OK boys and girls, lets get down to business. This is one of the most anticipated fights in as long as I can remember. I am definitely PUMPED for this one so lets go make.
OK boys and girls, lets get down to business. This is one of the most anticipated fights in as long as I can remember. I am definitely PUMPED for this one so lets go make some MONEY.
As for my FAVORITE FAVORITES, tonight there are 2.
1. Patrick Cote (-245) over Cung Le. Cote is younger and in better shape. The 40 year old Cung Le looks real good throwing all of his spin kicks, but Cote knows this and will be ready. Cote’s patience pays off and he gets the fight to the ground and finishes off Cung Le in the 3rd. 1 unit in the Cookie Jar!
2. Forrest Griffin (-290) over Tito Ortiz. Its time for Tito to start working on things again with Jenna Jameson. Forrest has the size and reach advantage, and Tito will get worn down in this one. I see this as a bit of a boring win for Forrest, unless Tito tries to open it up and go for the KO. Either way lay the 2.9 units here and give Tito a standing ovation in his swan song, even though it will be in losing fashion. Up 2 units going into the finale!
DOG OF THE NIGHT!!!
Yes, I’m sure you all see this coming. It’s shock the world time baby, Chael Sonnen (+250) over Anderson Silva. He did it once, and he’ll do it again (well sorta). Sonnen has Silva all hot and bothered by his comments and disrespect. He will use this strategy to frustrate Silva once again and get takedowns. The ground and pound will again be effective, but this time Sonnen will not get caught. Split decision goes to Sonnen and a 3rd and final fight between these 2 goes on the schedule. Add 2.5 units for a total of 4.5 on the night. Maybe part of me just wants to watch Sonnen talk smack about his next opponent.
Anderson Silva (-280) vs. Chael Sonnen (+240) Ryan Poli: I have to go with Silva on this one. He has the striking and jiu-jitsu advantage, plus plenty of time to work on his takedown defense..
Anderson Silva (-280) vs. Chael Sonnen (+240)
Ryan Poli: I have to go with Silva on this one. He has the striking and jiu-jitsu advantage, plus plenty of time to work on his takedown defense. I don’t see Sonnen being able to change his strategy and that will be his downfall. Although the odds were much less generous for all of Silva’s other opponents, I am somewhat surprised that the odds are as high as they are in Silva’s favor just based on the how their first fight played out. Winner: Silva
John Rivera: Anderson Silva wins by KO/TKO in the 2nd Round. “The Spider” will publicly execute Chael Sonnen….we know this because he is the greatest fighter in the history of the sport. Winner: Silva
Emily Kapala: I personally think that Chael Sonnen is being undervalued in the eyes of the oddsmakers. Not only would I pick Sonnen as the winner, but I think he is the highest value bet. While the odds are against him, I think he will be able to pull through with the victory this time around when he faces Silva in the octagon. Winner: Sonnen
Elise Kapala: In almost every fight with Silva, the opposing fighter is the underdog. However, the last matchup with Sonnen and Silva was so intense and draining on Silva, there truly is no underdog here. If I had to choose a winner, I would say Sonnen via knockout in the 3rd or 4th round. Winner: Sonnen
Alan Wells: If I’m picking a winner, I’m going with Silva but if I’m betting the money line, I’m going with Sonnen. I’m not interested in -280 odds and after Sonnen’s performance in the first fight, I’m willing to take a flyer on him. I’m not expecting to win but if I need action on this fight, I’m going with Sonnen. Winner: Silva
MMAFix Staff Pick: Silva (3-2)
Tito Ortiz (+255) vs. Forrest Griffin (-310)
Ryan Poli: I’m going with the favorite to win. Although I wasn’t impressed by either of them in their last fight, Shogun is a more dangerous opponent than Lil’ Nog. Plus I would say with the exception of wrestling, Forrest has every advantage (age, cardio, reach, striking, jiu- jitsu). Winner: Griffin
John Rivera: I think Forrest takes a unanimous decision this time around. As much as I love Tito, I think as a fighter, his best days are behind him. Rashad ravaged him, and Lil’ Nog took the rest…. Winner: Griffin
Alan Wells: I hate this line. I don’t understand why Griffin is such a significant favorite. I like him to win but -310 makes him a waste of money. Once again, if I feel the need to wet my beak for this fight, I’m going with the underdog but I don’t feel great about my chances of getting that money back. Winner: Griffin
MMAFix Staff Pick: Griffin (3-0)
Cung Le (+180) vs. Patrick Cote (-220)
Ryan Poli: Cung Le all the way. His striking is more diverse and Cote has been fighting against much lower level competition for quite some time. He just isn’t at Cung Le’s level. Winner: Le
John Rivera: The headline will read: ‘Cote KO’s ex Strikeforce Champ, Cung Le in the 2nd round due to the former’s punching power and the latter’s lack of cardio.’ Winner: Cote
Alan Wells: I think the oddsmakers are just screwing with me at this point. If MMA was a more popular sport, this line would be a lot closer because the public would be moving it toward Le. But the betting pool for MMA isn’t nearly as big as other sports so the line is right where it should be. I like Cote to win and that’s where my money is going if I have to bet. The odds aren’t great but at least they’re better than the two headliners. Winner: Cote
MMAFix Staff Pick: Cote (2-1)
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)
Although rapidly approaching , UFC on Fuel TV 4 hasn’t gotten much attention from the media due to the highly anticipated UFC 148. However, just four days after Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen square off.
Although rapidly approaching , UFC on Fuel TV 4 hasn’t gotten much attention from the media due to the highly anticipated UFC 148. However, just four days after Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen square off for the second time, two other top middleweights will face off in an attempt to continue their run at the middleweight title.
Top contenders, Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman, will be headlining UFC on Fuel TV 4, which will take place July 11th. The betting odds for the main event have come out, and surprisingly, it is Weidman who is the favorite over Munoz. Now while casual MMA fans may not question this, it does raise a few eyebrows from the more enthusiastic fans. Both fighters have demonstrated their skills over talented opponents, which places both fighters among the top of the division, arguably in the top ten. However, nobody can argue with the repertoire of Munoz being more impressive.
Mark Munoz has won seven of his last eight fights, losing only a split decision to Yushin Okami, who at the time, was ranked in the top five. He has since beaten four high-level opponents, with only two of those fights seeing judges score cards. Chris Weidman hasn’t faced the number of high-level opponents that Munoz has. Although Weidman was able to finish UFC veteran, Tom Lawlor, with a guillotine choke in just over two minutes, it was his decision win over jiu-jitsu specialist, Demian Maia, that labeled him as a top middleweight contender. Coincidently, Munoz and Weidman share Demian Maia as a common opponent, and it’s the comparison of their bouts with Maia that reveal just how baffling these betting odds truly are.
Mark Munoz fought a confident, energetic Demian Maia, who came out aggressive, throwing a plethora of solid, accurate strikes. It was the first time Maia demonstrated his newly achieved striking skills and completely caught Munoz off guard with them. However, Munoz was able to come back in the last two rounds, using powerful strikes and elite wrestling to stifle the jiu-jitsu attempts of Maia, and win a unanimous decision. In Chris Weidman’s bout with Maia, eight months later, Maia’s performance was sluggish and mundane. His strikes were hesitant and predictable, while his take down attempts were feeble. Even commentators, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, made the comment that the performance of Maia and Weidman wasn’t installing any fear to the rest of the division, and that they both looked physically exhausted. While this was understandable for Weidman, seeing he agreed to the fight with Maia on only eleven days notice, there was no explanation for Maia’s poor performance. Bottom line, Mark Munoz defeated an elite contender at the top of his game, and Chris Weidman didn’t.
By no means should anyone count Chris Weidman out of this fight. He may very well remain undefeated when it’s all over. However, there is a reason that every MMA website has Munoz ranked above Weidman. When looking at the skills, past performances, and overall resumes that both of these fighters poses, Mark Munoz has simply accomplished more. Clearly somebody was misinformed when making these betting odds, and if not, then favoring Weidman is just plain ignorant and bias.
The rematch between middleweight king, Anderson Silva, and the king on trash talk, Chael Sonnen will arguably be the biggest MMA event in history. With more mudslinging then a presidential election, it comes down to.
The rematch between middleweight king, Anderson Silva, and the king on trash talk, Chael Sonnen will arguably be the biggest MMA event in history. With more mudslinging then a presidential election, it comes down to the final week before the fight, and it’s time to put up, or shut up. Harsh comments and insults won’t put a win on either of the records, it’s all coming down to skill and preparation.
It comes to no surprise that the middleweight champ is the favorite to win the rematch, but there is much dissension over how this fight should truly be analyzed. Many have suggested what they feel are the keys to victory for each fighter, and several X factors that could determine who will leave that night with the belt. People could argue, until their blue in the face, over what the most intelligent strategy would be, who they feel has the mental edge, or simply, who will be able to impose their will on their opponent. However, before the fight even begins, it will be Silva who has the initial advantage.
It can be beneficial for a fighter to have already faced an opponent once before. However, Silva will benefit from this far more, simply because of Sonnen‘s, somewhat transparent, game plan that will mimic his last performance against the champ, or any other of his past opponents, for that matter. He will come out aggressively and use his elite-level wrestling to get the fight to the ground. The chances of Sonnen looking to stand and trade strikes with Silva, or let Silva press the action are unlikely. While it’s true that it is in the champ’s best interest to keep it on the feet, it remains clear that Silva is the more versatile fighter, who could easily change his tactics and mix things up far better than his opponent. It’s safe to say that Silva has been working diligently on his wrestling, specifically his takedown defense. However, if Silva is taken down, his last minute triangle submission win over Sonnen in their last fight proves that with Silva, the fight isn’t over until the fat lady sings, or more preferably an octagon ring girl.
By no means, however, does it mean that it is impossible to see Sonnen’s hand raised by the end of the fight. After all, he nearly won the first fight. With all of the hype surrounding this card, and words exchanged by both fighters, this rematch will not go to the judge’s score cards. With the advantage of striking and jiu-jitsu for Silva, it appears that more than likely, the legacy of the reigning champ, Anderson Silva, will continue.
Last night’s UFC on FX 4 event was in many ways a microcosm of life. There were ups, there were downs, we laughed, we cried, we got kind of pissed off a couple of times.
Last night’s UFC on FX 4 event was in many ways a microcosm of life. There were ups, there were downs, we laughed, we cried, we got kind of pissed off a couple of times at the end, but overall we left it with no regrets…..mostly because it was free….
CLAY GUIDA VS GRAY MAYNARD
The main event found, Gray “The Bully” Maynard with a questionable decision victory over the man simply known as “The Carpenter,” No, I’m just kidding we know his name it’s Clay Guida…
Right, so by questionable I really mean bullsh*t. Essentially we had a very technical if unorthodox lesson in stick and move style boxing from the Greg Jackson pupil while The Bully went with a different game plan consisting mostly of heavily plodding forward while wildly missing with big 1-2’s. Guida defended his opponent’s takedown attempts in brilliant fashion and in this cocky sh*t’s opinion would have had a nearly perfect performance if he hadn’t straight up run away from his opponent on at least two different occasions.
Don’t get me wrong, I WOULD RUN AWAY FROM GRAY MAYNARD, but then again I’m not a professional badass like the Carpenter. We’ve all seen Guida’s previous performances, and no one with an ounce of sense can doubt his mettle, but this latest foray into the octagon reeks of the same “running man” stench that drove the Condit-Diaz affair.
Aside from being a little boring at times, Guida’s erratic style garnered him a series of impressive combinations that culminated with a beautiful head kick to Maynard’s face that stood his @ss straight up!!
Even though I believe Guida’s clear control of the standup and superb takedown defense outweighed his lapses in technical defense (he ran like a p#ssy twice) and should have been enough to take the decision, the most exciting moment of the fight came towards the later rounds. You should really go youtube it, but essentially a very frustrated Maynard threw caution to the wind, dropped his hands and walked forward while screaming at Guida to fight, in the process eating several shots from the Carpenter all in an attempt to get his foe to engage….like a boss. This f*cking guy is crazier than your ex-girlfriend.
When all was said and done, the judges felt that Gray’s frustration at not being able to hit his opponent was enough to deserve a unanimous decision. I say make them fight again!!!
SAM STOUT VS SPENCER FISHER
In this bout we see the conclusion of a trilogy of brutal engagements between Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout, and the ever-dangerous, Spencer “The King” Fisher. This fight went much the same way as their last two fights, with both men beating the sh*t out of each other bell to bell.
For those who aren’t familiar, Stout had his UFC debut against, “The King” Fisher back in 2006, showing great heart and determination in taking a judges’ split decision. Fast forward almost a year and the rematch showed us very good standup from Fisher, who mainly used vicious boxing to carry him to a unanimous judges’ decision.
At one apiece, each man undoubtedly came ready to go all-out in the cage, and as foreshadowed by their previous clashes, the men delivered another thrilling three round war. Fisher showed the superior short boxing from the inside, employing it very successfully to bust “Hands of Stone” the f*ck up! It looked to be a repeat performance for “The King,” until Stout showcased his evolution as a mixed martial artist—from young rising prospect to veteran octagon warrior. Midway through the fight, Stout surprisingly started scoring with takedowns, allowing him to open up-with some ground-and-pound in the form of repeated short elbows to the head and arms of Fisher.
The final frame saw both men busted up and swinging until the very last seconds of the duel. While one could argue that Stout took more damage at the hands of Fisher, the takedowns as well as the limited, yet effective ground-and-pound swayed the judges in favor of Stout winning him both the battle and the war in this their third and final confrontation. To be honest I would watch these guys fight over and over again, like Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia, or Shogun and Hendo…What do you b*tches think?
BRIAN EBERSOLE VS TJ WALDBURGER
The eternal Brian Ebersole faced off against the up-and-coming TJ Waldburger in a three round battle which concluded with an Ebersole decision victory. If you were to look at their records you might not be very surprised by the outcome of the fight. On paper, Ebersole is the clear favorite. Let’s break it down a little.
Take Ebersole’s record going into this fight: 49-14-1-1. That’s forty-nine wins, and only fourteen losses in over sixty professional fights. It’s safe to say that Ebersole fits the mold for a very particular breed of pro badass, the mixed martial artist that has been around forever, fought everybody, seen EVERYTHING, and is damn near impossible to finish at this point. I call this rare breed, “The Eternals”
If you were to look at Waldburger’s resume, you might think the same thing my 16 year old brother thought when he mentioned the possibility that the UFC was feeding him to Ebersole as they sometimes do when a high profile fighter loses a bout and needs a tune-up fight. With a 15-7 pro record and a 3-1 UFC record, what my brother said made sense. The only thing odd thing was that Brian Ebersole has been on a tear going through some very high level ass-kickers in the process. Wins over fellow eternals, Chris Lytle (31-18-5), and Dennis Hallman (51-14-2-1) stood out in particular. With a 3-0 UFC record and riding a ten fight win streak Ebersole did not fit the profile for a guy needing a tune up fight.
Well one thing became readily apparent as soon as the contest began, TJ Waldburger is one bad hombre. The guy who turned pro at seventeen years old dropped the eternal with a heavy counter punch early on which is ironic considering that Ebersole’s signature arrow shaved into his chest hair is there as a testament to the fact that no one has knocked him out in over sixty fights. It also serves as a tongue-in-cheek reminder to his opponents as to where to direct their violence.
Waldburger then pounced on the stunned Ebersole putting him in several deep submission attempts that the eternal countered beautifully showing exactly how hard it can be to choke out that kind of high level grappler. Eventually Ebersole managed to reverse his situation into a top position where he rained down heavy ground and pound to a very active and still dangerous but slowly fading Waldburger. Throw in some weird ass pseudo-capoeira kick on Ebersole’s behalf and you pretty much had the same thing all the way to the end of the fight, where an Ebersole fully recovered from his near disastrous knockdown in round one raised his arms in victory (his 50th professional MMA victory) as a f*cked up TJ Waldburger took his second loss in the octagon.
CUB SWANSON VS ROSS PEARSON
Ladies and gentlemen, this one was a barnburner. The Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative, Cub Swanson, showed off a very diverse and dynamic striking style as he claimed his second consecutive knockout, this time with less than a minute left in the second round and simultaneously earning Knockout of the Night.
Toward the end of the first round, his opponent Ross Pearson, had some success throwing combinations inside, exploiting the fact that midway through Swanson for some reason reverted to throwing single power strikes.
At one point Swanson through an absolutely beautiful capoeira kick—you should DEFINITELY YOUTUBE THIS ONE— and he landed it straight to dude’s f*ckin NECK. What’s even crazier than that you ask? Pearson just ate it and followed up with some tasty ground-and-pound.
Ultimately, a roughed up Cub Swanson would get to his feet and resume the ass kicking. Pearson had no answer for the speed, accuracy and unpredictability of Swanson’s flying through the air at you with strikes type standup assault.
The end came quickly when Pearson masterfully caught one of Swanson’s kicks, proceeded to drive through, pushing his opponent back towards the opposite cage. His attempts to finish the takedown earned him two hard right hands from Swanson forcing the tough Brit to drop the leg and a follow up hook floored him. A merciful referee stoppage saved him as Swanson began to swarm with punches.
With two consecutive knockout victories, both of which came in thrilling fashion, Cub Swanson is quickly becoming a fan favorite. For the audience’s sake, we can only hope Jay Silva keeps giving him strikers after the healthy diet of grapplers he was fed for so long. With any luck he’ll keep getting matches where he can show off his superb striking game for our viewing pleasure. Buahaha haha!!!!
WRAP-UP
In conclusion, DON’T FORGET TO WATCH UFC 147 TONIGHT!! Live fights from Brazil, will pit headliners, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer “Silva, and former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich “Ace” Franklin against one another in their second encounter. It should be pretty violent so round up your crew, hit up the nearest bar, get drunk and watch these guys beat the hell out of each other! If you’re lucky you might even get laid after….but knowing you, probably not. I’ll try to have another recap on tonight’s fights for you tomorrow! Later mother*ckas!!
