudome

Alex Caceres < Kyung Ho Kang

Marcelo Guimaraes > Hyun Gyu Lim

– Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

@FightFreek

UFC on FUEL TV 8 Prediction Video

20 Random Statistics About the UFC

Who doesn’t love random statistics, especially those about MMA? These statistics are based on the bouts that take place between UFC 21 and UFC 157. All fights prior to were not considered, because UFC 21 marked the adoption of the 10-point must system, as well as other significant rule changes that reflect modern day MMA.

This poll separates striking and Jiu-Jitsu, so any fights that have ended by submission due to strikes, goes down as a TKO win.

1.) 41% of all UFC bouts have gone to a decision.

2.) 35% of all UFC bouts have ended via Knockout/ TKO.

3.) 24% of all UFC bouts have ended via submission.

4.) One-third of all submission wins have come via Rear Naked Choke.

5.) The 2nd most common submission is the Guillotine ( 18% ).

6.) The 3rd most common submission is the Armbar ( 15% ).

7.) Chokes make up 72% of all submission wins.

8.) 13 bouts have been declared a No Contest, either by the ref, or were later overturned by the State Athletic Commission.

9.) 11 bouts were declared a draw.

10.) 7 fights have ended via disqualification.

11.) Rousimar Palhares holds 20% of all leg lock submission victories.

12.) 7 fights have ended in the fourth round.

13.) 20 fights have been stopped in between rounds.

14.) There have been 42 split decisions.

15.) 7 fights were finished via slam.

16.) 26 fights were finished via head kick (including those that have had several follow up punches before the fight was stopped).

17.) There have been 8 trilogies in the UFC.

18.) The Tito Ortiz / Ken Shamrock trilogy is the only trilogy to have the same winner every time

19.) Randy Couture hold most victories over former UFC champions with 7.

20.) In a title fight with a defending champion, the champion retains their title 71% of the time.

– Ryan “FightFreek” Poli

@FightFreek

The Streak Lives on

Seven first round wins all by the same method. No one in UFC history, probably MMA history, has ever accomplished this. Liz Carmouche put up one hell of a fight, but in the end, she.

Seven first round wins all by the same method. No one in UFC history, probably MMA history, has ever accomplished this. Liz Carmouche put up one hell of a fight, but in the end, she faced the same fate as the rest of Rousey’s opponents.

There was a bit of a slugfest early in the fight, with neither really getting the best of the strikes. When they two came together, Rousey immediately looked for a takedown. Quickly getting the fight to the ground, she took side control, but Carmouche rolled out and mounted the champ for a brief moment before more scrambling occurred. This time, the Rousey found her opponent on her back seeking the rear naked. Carmouche couldn’t get under the chin of the champ, so instead went for a neck crank that had everyone watching on the edge of their seats.

In a nail biting struggle, Rousey eventually shrugged of the submission attempt, got the fight back to the canvas, and worked to side control again. The former Marine gave a valid effort to roll out of side control like before, but the barrage of punches to the face was only making it more difficult. Carmouche took the chance to buck out when Rousey looked like she was going for an arm triangle choke, but in the brief scramble, Carmouche then found herself defending an armbar. As we all know, never a good position to be in with Rousey.

Showing her heart and determination, Carmouche defended well. She even showed the dexterity of her legs by using them to help defend against the armbar attempt. Despite superb submission defense, the champion was able to pry her opponent’s hands apart and force the tap.

This win marked the third consecutive victory over an elite female opponent, non of which that could even make it to the second round. It’s unclear as to whom could possibly challenge Rousey for her title at this time, but one thing can be said for sure; Ronda Rousey is as dominate a champion as any.

– Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

@FightFreek

UFC 157 Staff Picks : Dissension at it’s Finest

What would you call two co workers who make predictions, and agree in every fight? Boring that what. Well luckily there’s more dissension between MMAfix.com writers, Josh Leduc and Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli. They agree on the majority of the fights, but there are two bouts in which neither can persuade the other to see it their way.

Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson

Josh’s thoughts : Machida may have knocked out Randy Couture and Ryan Bader, but Henderson is more of a threat on the feet, and has yet to be knocked out in his career. Machida’s skill of being elusive will back fire when Hendo is constantly seeking a knockout and keeping the pressure on. The judges will view it as Machida running like a b*tch and award Henderson the fight. Then again there’s always the chance that he can land the H-Bomb before the fight ends.

Pick : Dan Henderson

Ryan’s thoughts : Machida has a good track record against strong wrestlers. Rashad Evans, Randy Couture and Ryan Bader have all been KO’d by the Dragon. Henderson has the power to threaten on the feet, but his actual striking skill isn’t nearly on the same level as Machida. The Dragon should have any issue using his precision like counter striking to win a decision.

Pick : Lyoto Machida

Sam Stout vs. Caros Fodor

Josh’s thoughts : Stout’s nickname is “hands of stone” for a reason, and he also has a chin of stone. Combine that with his high level of striking, and you have a recipe for victory. If he ever feels uncomfortable on the feet, he’s more than capable in taking his opponent down, as we’ve seen in his third fight with Spencer Fisher.

Pick : Sam Stout

Ryan’s thoughts : Stout has looked mediocre in his last three fights, and could only muster up a win over the no longer significant Spenser Fisher. In his amateur career, Fodor was a champion in MMA and Muay Thai. He also trains with Matt Hume, so we know his grappling is up to par, and will most likely have the advantage on the ground. As he proved in his fight with Justin Wilcox, Fodor can end a fight fast and early. I don’t expect Stout to come into this fight any better than he did in his last three.

Pick : Caros Fodor

Here’s a recap of the fights we agree on, and our picks.

Ronda Rousey > Liz Carmouche

Urijah Faber > Ivan Menjivar

Josh Koscheck > Robbie Lawler

Brendan Schaub < Lavar Johnson

Michael Chiesa > Anton Kuivanen

Court McGee > Josh Neer

Dennis Bermudez > Matt Grice

Kenny Robertson < Brock Jardine

Jon Manley > Neil Magny

Nah-Shon Burrell < Yuri Villefort

– Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

@FightFreek

Wise Pick Backfires on Team Jones

The TUF season isn’t over, but Kelvin Gastelum and “Bubba” McDaniel may have guaranteed $25,000 in their pockets for fight of the season. A fight that had a plethora of back and forth sweeps, also saw an heavy favorite tap to the underdog. Despite having a significant experience and striking disadvantage, Team Sonnen was confident that Gastelum would surprise Team Jones with an upset.

More than likely, the majority of fans expected Bubba to pick apart Gastelum on the feet, and counter strike every time he came forward. However, that not at all what happened. It was an extremely competitive first round, both on the feet, and on the ground. Gastelum always initiated the takedown, but several time Bubba was able to sit up and reverse the position, giving him top control. Again though, Gastelum would scramble and find himself on top. The round ended with Gastelum landing punches on top, which may have been enough for the judges to score it in his favor. However, I can see Bubba getting the round due to the time he had back control. Either way, extremely close round.

With the uncertainty of who took round one, both fighters came out with a sense of urgency. They exchanged leg kicks and again, the fight went to the ground. Gastelum dropped back for a guillotine choke, but Bubba escaped and took top control. You could hear the constant shouts from Sonnen for Gastelum to improve his position after putting himself in such a compromising one. He did just that, and took the back of Bubba. It wasn’t long before Gastelum sunk in a deep rear naked choke, and forced the tap.

Team Sonnen regains control, and I guarantee in Gastelum’s next fight he won’t be taken so lightly. After a victory over one of the more promising and experienced competitors, he’ll have all the fighters looking at Gastelum as a serious contender.

This TUF season has easily been one of the more exciting seasons. To keep the excitement going, next week’s fight will feature the bout between Team Sonnen’s, Tor Troeng, and Team Jones’, Josh Samman. If Team Jones wants to have a fighting chance, Samman will need to secure a victory one way or another.

– Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

@FightFreek