Tag: Matt Serra

Matt Arroyo Does a Pretty Decent GSP Impersonation

(Video courtesy YouTube/MattNYY2) If TUF 6 graduate Matt Arroyo’s fighting career doesn’t pan out, he may have a future as an impersonator.
The 28-year-old who was dropped by Zuffa after back-to-back losses has been inactive as a fighter since hi…

(Video courtesy YouTube/MattNYY2)

If TUF 6 graduate Matt Arroyo’s fighting career doesn’t pan out, he may have a future as an impersonator.

The 28-year-old who was dropped by Zuffa after back-to-back losses has been inactive as a fighter since his last Octagon appearance against Dan Cramer at UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 in January of 2009. He has competed in BJJ competitions since then, but it seems like he’s been spending the majority of his time away from the cage working on ‘is riddum.

More MMA notables’ doing some other impressive impersonations after the jump.

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UFC 123 Machida vs Rampage Predictions

UFC 123 is on PPV Saturday Nov 20th at The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit. Two former lightweight champions in Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will face Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will fight in the main event. Strength for Machida Speed, angles, kicks, jiu-jitsu Strengths for Rampage Wrestling, clinch work, power, American boxing Rampage has […]

UFC 123 is on PPV Saturday Nov 20th at The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit.

Two former lightweight champions in Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will face Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will fight in the main event.

Strength for Machida

Speed, angles, kicks, jiu-jitsu

Strengths for Rampage

Wrestling, clinch work, power, American boxing

Rampage has demonstrated in his fights that go the distance to have a small gas tank. Machida, however, has as well. So both of their long distance cardio is breakeven, but in the short term, Machida is much more active than Rampage. The difference in the shorter term is Rampage is probably the stronger fighter in the early rounds. Rampage has had trouble against people who are good at leg kicks and Machida is one of the best.

I like watching Machida fight due to his technique. Some find it boring, but he is excellent in not wasting energy. Rampage is not as skilled in this area. One item that I heard Quinton bring up in an interview is important though. Machida has never been KO’d before the Shogun fight. That changes a fighter and Rampage pretty much all he does his KO opponents. Going to be interesting how this one plays out.

I lean towards Machida due to his greater skillset and footwork. Should be a great fight.

Bodog has the odds Machida at -280 and Rampage at +220

Other fights on the Main Card

* Welterweight bout: Matt Hughes vs B.J. Penn

Hughes has been on a tear lately winning against 3 jiu-jitsu blackbelt legends of MMA; Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie, & Ricardo Almeida. The bottom line is Hughes knows what he is doing against blackbelts and Joe Rogan has mentioned on several occasions that he thinks Hughes is a blackbelt without the official title/belt.

All three of those guys, however, are not half the striker that BJ Penn is, Hughes opponent Saturday night. BJ and Matt have each won 1 fight a piece against each other. Imo in both fights, BJ came in less shape than the way he has been fighting at the lower weight class where he held the belt. Hughes is a slight underdog here at +145 and Penn a slight favorite at -175. Penn’s cardio cost him the fight against Hughes in the second meeting. I like Penn to win to this fight as his long distance cardio has improved dramatically since going 5 rounds in his last two fights against Frank Edgar.

* Middleweight bout: Gerald Harris vs Maiquel Falcão
Harris is favored. Always enjoy watching Harris fight.

* Light Heavyweight bout: Phil Davis vs Tim Boetsch
Odds are really skewed heavily to Phil Davis. I think Davis will win, but an avoid with these odds.

* Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs Joe Lauzon
Both guys are so evenly matched here. Sotiropoulos probably impressing me more on an overall basis. I’d go with Sotiropoulos here at -260.

Spike TV card

* Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs Brian Foster
Foster is the slight favorite in this match. I like that play.

* Middleweight bout: Aaron Simpson vs Mark Muñoz
Two great wrestlers, tougher standup guy is Simpson, though Munoz is no slouch.

Prelims

* Welterweight bout: Karo Parisyan vs Dennis Hallman
My prediction: Karo wins in his COMEBACK!

* Lightweight bout: Edson Barboza vs Mike Lullo

* Lightweight bout: Paul Kelly vs T.J. O’Brien

* Lightweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs Nik Lentz
This could be fight of the night as Lentz is no pushover and has a good standup and ground arsenal. I lean towards Lentz due to this being such an even match, with the odds skewed -210 towards Griffin.

The 9 Greatest Supporting Characters in ‘Ultimate Fighter’ History

Sure, we tune in for the fights at the end of each episode, the trash-talk between the coaches, and Dana White occasionally showing up to kick somebody’s ass out of the house. But over 12 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it’s the peripheral characters that are responsible for the show’s best moments. Take this season, for example — would it be nearly as interesting if Coach GSP didn’t bring in a special guest every week to shake up his team? With that in mind, here’s our tribute to the under-appreciated minor players that have kept TUF on its toes for the last six years…

#9: Willa Ford
Willa Ford model Ultimate Fighter UFC

In an effort to inject some eye candy into their new reality show, the UFC cast model/singer/actress Willa Ford as the host of The Ultimate Fighter‘s first season. (Her main duty was to introduce those weird elimination challenges that marked the show’s early days.) Willa was gone by season two, leaving us with fond memories of a time when TUF‘s non-stop sweaty dudeness was occasionally broken up by a pretty face.

#8: Jean-Charles Skarbowsky

Dude flies in from Paris, shows up to the TUF gym drunk, and gives GSP’s entire team the worst beating of their lives. What’s not to like?

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Sure, we tune in for the fights at the end of each episode, the trash-talk between the coaches, and Dana White occasionally showing up to kick somebody’s ass out of the house. But over 12 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it’s the peripheral characters that are responsible for the show’s best moments. Take this season, for example — would it be nearly as interesting if Coach GSP didn’t bring in a special guest every week to shake up his team? With that in mind, here’s our tribute to the under-appreciated minor players that have kept TUF on its toes for the last six years…

#9: Willa Ford
Willa Ford model Ultimate Fighter UFC

In an effort to inject some eye candy into their new reality show, the UFC cast model/singer/actress Willa Ford as the host of The Ultimate Fighter‘s first season. (Her main duty was to introduce those weird elimination challenges that marked the show’s early days.) Willa was gone by season two, leaving us with fond memories of a time when TUF‘s non-stop sweaty dudeness was occasionally broken up by a pretty face.

#8: Jean-Charles Skarbowsky

Dude flies in from Paris, shows up to the TUF gym drunk, and gives GSP’s entire team the worst beating of their lives. What’s not to like?

read more

Exclusive UFC 119 Photo Gallery: Part Two

 (Serra needs a better hypeman.)
Jason "J-Dog" Wright worked his ass off getting us dozens of photos from Saturday night’s UFC 119 event, and we’re hell bent on getting them all uploaded onto the site for you to marvel at.
Here’s the lat…

 
(Serra needs a better hypeman.)

Jason "J-Dog" Wright worked his ass off getting us dozens of photos from Saturday night’s UFC 119 event, and we’re hell bent on getting them all uploaded onto the site for you to marvel at.

Here’s the latest batch of Jason’t shots of the guys and girls at the show in Indianapolis, Indiana last weekend.

Enjoy!

Pics are after the jump.

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 119

Filed under: UFCSometimes I feel like MMA fans, much like MMA judges, are afflicted with a disease that makes us place undue importance on whatever we saw last.

That would explain why a takedown in the final minute of the round is somehow enough to n…

Filed under:

Sometimes I feel like MMA fans, much like MMA judges, are afflicted with a disease that makes us place undue importance on whatever we saw last.

That would explain why a takedown in the final minute of the round is somehow enough to negate all the punches a fighter took in the first minute, and also why many fans are talking about UFC 119 this morning as if it was the biggest waste of their money since “Waterworld.”

What we saw on Saturday night was an exciting undercard eclipsed by an anti-climactic main event. Whatever highs we may have been riding after watching guys like Sean Sherk and Evan Dunham go at it were obliterated by the time we got to round two of Frank Mir vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. And since that was the last thing we saw before turning off the TV and trudging angrily off to the bed or the bar, it understandably left some people feeling cheated.

UFC 119 Live Blog: Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle Updates

Filed under: UFCINDIANAPOLIS — This is the UFC 119 live blog for Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle, a welterweight bout on tonight’s UFC pay-per-view from the Conseco Field House.

Serra and Lytle were both roommates on The Ultimate Fighter 4 and met in the …

Filed under:

INDIANAPOLIS — This is the UFC 119 live blog for Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle, a welterweight bout on tonight’s UFC pay-per-view from the Conseco Field House.

Serra and Lytle were both roommates on The Ultimate Fighter 4 and met in the finals with Serra beating Lytle by split decision. Expect a much different fight this time around.

The live blog is below.