Tag: Dong Hyun Kim

UFC 148 Post Fight Breakdown

Anderson Silva v Chael Sonnen In one of the most hyped fights in UFC history, middleweight champion Anderson Silva once again defended his title against Chael Sonnen. For one round, it looked like we may.

Anderson Silva v Chael Sonnen

In one of the most hyped fights in UFC history, middleweight champion Anderson Silva once again defended his title against Chael Sonnen. For one round, it looked like we may have been witnessing a replay of their first fight. Sonnen came out and immediately landed a takedown. Just like the first fight, he proceeded to land his particular brand of annoying but not very damaging ground and pound. He managed to move to mount by the end of the round but was only able to land a few shoulder strikes after moving into the dominant position. Sonnen started the second round exactly the same way. He pushed Silva against the cage and worked for the takedown. But this time Silva was able to do what he was unable to do in the first fight. He defended the takedown and managed to get separation from Sonnen. Upon separating, Silva did some showboating. With his arms by his sides, he popped Sonnen with a quick right. Sonnen countered with a left that seemed to hurt Silva just enough to make him angry. Silva pushed forward with aggression rarely seen in his UFC title run. He didn’t land anything cleanly but his forward push put Sonnen off balance. And then for a reason no one will ever understand, olympic caliber wrestler Chael Sonnen decided to throw a backyard fight club style spinning back fist that resulted in him sitting on his butt against the cage seemingly unsure of what to do. Silva wan’t unsure and threw a knee to the body of his seated opponent. He then attacked with punches. Sonnen eventually stood up. But a right hand to the chin put him back down and he would not get up again.

Silva never landed the flashy strike that I’m sure he envisioned in training but he did enough to establish that Sonnen does not belong in the same cage with him. Once again, Sonnen showed that he panics when he senses danger and instead of going through the proper progression of defensive techniques, he puts himself in a position to be finished. He was basically running away when he threw the back fist and when he hit the ground, he just sat there and waited for Silva to attack. He didn’t seem to have changed anything about his gameplan and that simply was not going to be enough to win the fight. Anderson Silva is one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet and he doesn’t currently have a legitimate contender in his division. Alan Belcher, Michael Bisping and Brian Stann are the names currently being discussed in the title picture and none of them look like a serious threat. Hector Lombard looms in the background but he needs at least one solid UFC victory before he can be considered a serious contender. So for now, Silva remains the undisputed king of the 185 pound division. Sonnen drops back down in the rankings and I don’t see a reason for him to ever get another shot at Silva unless he absolutely cleans out every other contender in the division, which seems unlikely.

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz

The third match in this trilogy between former light heavyweight champions proved to be the clear fight of the night as Griffin slugged his way to a hard fought decision victory over Ortiz. Ortiz managed to land a couple of takedowns in the first round but was not able to keep Griffin down or do any damage and when the fight was standing, Griffin out landed Ortiz by a wide margin. The second round started with Ortiz dropping Griffin with a right hand but after that, Griffin once again dominated the rest of the round. The third round was the only one that I scored for Ortiz as he once again dropped Griffin, this time with the left hand. From there he was able to get a takedown and control the fight for the majority of the round. Once Griffin got back to his feet, he controlled the striking just as he did in the first two rounds but it wasn’t enough to win back the round. As much as I would have loved to score this fight in favor of Ortiz, the striking statistics made it obvious that Griffin was the clear winner. Ortiz actually landed the bigger power punches but the volume of Griffin’s strikes was overwhelming and he deserved to have his hand raised.
For Ortiz, I can’t imagine a better way to leave the sport regardless of the outcome. He slugged it out with another hall of famer for three exciting rounds and went out on his sword. He never gave in to the relentless pressure and had Griffin in danger several times. This trilogy is one of the better ones in MMA history thus far with all three fights going to a decision and being relatively close. Ortiz has been a polarizing figure throughout his MMA career but last night, he gave the fans a great way to remember him.


Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote

Cung Le proved that he isn’t done yet in the UFC middleweight division with a convincing victory over Patrick Cote. Cote simply could not figure out Le’s trademark san shou style as Le battered him with kicks and punches. Cote stayed in the fight and landed several power shots of his own but was never able to put Le in danger and was unable to cope with the volume and variety of strikes coming from his opponent. The fight was close through most of the first round with both fighters landing and Cote being the aggressor. But after taking several shots, Cote started to back off and that was the recipe for his defeat. When he relented, he allowed Le to find his range and from that point on, Le controlled the fight. By the middle of the second round, he was beginning to dominate using his full arsenal of kick and punch combinations. When the third round started, the outcome of the fight was not in doubt and Le continued his assault battering Cote all around the cage. He even landed a takedown at the end of the round. Cote was game but was outclassed throughout the majority of the fight and could not find a home for his powerful right hand. For Cote, this could mean a quick exit from the UFC. He will probably get one more fight and will need to win that if he hopes to stay in the big show. For Le, this puts him back in the hunt in the middle of the 185 lb division. He will likely see another step up in competition but at age forty, he likely doesn’t have much time left to compete at the highest level. He seemed to tire late in this fight but Cote didn’t have the skill set to take advantage of it. Against higher level competition, that will likely be a bigger issue.

Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim

What could have been an entertaining fight ended in the first minute due to injury when Kim appeared to suffer a broken rib on a routine takedown by Maia. What we did learn in this fight is that Maia looked great at 170 lbs. Kim is one of the larger fighters in the division and Maia looked just as big so instead of being one of the smaller middleweights, he’ll now be one of the bigger welterweights. We also learned that Maia wasn’t just talking when he said he was going back to his jiu-jitsu routes. He wasted no time in attempting a single leg takedown and quickly transitioned to Kim’s back. He was relentless and appeared to be gaining a dominant position before Kim suffered his injury. We’ll never know how the fight would have ended had it been able to continue but Maia had the early advantage. From here, Maia will likely get to step up in competition due to his name and Kim will likely continue to tread water in the middle of the division until he gets another opportunity against a high level fighter. Ideally, a rematch would be possible. But that seems unlikely considering the timeline on Kim’s recovery and the UFC’s probable eagerness to move Maia up the welterweight ranks.

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

This fight was an obvious mismatch on paper and proved to be even more of a mismatch in the cage. McKenzie threw a sloppy kick to open the fight, Mendes caught it, countered with a right to the body and ended the fight. McKenzie’s run on the Ultimate Fighter based entirely on the novelty of his modified guillotine was fun but he clearly doesn’t have the technique or athleticism to seriously compete in the featherweight division. On the opposite end of that featherweight spectrum is Mendes who is still one of the best in the world at 145 lbs despite his title fight loss to Jose Aldo. Mendes should see a return to fighting against top tier competition in his next fight while McKenzie will likely spend the next year or so struggling to stay in the UFC. The unfortunate part about mismatches like this is that we don’t really learn anything about either fighter and neither fighter really has a chance to grow. But for Mendes, this at least puts another finish on his record and hopefully he can carry the momentum from such a dominating performance into his next fight.

Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton

In the opening fight of the UFC 148 main card, Mike Easton and Ivan Menjivar struck their way to a close three round decision. Neither fighter ever gained a significant advantage and neither fighter was ever in any danger of being finished. The difference in the fight proved to be Easton’s relentless pressure and forward movement. Menjivar seemed to have the cleaner technique early in the fight and was able to initially avoid most of Easton’s power shots while countering with his own. But as the fight progressed, Easton’s leg kicks and body shots started to take effect and Menjivar’s movement slowed significantly compared to the first round. By the third round, Easton began to take a clear advantage and was obviously the fresher fighter. He landed several several power strikes and scored a takedown when Menjivar attempted a spinning back kick. I was surprised to see two of the judges score all three rounds for Easton as I thought the fight was closer than that. I gave Menjivar the first round and had him ahead in the second round until Easton stole it at the end. But the third was clearly in favor of Easton and he deserved the victory. He will see a step up in competition but if he wants to progress in the bantamweight division, he will need to continue to improve as both of his recent victories have been close decisions. At this point in his career, Menjivar is who he is as a fighter. He will continue to provide entertaining fights and should serve as an effective gatekeeper at 135 lbs.

UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen 2 — Live Results & Commentary


(Right before this picture was taken, Chael asked Anderson to smell his finger. And yes, it smelled like steak sauce. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more from this set, click here.)

UFC 148 goes down this evening at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and the stakes have never been higher — either Anderson Silva‘s historic middleweight title reign comes to an abrupt end, or all of Chael Sonnen’s limbs and teeth are about to be broken. Either way, we’re in for an interesting night.

Also on the card: Tito Ortiz bids us farewell with a rubber-match against his old buddy Forrest Griffin, Demian Maia makes his welterweight debut against Dong Hyun Kim, and Cung Le tries to rebound against the returning Patrick Cote.

Live round-by-round results from the “Silva vs. Sonnen 2” pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Elias Cepeda. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please toss in your own two cents in the comments section.


(Right before this picture was taken, Chael asked Anderson to smell his finger. And yes, it smelled like steak sauce. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more from this set, click here.)

UFC 148 goes down this evening at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and the stakes have never been higher — either Anderson Silva‘s historic middleweight title reign comes to an abrupt end, or all of Chael Sonnen’s limbs and teeth are about to be broken. Either way, we’re in for an interesting night.

Also on the card: Tito Ortiz bids us farewell with a rubber-match against his old buddy Forrest Griffin, Demian Maia makes his welterweight debut against Dong Hyun Kim, and Cung Le tries to rebound against the returning Patrick Cote.

Live round-by-round results from the “Silva vs. Sonnen 2″ pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Elias Cepeda. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please toss in your own two cents in the comments section.

We are live, ‘tater nation! The main card for the biggest card since for ever since is underway.

Mike Easton vs. Ivan Menvijar

Rd 1

Easton takes the center of the ring and is moving in and out, bouncing up and down while incorporating lots of head movement early. Glancing leg kick and jab from Easton. Menjivar lands a rear leg kick, swings and misses with a head kick. Menjivar misses on an over hand right. Easton throws a punch combo, misses, Ivan misses with a spinning back fist.

The, overhand right from Menjivar, countered by Easton swinging a right cross, left hook combo pattern repeats itself. Neither man has been able to connect solidly yet though. Easton lands a lead head kick that backs Menjivar up. Ivan appears to still have his legs under him, though, and continues his movement.

Ivan returns fire with a read head kick but Easton blocks it. Easton attempts but misses on a spinning back kick. Easton counters a punch from Menjivar with a cross. Easton starting to finish his combos with rear round house leg kicks. Menjivar using teeps to keep Easton at bay.

Ivan swings and misses with another overhand right, is countered by a right from Easton. Easton shoots for a take down with seconds left in the round but is stuffed. The horn sounds and we head into the 2nd.

 Rd 2

Easton with a switch kick with his left leg to the right side of Menjivar’s body. Lots of feints from Ivan, lots of head movement from Mike. The pair briefly get tied up in a head and arm clinch but soon separate. Easton throws a lead inside leg kick, Menjivar tries to counter but misses with another over hand right.

Easton throws another right cross, left hook combo and the left hook lands. Menjivar working straight front kicks to the knees of Easton. Nothing has landed too stiff yet though. Menjivar catches a right kick to the body from Easton and tries to kick sweep the other leg out from him but can’t move him.

Easton still taking the center of the cage most of the time, dictating the pace. Menjivar lands a right high kick. Easton looks unmoved. Easton blocks a left high kick. Under a minute left and Menjivar is moving to his left, Easton’s power side. Menjivar lands a right hook to the body.

Easton lands a body shot of his own. Easton has Menjivar backed against the cage and throws a flying knee that is blocked. Round ends. Fans boo. Plebians.

Rd 3

Joe Rogan comments that Easton is probably up on the scorecards based on his aggression and a slight edge in shots landed. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s probably right.

Easton is speeding it up, throwing more punch combos. They are not landing, but he’s swinging hard. Menjivar has yet to mount much of an offense yet this round either, but is pawing and measuring with the jab and looking to counter with punches. Menjivar throws a spinning back forearm but is blocked. Easton throws a left high kick that is blocked.

Menjivar throws a spinning side kick but misses as Easton changes levels and takes him down. Two and a half minutes left in the round and Easton has Ivan pinned against the cage in his full guard. Menjivar throws up an arm bar attempt but Easton quickly gets out.

Easton postures up from inside the full guard, Menjivar scrambles to his feet. Menjivar complains about something and referee Josh Rosenthal steps in momentarily but restarts the action with barely a moment’s delay.

A minute left and Menjivar  lands a right hand to Easton’s body. Easton fires back but misses. Easton tries a jumping switch kick or something and misses and falls to the ground. He gets right back up and tries a spinning kick.

The round ends and the fans boo again. Both fighters embrace, Easton raises his hands in victory. What do the judges think?

Two judges have it 30-27 for Easton and the third scores it 29-28. Mike Easton gets it done. Who cares if Antonio Esfandiari and his fellow hooligan Vegas crowd members liked it or not?

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

McKenzie has such a nasty guillotine, who cares if he pretends he invented it? He’s stepping up in level of competition for sure against Mendes. No matter how it goes down, you gotta hand it to the Alaska native McKenzie for truly looking like he’s from Alaska.

 Rd 1

McKenzie throws a few missed head kicks and then tries one to the body which Mendes catches and then lands a monster right punch to the body that drops his opponent to the mat, face-first. McKenzie has the wind knocked out of him, is turtled up and Mendes ends the fight with hammer fist strikes. Referee stoppage at thirty one seconds, Chad Mendes with the win.

Don Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia

Rd 1 

Kim throws a lead low kick and Maia shoots right in. He’s clinched up against the fence and quickly works to the back of Kim, first getting one hook in and then letting go and trying to suplex Kim. Maia keeps control of Kim as he moves him around the ring, trying to slam him backwards and then forward.

Maia gets the trip, slamming Kim’s head right on the edge of the cage. Maia gets mount and starts to rain down punches. Its clear that Kim is in pain and Maia stands up, raising his hands in victory. No protest from Kim, he’s done.

Maia beats Mendes for quickest stoppage of the night thus far with a TKO in 27 seconds. Wow. I guess 170 might be a good weight for Maia if he can rag doll someone like Kim.

Whoah, on second (or 10th) instant replay viewing, it looks like Kim jacked his arm up by posting on it as he was being taken down, ala Shogun vs. Coleman I.

Patrick Cote vs. Cung Le

Cote walks out to Hammer’s “Too legit to  2 (?)quit.” And he looks to be singing along the shit out of it, too. If Cung Le comes out to something from Vanilla Ice, I’m getting up and walking away…He does not. LiveBlog continues.

Rd 1

Cote paws a jab, throws a body kick, Cung catches it and kicks out Cote’s other leg out from under him. Cote sorta blocks a head kick. Cote seems eager to strike with Le. Cote pushing the pace, Le, countering with marching-forward punches. No one has landed big yet with strikes.

Le continues to work the right side of Cote with his own rear left leg, lands a body kick. Le lands a jab to the head. Le lands a body kick, Cote answers with his own. Cote lands a hook, Le throws a body kick that’s blocked. Cote lands another hook.

Cote storms Le, clips him with an uppercut, Le side steps and hits the back of Cote’s head with an over hand right. Cote has made no attempt at a take down yet. Le clips Cote with a left punch. Le throws a body kick, gets mostly blocked. Le with a lead side kick to the thigh of Cote.

Cote switches to a south paw stance for a moment, then switches back. Cote stalks Le around the cage for the closing moments. The horn sounds and we head to round number two.

Rd 2

Cote takes the center of the ring but Le eagerly meets him. Cote gets a clinch, Le separates them with an over hand right. Le lands partially with a spinning heel kick to the head of Cote. Le throws another high kick. Cote blocks and answers with a straight right down the middle to the face of Le.

Cote lands another right hand in a punch combo to Le’s head. Le lands a stif lead right hook to the jaw of Cote that hurts him. Cote keeps moving forward, gets the Thai plum and throws a knee to the head of Le but is mostly blocked.

Le’s face is cute open. Does not seem to bother him at all yet. Cote gets his head moving, hoping to be more elusive. Le throws a left rear body kick and then a right hook. Cote lands an uppercut and pushes forward with punches that mostly miss and a kick to the hip of Le. Le looks composed but simply reacting to Cote may be taking its toll on the San Shou legend.

Le lands a right hook, then another. They are in the Thai clinch, trading shots, the round ends.

Rd 3

The two find themselves in the clinch once more. Cote is able to back Le up against the cage a minute in to the final round. Cote has both under hooks, Le swims in and lands a knee to the head of Cote as he circles away from the cage. They are in free standing range once more.

Le whiffs on two head kicks. Cote goes to the left side of Le’s body with a right hook and they are soon in a clinch again, with Le’s back pressed against the cage. Le is bleeding from under his left eye. Le lands a trip slam! Sanshou ain’t only good for crazy kicks, people. Cote gets back to his feet and tries for a single leg take down. Le defends and frees himself.

Le lands a counter right hook flush to Cote’s jaw. Cote fires back, more slowly, with punches to the head. They end up in a loose clinch and Cote fires shots, Le weaves under and lands a thudding over hand right to Cote’s head. Le lands another takedown. This time he holds Cote down for longer and he’s in the Canadian’s full guard with thirty seconds left. Le smothers Cote, Cote tries to create space by opening his guard and pushing on Le’s hip with his own left leg. The horn sounds and the fight ends.

Will Le get his first ever UFC win or will Cote have a successful return to the organization? Only Nevada’s finest know right now…

Le wins the unanimous decision! This guy deserves a lot of credit for venturing outside of his safe kickboxing and Sanshou world where he was famous and dominant into MMA. He now has a win in the best MMA organization in the world and no one will ever be able to take that away for him. Has to be the highest moment of his martial arts career.

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin III

Tito says this will be his final walk out to the Octagon. He’s fought more times in the UFC than anyone else and, win or lose, young or old, healthy or hurt, has never embarrassed himself in the cage. How good will Tito look against Griffin, another former champion and future hall of famer that may soon also be on the way out?

Tito is walking out first. Muy interesante. Damn it, Tito. Why did you have to ruin an introduction that I’m trying to make respectful and somber by wearing a toy medieval war helmet that, under a certain light, looks like a sado masochist mask? Oh well, Tito is amped-looking as always, as he sings along to Eminem playing over the arena’s loudspeakers.

Forrest looks calm, relaxed but focused as he walks to the ring in his awesome Hayabusa chimp shirt. Let’s get it on (like that one? Just a little phrase I came up with tonight).

Rd 1

Griffin bounces around, Tight stays tight with his guard. Tito lands an over hand right to Forrest’s head. Forrest throwing a lot of kicks for someone fighting a great wrestler. Tito gets a knee-pick and takes Forrest down almost a minute into the round. He has Griffin against the cage, Griffin tries to angle away. Griffin gets to one elbow and then hand against the cage, trying to stand up. Tito keeps the pressure on and Forrest cannot get up. He’s in a half, then butterfly guard.

Griffin gets up and they are back in free-standing range. Forrest throwing the jab and hooks, missing. Forrest then lands a right hand to the head. Forrest throws a left body kick that gets blocked. Tito goes for another knee-pick, doesn’t get it, throws a right head kick that is blocked. Forrest lands a rear leg kick and then two quick stiff punches on Tito’s head. Tito is stunned and then shoots from far away with no set-up. Forrest stuffs the shot.

Griffin looking more comfortable, he clips Tito with a left hook. Tito is hurt. Griffin throws him against the cage, Tito stumbles and turns back around to square up. But Tito is moving slowly now and getting tagged by Forrest.

Under a minute left, Tito lands a jab, then another, to the face of Griffin. Griffin lands a glancing super man punch. Forrest lands an inside leg kick and then a knee to the body. Tito shoots in at Forrest’s waist, takes his back and then switches to an ankle pick from the front, dragging Forrest down to the mat, but not cleanly. The horn sounds.

Rd 2

Tito starts the round by landing a right cross to Forrest’s head. Tito lands another one, it hurts Forrest. Tito lands a left hook. Forrest is hanging tough, gets the clinch and backs Tito against the cage, working a right under hook and controlling Tito’s right hand by holding the wrist with his left. Tito changes levels for a shot, gets stuffed but gets his back off of the fence. They are back standing in the center of the ring.

Forrest lands a rear leg kick. Forrest is more active with punches but Tito attempts to counter punch hard. Tito with a jab to the face, then a right cross that finds Forrest’s chin. Forrest lands his own punch to Tito’s dome. Forrest with a right hand down the middle through Tito’s guard and then another leg kick that Tito checks. Forrest connects with a jab. Then fires and lands with a quick cross. Forrest ducks under a Tito hook and hits Tito again.

Griffin lands another cross. Tito pumps and lands a double jab to the head. Tito is bleeding a little bit on the left side of his face. Forrest lands a right punch and pushes Tito away with his forearms. Tito is flat-footed. Forrest lands another right hand. Tito fires back but mostly misses.

Tito walks into another jab. One minute left. Forrest lands a a right hand to Tito’s jaw. Forrest glances Tito’s face with a front kick to the face. Forrest misses on a big uppercut. Tito shoots for a double leg with ten seconds left. At first it appears like he may have but Forrest defends, turns a corner and the round ends with Forrest landing hammer-fists to the side of Tito’s head as Tito hangs on to a leg of Forrest while on his own knees.

Rd 3

Possibly the last round of Tito Ortiz‘ career. Forrest opens with a rear leg kick. Forrest is fresher, bouncing around, Tito is still flat-footed. Forrest changes levels and then lands a right uppercut to the head. Forrest throwing quick punch combos now and finds his mark. Tito digs in and lands a big left hook, though, that drops Forrest!

Forrest tumbles backwards and does a backwards somersault. He gets back to his feet. Tito hits another knee-pick take down. He’s inside of Forrest’s gull guard now. Forrest tries to get back up but cannot. Forrest gets his left foot on Tito’s hip, pushing him away and up into the air but Tito regains his pressure and forces Forrest back onto his back. Full guard again. Tito posturing down, Forrest tries to lock up a key-lock. tito defends.

Tito not able to connect with strikes yet, having his hands full keeping control of Forrest. Forrest backs up to the cage and stands up. They are clinched up with two minutes left. Forrest does not slow down at all and presses Tito against the cage. Forrest lands a knee to Tito’s body.

Ortiz is gassed and hurt, standing with his back to and near the cage. Forrest connects with three more left hands, then a clipping right cross. One minute left. Tito lands a looping right hand to the face of Forrest. Forrest is fresher but might be down on the score cards.

Thirty seconds left. Tito standing in front of Forrest. Tito lands a jab. Tito changes levels, thinks about a shot, doesn’t go for it. Ten seconds left,the two swing as wildly as they can, Tito lands a shot, Forrest lands a knee.

Decision time!

No, wait, Forrest walks out of the Octagon and steals Tito’s special moment!

Is Griffin frustrated? Does he feel he lost the fight? Tito is unsure what is happening but is obviously excited by the turn of events in some way and yells out. He’s in the cage and Forrest isn’t.

No, wait, Griffin has come back into the ring. Ok, decision time now…for reals, we think.

The stats show Griffin having landed nearly three times as many strikes, but Tito landed knockdowns and take downs at key points.

Not enough – Forrest Griffin gets the 29-28 unanimous decision. He shrugs his shoulders. The two fighters embrace.

“Tito Ortiz, that was an awesome performance. Was that really your last performance in the Octagon?” Forrest has taken the microphone and is conducting the interview! Ortiz he is done and thanks everyone for their support.

Rogan gets the mic back and interviews Griffin. “I feel like we’ve got three draws,” Forrest says. In a class move, both fighters trade t-shirts.

Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva

 

As an aside, let’s reflect on just how far our sport has come – that’s a lot of swoosh symbols and burger king logos.

Rd 1

Sonnen with the quick take down! Silva on his back, using full guard in the center of the cage. Sonnen pushing Silva closer to the cage. Silva trying to control Sonnen’s posture but Sonnen is active from the guard with punches. Sonnen working to pass! Sonnen passes, then gets back into half guard.

Sonnen working punches, elbows and controlling Silva’s far side. Anderson is holding Sonnen tight, trying to control his posture, with double under hooks. Sonnen staying heavy on top of Silva in his half guard. Sonnen uses some knees to the left side of Anderson’s body. Sonnen using open palm strikes to the side of Silva’s head. Chael swings big and misses, Silva locks in an arm-triangle hold but has nothing, Chael breaks free and gets back to work with short punches while Silva hugs down on his head and body.

The ref annoyingly calls for them to “work.” They are. Chael works to pass Silva’s half guard and then returns to punching. Chael into full mount with under a minute left!

Chael throwing short elbows and is now getting in his own shoulder strikes. Pay back is a son of a gun. Anderson has his hands up, under Chael’s arms, trying to control Chael’s posture. He does succeed at not letting Chael do any big damage to him while mounted. Round ends.

Silva stands in his corner during the break. Seconds out, time in.

Rd 2

Chael comes right back at Silva, manages not to get caught with any strikes, and clinches up with the champ. Silva is being pressed against the cage. Chael has an over-under body lock. Chael momentarily changes levels for a take down but Silva defends.

They separate, Silva lands a big punch to Chael. Chael lands a straight cross.

Chael tries for a spinning back fist and Silva, hands down, slips and circles away. Sonnen falls hard from the force of his own missed blow! Silva is late to follow up but does, with strikes and a knee that would have struck Chael’s head if he had not blocked it. Chael gets up but soon falls back down against the cage. Silva follows up with strikes on the ground and that’s the fight.

Sonnen once again took it to Silva but paid the price earlier than before, losing for a second time. Anderson Silva is still the UFC middleweight champion.

Pedro Rizzo and Silva’s stylishly dressed kids are in the ring to celebrate Anderson’s win as he is announced as the victor. Anderson walks over to Chael, brings him to the center of the ring, tells everyone to cheer him and then invites him to a party at his house.

Chael calls Anderson a “true champion,” in his interview with Rogan. Will uber promoter trash talking public Chael return soon or will respectful and honest public Chael stick around for awhile? Only time will tell.

That’s it for now, folks. Thanks for partying with us.

Gambling Addiction Enabler: UFC 148 Edition


(This time around, the UFC’s marketing department is looking to drive home the notion that sex sells once and for all.) 

By Dan “Get off Me” George

In the immortal words of Bruce Buffer, “It’s Time!”

On the eve of perhaps the most anticipated UFC rematch in history, I hope to bring my fellow CP readers some insight on how to save your kneecaps from the bookies and perhaps even make a buck or two by trying to follow my logic with regards to potential winners and losers for UFC 148.

For the sake of brevity, I’d like to focus on the dogs. The real money is made betting on the underdogs, and besides, there is nothing more exciting than watching a guy like Alan Belcher twist and turn his way out of certain demise en route to cashing out at three times the amount you originally placed on him (Ed note: Way to rub it in, Dan).

All of our betting odds for this week’s enabler come courtesy of BestFightOdds, so let’s get it on!

Undercard:

Shane Roller (-195) vs. John Alessio (+180)

I like Roller here, the price is fair and I do not see Alessio being able to do much but play defense in this fight. Look for Roller to pull out a decision while Alessio finds himself on the bottom or defending takedowns for the majority of the contest, not unlike his most recent decision loss to Mark Bocek at UFC 145. Simple.

Constantinos Philippou (-175) vs. Riki Fukuda (+165)

This line has moved in favor of Fukuda slightly over the past 24hrs, showing that the public likes Fukuda more and more as the small underdog. I like Philippou if for nothing more than his performance against Court McGee, a fighter similar to Fukuda who likes to move forward and press the action. Philippou has ever-improving takedown defense and better striking than Fukuda, specifically with his hands, and I like him to stop Fukuda’s takedowns and make him pay with his fists.


(This time around, the UFC’s marketing department is looking to drive home the notion that sex sells once and for all.) 

By Dan “Get off Me” George

In the immortal words of Bruce Buffer, “It’s Time!”

On the eve of perhaps the most anticipated UFC rematch in history, I hope to bring my fellow CP readers some insight on how to save your kneecaps from the bookies and perhaps even make a buck or two by trying to follow my logic with regards to potential winners and losers for UFC 148.

For the sake of brevity, I’d like to focus on the dogs. The real money is made betting on the underdogs, and besides, there is nothing more exciting than watching a guy like Alan Belcher twist and turn his way out of certain demise en route to cashing out at three times the amount you originally placed on him (Ed note: Way to rub it in, Dan).

All of our betting odds for this week’s enabler come courtesy of BestFightOdds, so let’s get it on!

Undercard:

Shane Roller (-195) vs. John Alessio (+180)

I like Roller here, the price is fair and I do not see Alessio being able to do much but play defense in this fight. Look for Roller to pull out a decision while Alessio finds himself on the bottom or defending takedowns for the majority of the contest, not unlike his most recent decision loss to Mark Bocek at UFC 145. Simple.

Constantinos Philippou (-175) vs. Riki Fukuda (+165)

This line has moved in favor of Fukuda slightly over the past 24hrs, showing that the public likes Fukuda more and more as the small underdog. I like Philippou if for nothing more than his performance against Court McGee, a fighter similar to Fukuda who likes to move forward and press the action. Philippou has ever-improving takedown defense and better striking than Fukuda, specifically with his hands, and I like him to stop Fukuda’s takedowns and make him pay with his fists.

Melvin Guillard (-300) vs. Fabricio Camoes (+275)

Not with a ten foot pole, thank you very much. There is no way in hell would I touch Guillard at 30 cents on my dollar, and Camoes (or anyone, really) definitely has the ability to sub Melvin, especially given his propensity to throw as many flying knees as humanely possible against the grapplers he faces. If anything, I would look at the prop on the fight not going the distance, because I cannot see this fight being decided by the judges.

Gleison Tibau (-210) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (+190)

I like “The Eagle” for this one. He’s undefeated, relentless with his forward pressure and wrestling, and is not afraid to swing for the fences in the meantime. Tibau is in -200 territory and often relies on his ground game to get him to a decision win. I think the Khabib uses his Judo, Sambo, and size advantage to keep Tibau against the fence, maybe finishing Tibau later in the fight or winning on the score cards.

Mike Easton (-120) vs. Ivan Menjivar (+110)

My heart wants Menjivar, but Easton has this propensity to win closely contested fights on the cards. It is basically a pick’em, and gun to my head, I am leaning towards Easton. Ivan has always had trouble with wrestlers throughout his career, and may simply be outgunned when forced to deal with the ridiculous speed and power of Easton.

Main Card:

Chad Mendes (-600) vs. Cody Mckenzie (+500)

Is there a prop for a fight ending via signature guillotine submission? How this fight even came to fruition is beyond me, but I still don’t like -500 and up territory even in a parlay. How many people got burned by Boetsch or Varner recently by putting -500 and up fighters in parlays? I think Mendes wins, but again, the prop Mendes wins by TKO, Sub or DQ is the way to go to make something off this fight.

Patrick Cote (-215) vs. Cung Le (+195)

I have a hard time picking 40 year-olds to win in the UFC not named Randy Couture. Nothing against Cung, but he is a small middleweight and Cote has the skill set to not be bullied by Le like he was against Tom Lawlor and the chin to withstand most of Le’s offense. Cote also has underrated striking, but I believe this fight will be more of Cote closing the distance on Le and trying to get the fight on the ground, where he can safely earn a decision win to ensure he sticks around for at least another fight.

Dong Hyun Kim (-150) vs. Demian Maia (+140)

Kim is built like a 185er, so Maia should not feel too out of place dropping to 170 here. Kim also fights like many of Maia’s past opponents, which would lead me to believe that Kim will spend the majority of this fight inside Maia’s guard. This fight is similar to Sass/Volkmann, where I thought Volkmann would end up winning a 30-27 snoozer across the board. Little did I know that Sass had other plans. In the spirit of great submissions, I like Maia to catch Kim, who despite appearances, is not as strong as the Munoz’s, Weidman’s, Herman’s, and Sonnen’s that Maia has faced before. Maia may be strong enough to control Kim from the bottom and finish the “Stun Gun” as a small underdog.

Forrest Griffin (-300) vs. Tito Ortiz (+270)

Ortiz at +250 territory is quite compelling. Forrest is a new father and something tells me this fight means a lot to him, unlike what we saw in his rematch with Shogun Rua, in which Forrest looked like he was running late for his return flight home. This will be Ortiz’s first and last fight as a UFC Hall of Famer, and he’s been talking like he’s ready to fight to the death, so look for him to try and find Griffin’s off button in the early going. As the two settle in, however, I expect Forrest to find his range and pick Ortiz apart like he did in the their second meeting. The odds should be closer by fight time, though not something to put in a parlay for my liking.

Anderson Silva (-270) vs. Chael Sonnen (+248)

And here we are at last. I like Silva to win via keeping the fight standing and using the clinch effectively like he did against Yushin Okami when the distance is closed. I do not see Silva using many kicks at all, perhaps only when Chael is moving backwards (which Chael does not often do), and instead opting to box with Sonnen while using his footwork and hips (think matador vs bull) to keep Sonnen from getting this fight to the ground. We all know Sonnen’s gameplan by this point; his only chance here is if he can get this fight to the ground. Therefore, I will be looking at the prop Sonnen wins by decision, which should be near the +350 range, and is definitely hedge worthy, as the only way I see Sonnen winning is via 5rd decision.

Parlay 1:
Roller-Philippou-Nurmagomedov-Silva

Or if you’re feeling really ballsy…

Parlay 2:
Roller-Philippou-Nurmagomedov-Maia-Cote-Silva

Props:
Chael wins by decision
Mendes wins by (T)KO

Decide how much you would like to bet and may the winners be yours.

Also, feel free to give me shit when/if these fall apart.

UFC 148 MMAFix Staff Picks: Part II

Dong Hyun Kim (-155) vs. Demien Maia (+135) Ryan Poli: Despite a poor performance in his last fight, I’m picking Demian Maia to win. Stun Gun is at his best on the ground, which I.

Dong Hyun Kim (-155) vs. Demien Maia (+135)
Ryan Poli: Despite a poor performance in his last fight, I’m picking Demian Maia to win. Stun Gun is at his best on the ground, which I feel plays right in to Maia’s hand. Plus as long as Maia can showcase his improved stand up (like he did against Mark Munoz), he will also have the advantage on the feet. I disagree with the odds. It may be because of his last fight, but I still disagree. Winner: Maia

John Rivera: This fight can go one of two ways: Kim, uses a moderate kickboxing advantage and solid judo skills to keep the fight upright for a unanimous decision victory…. OR…Demian Maia submits the motherf*cker with his insane jiu-jitsu skills inside of round one. Even though I want the badass Brazilian to win via flying omaplata to reverse spinning heel hook, I got Kim with the decision this time. Winner: Kim

Alan Wells: I expect DHK to take a decision victory here. This will probably be another mediocre striking match right in line with Maia’s recent fights and Kim has the slight advantage in the striking. At -155, this is the first fight that feels worth a bet. Winner: Kim

MMAFix Staff Pick: Kim (2-1)

Chad Mendes (-640) vs. Cody McKenzie (+470)
Ryan Poli: Chad Mendes is too strong and too skilled for McKenzie. His only chance to win is with his signature guillotine choke which Mendes can easily avoid. Winner: Mendes

John Rivera: I got Chad Mendes via boring decision victory. Mendes is a good enough wrestler to keep McKenzie on his back for most of the fight but the latter is good enough on the ground to avoid any submissions from the Team Alpha Male product. As sick as he is with the guillotine (Dude has 12 submission victories all by guillotine) I don’t see McKenzie tapping out the NCAA All-American Wrestler. Winner: Mendes

Alan Wells: This fight is a joke. The only reason to bet here is to either take a flyer on McKenzie because of the ridiculous odds or to use Mendes as a parlay to get better odds on either Silva or Griffin. Parlaying is normally a sucker bet but I really can’t imagine Mendes losing this fight. Winner: Mendes

MMAFix Staff Pick: Mendes (3-0)

Ivan Menjivar (+105) vs. Mike Easton (-125)
Ryan Poli: I think Menjivar is overrated. He is extremely talented, but his last few fights have been against lower ranked competition that gave him a great deal of trouble and put him in some bad positions where I feel if Mike Easton had the same position, he would be able to put Menjivar away. Mike Easton brings it every fight and will get the TKO over Menjivar. Winner: Easton

John Rivera: We are in for a treat. First of all Menjivar fought GSP when he debuted at 170lbs—the guy is a monster, especially when you consider this fight is at bantamweight. Second, Mike Easton is a Lloyd Irvin black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who PREFERS to fight standing up. I have no idea what is going to happen. Mike Easton is on a tear, killing guys left and right with very dangerous muay thai, but this is definitely a step up in competition. The UFC is testing Easton with this matchup. They want to see if he can make the leap from rising prospect to legitimate contender. A fourth victory against a high profile fighter such as Menjivar could sign Easton’s ticket to the title show. I think he will rise to the occasion for a very close split decision victory. Winner: Easton

Alan Wells: This is the closest fight of the night. It started as a pick ‘em but the line has now moved slightly in favor of Easton. I consider this a stay away for betting purposes because it’s too close. But if I have to pick a winner, I’m going with Easton. I’d love to pick Menjivar because I’ve been a fan of his game for a long time but I think Easton will be a bit too strong for him. Winner: Easton

MMAFix Staff Pick: Easton (3-0)

UFC 148 Pre-Fight Analysis: Part II

Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote In a matchup clearly designed for entertainment, fan favorite Cung Le will face veteran Patrick Cote. Strikeforce tried to make Cung Le a superstar. They tried to sell his san.

Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote

In a matchup clearly designed for entertainment, fan favorite Cung Le will face veteran Patrick Cote. Strikeforce tried to make Cung Le a superstar. They tried to sell his san shou background and his wrestling background and his acting credentials. But the reality is that he’s a forty year old fighter with a 7-2 career record and no significant wins. He lost in his last fight against Wanderlei Silva, which proves he is not an elite fighter at middleweight. The UFC knew this when they brought him over from Strikeforce and they are using him to generate exciting fights against fighters who will be willing to stand with him. Enter Patrick Cote. Cote gets a chance to defeat a name fighter in his return to the octagon after being let go following three consecutive losses to Anderson Silva, Alan Belcher and Tom Lawlor. In hindsight, that release may have been premature given the emergence of Belcher.

This fight is not complicated to analyze. It will take place mostly on the feet. Le will employ all of the kicks and spinning techniques fans expect from him. He will use his wrestling defensively to keep the fight standing if Cote decides to strike. Le has the technical ability to keep Cote at a distance and outstrike him. He even has the power to finish the fight if he can land a clean combination. But Cote has never been finished via KO or TKO and I don’t expect Cung Le to do what Anderson Silva couldn’t. Cote will more than likely also want to keep the fight standing. He is a more traditional striker but that doesn’t make him any less of a threat. The power in his right hand is more dangerous than any single strike Cung Le possesses. He comes into this fight on a four fight winning streak outside of the UFC and he will be looking to use Cung Le as a step toward once again competing at the top of the middleweight division.

The oddsmakers currently have Cote favored at -245 with Le the underdog at +205. I’m not surprised to see Cote favored but I am slightly surprised at the margin. That said, Cote is the more experienced and probably more dangerous fighter. His striking is good enough to neutralize Le’s unorthodox style and earn the victory either via (T)KO or decision. If Le wants to earn the upset, he will need to utilize movement and keep Cote guessing and moving backward. Either way, this should be an entertaining fight between two dangerous strikers.


Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia

In a matchup of upper level middleweights, Dong Hyun Kim will face Demian Maia as both men look to move up the ranks at 185 pounds. Kim has won six of his seven fights in the UFC excluding his fight with Karo Parisyan that was ruled a no contest after Parisyan tested positive for PEDs. Maia has struggled recently losing two of his last three fights in the UFC.

Maia has been a fixture in the UFC middleweight division for years having risen as far as a title fight with Anderson Silva. He was outclassed badly in that fight and has been up and down since then with wins over Mario Miranda, Kendall Grove and Jorge Santiago and losses to Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman. He seems to struggle when he faces the higher level of competition with his most impressive wins coming against Chael Sonnen and Dan Miller. He still possesses some of the most dangerous jiu-jitsu in the world at any weight class but his opponents have been able to neutralize that by refusing to play the ground game with him. His standup has improved over the last few years but is not at a level where he can win a striking match against a top level fighter. He will likely struggle to get Kim to the ground in this match and will need to take advantage of any opportunity he gets to grapple. More than likely, most of this fight will take place on the feet and that does not bode well for Maia. His grappling is by far the most dangerous weapon either fighter brings to the cage but unless Kim allows him to utilize it, Maia will likely be stuck in another striking match.

Dong Hyun Kim has only one official loss on his professional record and that came against Carlos Condit who is one of the best middleweights in the world. That said, Kim has yet to earn a signature victory with his biggest win coming against Amir Sadollah. Maia represents an excellent opportunity to earn a victory over a well respected middleweight and take a step up in the division. Kim was a knockout artist in Korea but that has not translated over to his UFC career as he has won all of his fights by decision. His striking is solid but not excellent and he has the defensive wrestling to keep the fight standing. He obviously has the power to finish with his strikes but has not been able to show it thus far in the the UFC. A finish against Maia would be a major statement but a decision is much more likely. He will need to keep the fight standing because even though he is competent on the ground, no one is safe against Damien Maia and he would be foolish to play that game. If he follows the appropriate gameplan and keeps the fight standing, he is capable of outstriking Maia to earn the victory.

Kim comes into the fight as the favorite at -145 with Maia the underdog at +125. The line is appropriate and this fight seems to have a clear script. Maia is always a threat if the fight goes to ground but I see no reason why Kim would allow that to happen. If the fight stays on the feet, Kim will have the advantage and he should be able to land more cleanly on his way to a decision victory.

Humpday Booking Round-Up: Maia-Kim Signed for UFC 148, Kampmann-Ellenberger to Main Event TUF Live Finale

The UFC announced a pair of interesting newly signed welterweight match-ups today.

First, Zuffa announced via UFC.com that a barnburner main event between 170-pound contenders Martin Kampmann (19-5) and Jake Ellenberger (27-5) will cap off “The Ultimate Fighter Live” finale June 1 on FX. Both fighters are known for their heavy hands and solid chins, but Kampmann may hold a slight edge on the ground.

The 29-year-old Danish fighter has seven submission victories on his resume, accounting for 29 percent of his 74 percent finishing rate and has never tapped out in the cage. Ellenberger has only five submission wins in 32 fights, which adds up to 16 percent of his 52 percent rate of stoppage. Regardless of stats, the bout should be an entertaining one.

The UFC announced a pair of interesting newly signed welterweight match-ups today.

First, Zuffa announced via UFC.com that a barnburner main event between 170-pound contenders Martin Kampmann (19-5) and Jake Ellenberger (27-5) will cap off “The Ultimate Fighter Live” finale June 1 on FX. Both fighters are known for their heavy hands and solid chins, but Kampmann may hold a slight edge on the ground.

The 29-year-old Danish fighter has seven submission victories on his resume, accounting for 29 percent of his 74 percent finishing rate and has never tapped out in the cage. Ellenberger has only five submission wins in 32 fights, which adds up to 16 percent of his 52 percent rate of stoppage. Regardless of stats, the bout should be an entertaining one.

Second, at the UFC 149 presser in Calgary, UFC president Dana White revealed that former number one middleweight contender Demian Maia (15-4) will make his welterweight debut July 7 at UFC 148 in Las Vegas against Dong Hyun Kim (15-1-1).

Hopefully the weight cut doesn’t sap Demian of his strength and energy, because this has all of the makings of a classic style match-up between striker and grappler.

Which match-up do you like better, Potato Nation?