Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones (c) vs Quinton Jackson Such a tough call. Jones is the guy who can lay on the strikes and if the fight gets past the second round, I think Quinton has little chance of winning. The only X-factor here is his training at the Muscle Pharm training center. Rampage is […]
Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones (c) vs Quinton Jackson
Such a tough call. Jones is the guy who can lay on the strikes and if the fight gets past the second round, I think Quinton has little chance of winning. The only X-factor here is his training at the Muscle Pharm training center. Rampage is notorious for hating training camps. This time he lived at Muscle Pharm – yes slept at the gym. That has to count for something big. Jones is dynamic and fluid and inventive. I knew he would be good when I saw him on a highlight of some no name show in New Jersey. His range is going to be a problem for Quinton. Its hard for him to drop his power while punching upwards.
The obvious play here is Jones. I think he is going to win. However, at -500 and Quinton at +350 I see value in his one punch KO ability. Not only that he has the chance of a GnP win if he catches him mildly.
Welterweight bout: Matt Hughes vs Josh Koscheck
Josh Koshcheck is going to be faster and put out more output. Koshcheck is -500 though. Hughes is a good value play here imo.
Heavyweight bout: Travis Browne vs Rob Broughton
My prediction is Travis Browne continues to look good and wins this one.
Lightweight bout: Nate Diaz vs Takanori Gomi
The reach is going to be a problem with Diaz. Diaz is also going to be more aggressive. If this goes to a decision likely it goes to Diaz. The odds have Diaz favored and I think that’s fair. Would love to see Gomi recapture his former glory, but against Diaz I don’t see it happening as his range will keep that overhand out of his way.
Heavyweight bout: Ben Rothwell vs Mark Hunt
Ugh again Rothwell has disappointed me in his last two outings and he is going against Hunt here. The two of these heavyweights will stand the entire time. That favors Mark Hunt. Hunt can take the best hits out there and not go out. Rothwell is going to have to submit him to stop him, which isn’t difficult.
Hunt on the other hand carries one touch power in his hands, not likely ever seen by Rothwell. Hunt is K-1 experienced. Again underdog value here with Hunt at +240.
Preliminary Card (Spike TV)
Lightweight bout: Tony Ferguson vs Aaron Riley
Tony is favored -300 here, but I think again the underdog in this one has excellent value. Riley is a zombie and is hard to stop. Ferguson is a great striker and Riley has had problems with them before. In fact that is who have beaten him if you look at his record. If this fight turns into a grind that will play into Riley’s hands. I like Riley in the underdog position here.
Middleweight bout: Nick Ring vs Tim Boetsch
Thinking Boetsch.
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Featherweight bout: Junior Assunção vs Eddie Yagin
Assuncao’s back in the cage again? I thought he just fought and won like 2 UFC’s ago. I got Assuncao.
Bantamweight bout: Takeya Mizugaki vs Cole Escovedo
I like Cole Escovedo here. Value play.
Light Heavyweight bout: James Te Huna vs Ricardo Romero
Ricardo Romero – hopefully his conditioning is better. I got him.
Filed under: UFCUFC 135 in Denver may feature a title fight at the top of the card, but it also includes its share of fighters who are struggling just to get back in the win column. Some get more second chances than others to turn a losing skid around,…
UFC 135 in Denver may feature a title fight at the top of the card, but it also includes its share of fighters who are struggling just to get back in the win column. Some get more second chances than others to turn a losing skid around, but there are at least a couple who could be looking at a win-or-go-home scenario.
Who are they, and what are their chances to stay employed after Saturday night? For answers and analysis, we turn to The Cut List.
Nate Diaz (13-7, 8-5 UFC) Who he’s facing:Takanori Gomi Why he’s in danger: Don’t look now, but the younger Diaz brother has lost two straight in the UFC after being outgrappled by both Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald. There’s no shame in losing to either of those beasts, but three in a row is still a dangerous place to be, so he needs this one against Gomi. What complicates matters is Nick Diaz’s suddenly shaky footing with the UFC, though I’m not sure if it helps or hurts Nate in the end. With Nick around, you get a real appreciation for how reasonable and easy to work with Nate is. Plus, just how much would the already paranoid, conspiracy theory-prone Nick freak out if the UFC cut his brother so shortly after his own troubles with the Zuffa overlords? I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to find out. The best thing for all non-Gomi parties would be for Nate to win this fight and save his bosses the trouble of making those decisions. Still, you can bet that Gomi remembers what happened in his infamous Pride bout with Nick and is eager for a little revenge against Stockton’s first family of fisticuffs. Odds of getting cut: 4-1. This is a fight Diaz should win, since Gomi will likely be content to keep it on the feet, where Diaz’s height and reach should give him problems. Even if he loses, he’s still an exciting enough fighter to warrant one more chance. The only thing he really can’t do is follow in his brother’s footsteps and fail the drug test.
Matt Hughes (45-8, 18-6 UFC) Who he’s facing:Josh Koscheck Why he’s in danger: Okay, so Hughes isn’t really looking at a potential cut per se, but rather a contract that might not be renewed once this final fight is in the books. And honestly? That’s not such a bad thing. Hughes will be 38 in October, and the welterweight division of today is not the same one he dominated half a decade ago. If he sticks around he’s probably looking at an increasingly depressing game of diminishing returns, and for what? He doesn’t need the money and he’s got nothing left to prove in this sport. In fact, the worst-case scenario might be that he upsets Josh Koscheck and decides that Matt Hughes is back, baby! Then he might actually get a new contract, and before you know it he’s the 40-year-old ex-champion getting thumped by Seth Baczynski in a co-co-main event. The best thing might be for him to ride off into the sunset here, which seems a lot more likely to happen if he ends up taking the beating that oddsmakers are forecasting. Koscheck is like a younger, more powerful, and slightly more abrasive version of Hughes. In a bizarre way, it could be the perfect passing of the torch. Odds of getting cut not retained: Even. I think Hughes is in for a rough night against Koscheck, and I expect that will only make it easier for him to decide that he’d rather be at home in Hillsboro. It’s the right call and the right time for it.
Takanori Gomi (32-7-1 NC, 1-2 UFC) Who he’s facing: Nate Diaz Why he’s in danger: Gomi managed to sandwich a knockout win over Tyson Griffin in between losses to Kenny Florian and Clay Guida, so it’s not as if he’s been fighting chumps since coming to the UFC. At the same time, winning more fights than you lose is the best way to ensure job security. A loss to Diaz and Gomi falls to 1-3 in the Octagon, and right after his 33rd birthday. That might make the Japanese lightweight seem like a bad bet to the UFC brass, especially when you look at the uninspired last few years of his career. He can be an exciting slugger when he gets the chance to fight his fight, but he also seems to lack the overall game necessary to ever become a serious contender in a division full of bull-headed wrestlers. Odds of getting cut: 5-1. Unless he loses very, very badly, “The Fireball Kid” is probably sticking around at least until the UFC’s Japanese invasion in 2012.
Takeya Mizugaki (14-6-2, 1-1 UFC) Who he’s facing: Cole Escovedo Why he’s in danger: Right off I’ll just say it — Mizugaki should consider himself lucky to have made the cut when the UFC absorbed the WEC. He was up and down for his entire stay in the WEC, winning the easier ones and losing the tough ones. Not that defeats to guys like Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres are signs that you suck, but let’s be honest and admit that the current lack of depth in the bantamweight division hasn’t hurt Mizugaki any. This prelim bout against Cole Escovedo is a little like the scene in Dark Knight where The Joker drops a broken pool cue in the middle of some faceless henchmen for “tryouts.” Odds of getting cut: 2-1. This is a very winnable fight for Mizugaki, who can take a beating with the best of them. If he’s smart, he’ll approach it as a must-win and behave accordingly.
Cole Escovedo (17-7, 0-1 UFC) Who he’s facing: Takeya Mizugaki Why he’s in danger: Escovedo’s career has been a rollercoaster ride in more ways than one. He’s been up and down in weight, while also following impressive winning streaks with strings of losses. He’s 1-3 in his last four, and that one wasn’t against a particularly impressive opponent. In his lone UFC bout to date he lost a unanimous decision to Nova Uniao standout Renan Barao. He and Mizugaki are fairly evenly matched, so there’s no better time to show the brass that he can be something other than an opponent. But with the way he’s been going lately, he probably won’t get too many more chances to do it. Odds of getting cut: Even. I give Mizugaki the slight edge in this one. If Escovedo can’t pull it out, there won’t be many reasons for the UFC to keep him around.
In: “I WANT MY BELT BACK!” Out: “There’s gone be some black on black crime.” VidProps: UFC/YouTube
Check this out: official UFC propaganda would have us believe that Rampage Jackson is actually out there somewhere working. They even have the nerve to pause on a calendar square labeled “JIU JITSU”, when we all know damn well that ‘Page would pull guard right after he lets someone hold an umbrella for him.
In: “I WANT MY BELT BACK!” Out: “There’s gone be some black on black crime.” VidProps: UFC/YouTube
Check this out: official UFC propaganda would have us believe that Rampage Jackson is actually out there somewhere working. They even have the nerve to pause on a calendar square labeled “JIU JITSU”, when we all know damn well that ‘Page would pull guard right after he lets someone hold an umbrella for him.
Main Card Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones vs Quinton Jackson
Matt Hughes vs Diego Sanchez
Ben Rothwell vs Mark Hunt
Nate Diaz vs Takanori Gomi
Travis Browne vs Rob Broughton
Spike Card
Tony Ferguson vs Aaron Riley
Nick Ring vs Tim Boetsch
Facebook Card
James Te Huna vs Ricardo Romero
Takeya Mizugaki vs Cole Escovedo
We were supposed to get a fight between Kid Yamamoto and Damacio Page, but it was announced yesterday that both guys had managed to get hurt in training.
(Listen, Dana…Do you think you can say I was with you the night the heist went down?)
Lee Murray was released from a Morroccan jail 2 years ago.
Why it matters:
Although his freedom was short-lived (as in two days), it may be the only time the former UFC middleweight, who was sentenced to an additional 10-25 years for his part in the publicized Securitas heist in the UK, may taste freedom in the next two decades.
Ivan Salaverry retired from MMA three years ago…sort of.
Why it matters:
Salaverry announced that he was done fighting on this day in 2008, but later revealed (as illustrated in the interview above from Matt Lindland’s ‘Fighting Politics’ documentary) that his decision was brought on by the way he felt he and other fighters were mistreated by UFC president Dana White. Since there was a loophole in his UFC contract that stated that retirement nullified his agreement after a specified amount of time, after sitting out for nearly three years from his last bout at UFC 84, Salaverry pulled a Randy Couture and returned to action May 21 of this year to face Matt Ewin at Bamma 6. Unfortunately for the 40-year-old whose version of the mounted crucifix holds a special place in the heart of UFC commentator Joe Rogan, the long layoff and his age did him no favors as he lost the bout by unanimous decision.
(“Listen, Dana…Do you think you can say I was with you the night the heist went down?”)
Lee Murray was released from a Morroccan jail 2 years ago.
Why it matters:
Although his freedom was short-lived (as in two days), it may be the only time the former UFC middleweight, who was sentenced to an additional 10-25 years for his part in the publicized Securitas heist in the UK, may taste freedom in the next two decades.
Ivan Salaverry retired from MMA three years ago…sort of.
Why it matters:
Salaverry announced that he was done fighting on this day in 2008, but later revealed (as illustrated in the interview above from Matt Lindland’s ‘Fighting Politics’ documentary) that his decision was brought on by the way he felt he and other fighters were mistreated by UFC president Dana White. Since there was a loophole in his UFC contract that stated that retirement nullified his agreement after a specified amount of time, after sitting out for nearly three years from his last bout at UFC 84, Salaverry pulled a Randy Couture and returned to action May 21 of this year to face Matt Ewin at Bamma 6. Unfortunately for the 40-year-old whose version of the mounted crucifix holds a special place in the heart of UFC commentator Joe Rogan, the long layoff and his age did him no favors as he lost the bout by unanimous decision.
Alistair Overeem made his heavyweight MMA debut 4 years ago.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/StillW1ll)
Why it matters:
“The Reem” made his successful heavyweight MMA debut at the K-1 World Grand Prix in Amsterdam in 2008 by defeating Michael Knaap by guillotine. Although Knaap was by no means a world beater, a draw with Cheick Kongo and a win over Roman Zentsov proved he was no pushover. In spite of criticisms that the only truly competitive opponent he has faced since moving up in weight was Fabricio Werdum and that, sure he beat him, but he didn’t win convincingly (seriously, some people will complain about anything), Overeem has only lost once since becoming “Ubereem.”
“The Demolition Man” has finished all but two of his opponents (Sergei Kharitonov, who he lost to by KO and Mirko Filipovic, who he notched a no-contest against after several knees to the groin left “CroCop” unable to continue) in that span. His heavyweight victims list includes Todd Duffee, Brett Rogers, Kazuyuki Fujita, James Thompson, Gary Goodridge, Mark Hunt, and Paul Buentello.
Kimbo Slice made his MMA debut 4 years ago.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/Kimbosliceschannel)
Why it matters:
Had he lost against Ray Mercer at Cage Fury Fighting Championship 5, we may never have seen the former backyard brawler crash and burn as an MMA fighter when pitted against apt opponents. In spite of being a 4-2 can-crusher, Slice, AKA Kevin Ferguson was one of MMA biggest draws. Still, infamy couldn’t help him keep a job with the UFC.
After tallying a 1-1 official and 1-0 exhibition record in the Octagon with a debatable win over Houston Alexander, a TUF 10 prelim loss to Roy Nelson and a UFC 113 routing by Matt Mitrione, Slice was given his walking papers by the UFC. The 37-year-old hasn’t fought since and is said to be waffling over starting a pro boxing career.
• The event marked Jens Pulver’s last UFC fight in which he lost by rear-naked choke to longtime nemesis BJ Penn. Penn was criticized for holding on to the sub longer than necessary.
• Nate Diaz (who handed Gray Maynard his only loss of his career, albeit an unofficial one, via guillotine in the semi-finals) became the season’t Ultimate Fighter with a win over Manny Gamburyan in the final. Gamburyan injured his shoulder and was unable to continue the bout.
• Of the 16 contestants on this season of the show, only six are UFC fighters. They are Gray Maynard, Matt Wiman, Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz, Manny Gamburyan and Cole Miller.
PRIDE 21 went down 9 years ago.
Why it matters:
• Although the match-ups were nothing to write home about, the card that took place in 2002 in Saitama, Japan featured a list of notables including Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, Don Frye, Gary Goodridge, Semmy Schilt, Jeremy Horn, Renzo Gracie and Gilbert Yvel.
• Emelianenko defeated Schilt at the event, but was unable to finish the big Dutchman.
• Frye’s win over Yoshihiro Takayama claimed the number one slot Fox Sports Network’s “Best Damn 50 Beatdowns” and was named “2002 Shoot Match of the Year” by Dave Meltzer’s The Wrestling Observer newsletter.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/jaruswiatekmma)
Nick Thompson was born 29 years ago.
Why he matters:
Although he isn’t to be mistaken with The G.O.A.T, The Goat had some respectable wins in his eight-year 53-fight MMA career over the likes of Brian Gassaway, Josh Neer, Eddie Alvarez, Mark Weir and Paul Daley. Although he came up short against fighters like Yushin Okami, Jake Shields, Tim Kennedy and Karo Parisyan, the former BodogFight welterweight champion was a gamer who was known for taking whatever fights were offered to him. Thompson retired earlier this year to focus on managing fighters and his career as a licensed attorney.
(Yeah, we know that’s a different Diaz, but that doesn’t make the message any less valid. Props: jaylibbb)
After suffering back-to-back decision defeats in his last two fights against Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald, Nate Diaz will be dropping back to his original home at lightweight, according to UFC.com. Diaz’s return opponent will be Japanese MMA icon Takanori Gomi at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, September 24th in Denver. Gomi is coming off a submission loss to Clay Guida at UFC 125 in January, and has gone 1-2 overall in his current stint with the UFC.
Nate’s brother Nick previously faced Gomi at PRIDE 33 in one of the greatest bouts in MMA history; Diaz wore Gomi down in a gritty slugfest before tapping him in round 2 via gogoplata. The win was overturned and ruled a no-contest when Diaz tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test. But come on, bro, we all saw what happened.
(Yeah, we know that’s a different Diaz, but that doesn’t make the message any less valid. Props: jaylibbb)
After suffering back-to-back decision defeats in his last two fights against Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald, Nate Diaz will be dropping back to his original home at lightweight, according to UFC.com. Diaz’s return opponent will be Japanese MMA icon Takanori Gomi at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage, September 24th in Denver. Gomi is coming off a submission loss to Clay Guida at UFC 125 in January, and has gone 1-2 overall in his current stint with the UFC.
Nate’s brother Nick previously faced Gomi at PRIDE 33 in one of the greatest bouts in MMA history; Diaz wore Gomi down in a gritty slugfest before tapping him in round 2 via gogoplata. The win was overturned and ruled a no-contest when Diaz tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test. But come on, bro, we all saw what happened.
The Diaz brothers already have three opponents in common. Nick has scored victories over Joe Hurley (sub R1), Koji Oishi (KO R1), and Josh Neer (sub R3), while Nate has gone 2-1 against the same opposition, dropping a decision to Oishi in his second pro fight before defeating Joe Hurley (sub R2) and Josh Neer (split dec.).
Filed under: UFC, NewsFour years ago, Takanori Gomi fought Nick Diaz in one of the best fights in the history of Pride. Now Gomi is slated to get a crack at Diaz’s little brother.
The UFC has announced that Gomi will face Nate Diaz at UFC 135, adding …
Four years ago, Takanori Gomi fought Nick Diaz in one of the best fights in the history of Pride. Now Gomi is slated to get a crack at Diaz’s little brother.
The UFC has announced that Gomi will face Nate Diaz at UFC 135, adding what should be a very entertaining lightweight fight to the September 24 card in Denver.
Gomi’s fight with Nick Diaz was a classic. Gomi, the Pride lightweight champion, entered as the favorite, but Diaz wore him out with his wild striking and his activity off his back, eventually submitting Gomi with a gogoplata in the second round. The bout was later changed to a no contest because Diaz tested positive for marijuana, but fans still remember it as a great fight, and as the performance that put Diaz on the map.
UFC President Dana White made a point of commenting on the previous Gomi-Diaz fight in announcing the next Gomi-Diaz fight, and you can bet highlights from that 2007 Pride bout will be shown regularly in the run-up to UFC 135. We can only hope Nate Diaz, who’s moving back down to lightweight after looking sluggish at welterweight, can look half as good against Gomi as his brother did.
Four years ago,