Tag: Thiago Alves

MMA Top 10 Welterweights: Where Does Nick Diaz Rank?

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceNick Diaz is one of the hardest fighters to rank in mixed martial arts.

Some folks argue that Diaz is a Top 5 welterweight, and maybe even the guy with the best combination of skills to dethrone the consensus No. 1, George…

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Nick Diaz is one of the hardest fighters to rank in mixed martial arts.

Some folks argue that Diaz is a Top 5 welterweight, and maybe even the guy with the best combination of skills to dethrone the consensus No. 1, Georges St. Pierre. His win over Evangelista Cyborg Santos was Diaz’s ninth straight victory, and he’s finished eight of those nine opponents. It’s been a long time since Diaz stepped into the cage and turned in an unimpressive performance.

But others argue that Diaz isn’t even a Top 10 welterweight because the quality of his opposition has been less than stellar. None of those nine wins has come against anyone who’s even close to a Top 10 opponent himself. And Strikeforce has matched Diaz up with opponents who play to his strengths, while never testing what may be Diaz’s greatest weakness by putting him in the cage with a wrestler.

So where do we rank Diaz? I have my answer below. Your answer may differ.

MMA Top 10 Welterweights: No End in Sight to GSP’s Dominance

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, WelterweightsGeorges St. Pierre whipped Josh Koscheck for five rounds at UFC 124, bringing to 30 his streak of consecutive rounds won. Think about that: St. Pierre has fought the best of the best in the welterwe…

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Georges St. Pierre whipped Josh Koscheck for five rounds at UFC 124, bringing to 30 his streak of consecutive rounds won. Think about that: St. Pierre has fought the best of the best in the welterweight division, and although you can knock him for not finishing most of his recent fights, even the wildly inconsistent judges we have in MMA these days couldn’t find a reason to score a single round against him over 30 rounds of action.

So when does that change? Jake Shields has dominated a whole lot of opponents himself recently, winning 15 straight fights including eight by stoppage and five by unanimous decision. But while Shields is certainly worthy of his title shot, it’s extremely difficult to envision him actually beating St. Pierre, who does just about everything better than Shields. I could very easily see St. Pierre beating Shields by yet another unanimous decision, 50-45 all the way around.

And so as we rank the Top 10 welterweights in MMA, we’re left wondering if any of them have what it takes to end GSP’s reign.

UFC 124 BETTING ODDS

Our MMA analyst, Steve Cofield of Cagewriter.com and ESPN Radio returns to host MMAFix UFC 123 Betting Odds. Cofield debates the UFC 124 betting odds with guest panelists Damon Martin of MMAWeekly.com and Larry Pepe of ProMMARadio.com.
The three experts weigh in on Thiago Alves in his “final” attempt at cutting weight to 170lbs as […]

Our MMA analyst, Steve Cofield of Cagewriter.com and ESPN Radio returns to host MMAFix UFC 123 Betting Odds. Cofield debates the UFC 124 betting odds with guest panelists Damon Martin of MMAWeekly.com and Larry Pepe of ProMMARadio.com.

The three experts weigh in on Thiago Alves in his “final” attempt at cutting weight to 170lbs as Dana White gives him one more chance and he takes on John Howard. Alves is considered a -300 favorite against Howard who is at +220, though both are coming off losses. Alves actually holds two recent back to back losses to the top 2 ranked Welterweights in the world, Jon Fitch and Georges St. Pierre. Howard suffered his first loss in the UFC at UFC on Versus 2, when his fight with Jake Ellenberger was stopped in the 3rd round due to TKO (doctor stoppage). Is the money worth laying down on John Howard or Thiago Alves? Damon Martin and Larry Pepe make their determinations in the video below:

Watch UFC 124 Betting Odds: St-Pierre Vs. Koscheck Part 1 on RawVegas.tv

Steve Cofield also asks the panel if +300 is worth staking on Josh Koscheck in his Main Event title contendor shot against UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, who is about -400 to -500 in online sportsbooks. Check the video below if Kos would be a good bet.

Watch UFC 124 Betting Odds: St-Pierre Vs. Koscheck Part 2 on RawVegas.tv

For a full breakdown of the lines from all the major online Sportsbooks, check out our Odds Sidebar on our Home Page.

Countdown to UFC 124 Videos

(Video courtesy BREAK/UFC.com)
If you missed the Countdown to UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck show on Monday, we got you covered.
One of the most intriguing parts of the St-Pierre-Koscheck segment of the show came courtesy of Kos’ ex-college w…

(Video courtesy BREAK/UFC.com)

If you missed the Countdown to UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck show on Monday, we got you covered.

One of the most intriguing parts of the St-Pierre-Koscheck segment of the show came courtesy of Kos’ ex-college wrestling coach who said that the American Kickboxing Academy-trained fighter’s assholish persona is not an act. According to the coach, Koscheck who was not well-liked by his college teammates once nearly came to blows with a fellow wrestler in the change rooms and was known as a bit of a loner. He said that he didn’t bat an eye at the way his former charge was portrayed on The Ultimate Fighter, because he remembers him being a bit of a dick.

We’ll have more on Koscheck’s abrasive personality from his AKA teammate, Phil Baroni on tomorrow’s UFC 124 edition of The Bum Rush. 

It’s also worth noting from the countdown show that Koscheck, who was involved with Bobby Southworth in taunting that "fatherless bastard" Chris Leben on TUF 1 was raised very modestly by a single mother and seems very bitter as a result. Maybe Josh just needs a good hug to make him stop being such a prick. Too bad he says he’ll never fight Jon Fitch.

Check out the rest of the countdown videos after the jump.

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Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

("This thing used to be alive! LMFAO!" More Brock Lesnar hunting photos at Sherdog.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Clu…

Brock Lesnar hunting deer UFC
("This thing used to be alive! LMFAO!" More Brock Lesnar hunting photos at Sherdog.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Five Lessons: Strikeforce vs. UFC (Versus MMA Beat)

– Georges St. Pierre: Emphasis in Camp Was on Finishing Josh Koscheck (MMA Fighting)

– "When the Pitbull Bites" – Thiago Alves Documentary/Highlight Video From KahL-One (MMA Scraps)

– Jim Miller Is Patiently Waiting For His Shot (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Maia, Bonnar Lead TUF 12 Finale Salary List (MMA Convert)

– James Toney Calls Out Rampage Jackson by Claiming He’s a ‘Black Redneck’ (MiddleEasy)

– Exclusive Interview: George Sotiropoulos ‘Moving in the Right Direction’ Heading Into Fight With Dennis Siver (LowKick)

– Season-Winner Jonathan Brookins Tops List of TUF 12 Finale Suspensions (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Behind the Lens: Vitor Belfort (FightMagazine)

– SB Nation Exclusive: Stefan Struve Talks Path To UFC, Sean McCorkle And St. Pierre vs. Koscheck (SBNation.com/MMA)

UFC 124 GSP vs Koscheck

Main card Welterweight Championship bout: Canada Georges St-Pierre (Current Champion) vs Josh Koscheck Striking advantage: St-Pierre Wrestling advantage: St-Pierre Submission advantage: St-Pierre KO Advantage: Even Mental advantage (from winning previously): St-Pierre Cardio advantage: Even MMA IQ: St-Pierre Fighting in Hometown: St-Pierre Experience: Even I don’t see how on paper Koscheck wins this fight the second […]

Main card

Welterweight Championship bout: Canada Georges St-Pierre (Current Champion) vs Josh Koscheck

Striking advantage: St-Pierre
Wrestling advantage: St-Pierre
Submission advantage: St-Pierre
KO Advantage: Even
Mental advantage (from winning previously): St-Pierre
Cardio advantage: Even
MMA IQ: St-Pierre
Fighting in Hometown: St-Pierre
Experience: Even

I don’t see how on paper Koscheck wins this fight the second time around. However, Koscheck is an extremely tough individual and always has the puncher’s chance. I’m going to skip that chance and take St-Pierre. GSP is a heavy favorite, but I still think he is going to win.

Heavyweight bout: Netherlands Stefan Struve vs Sean McCorkle

Two giants here. However, Struve has more experience and has shown to have a really tough chin. Couple that with his long jab and good Thai clinch work plus his excellent submission game. I give a heavy edge to Struve.

Lightweight bout: Jim Miller vs Charles Oliveira

I think Oliveira has the striking advantage here. I’m going with Chuck.

Lightweight bout: Joe Stevenson vs Mac Danzig

Not sure Mac Danzig brings enough to the table to beat Joe Stevenson. Should be an excellent fight though.

Welterweight bout: Thiago Alves vs John Howard

Thiago Alves against John Howard. Interesting matchup. Thiago provides a lot of standup weapons against Howard who is dangerous in the clinch and on top when on the mat.

I lean towards the favorite here, but I could see Howard getting takedowns and winning a decision just the same. Haven’t seen odds for this yet.

Preliminary card

Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs Dustin Hazelett

Going to be interesting fight against two jiu-jitsu aces. Hazelett likely to have a significant reach advantage. Bocek is a zombie who is hard to finish. Neither one is probably going to submit the other and neither one is going to KO the other. I lean towards Bocek because he never stops moving forward. That is enough to take a decision.

Middleweight bout: Jesse Bongfeldt vs Rafael Natal

Pass

Welterweight bout: Matt Riddle vs Sean Pierson

Unfamiliar with Pierson. Riddle has been impressive though.

Middleweight bout: Joe Doerksen vs Dan Miller

I don’t see anything Doerksen can do take Miller out here. Miller not be able to do anything to Doerksen either though. Depending on how bad odds are skewed, I like Miller. If they are outrageous its worthwhile to go the other way. Evenly matched fight, Miller has better cardio.

Welterweight bout: TJ Grant vs Ricardo Almeida

Another close match. The always gritty TJ Grant will put up a good fight against Ricardo Almeida who was choked out by Matt Hughes in 20 seconds, but he won’t finish Almeida and I lean towards Almeida getting the sub.

Lightweight bout: Pat Audinwood vs John Makdessi
Pass