The final card of the year is stacked from top to bottom, highlighted by arguably the most important title in combat sports: the UFC heavyweight strap. Cain Velasquez is looking to avenge the first loss of his career against Junior dos Santos to become…
The final card of the year is stacked from top to bottom, highlighted by arguably the most important title in combat sports: the UFC heavyweight strap.
Cain Velasquez is looking to avenge the first loss of his career against Junior dos Santos to become champion once again, while the rest of the main card features key middleweight and lightweight battles.
Leading off is knockout artiest Chris Leben, who returns from a year-long drug suspension to face Strikeforce newcomer Derek Brunson.
Alan Belcher is up next, looking to seal his credentials as a middleweight title contender in a rematch against Yushin Okami. The Japanese warrior beat Belcher more than six years ago, but will be facing a significantly improved fighter this time round.
In the final middleweight contest of the night, two men riding four-fight winning streaks are set to collide, as Tim Boetsch looks to solidify a spot among the division’s elite by dispatching Costa Philippou.
Just before the main event, all eyes will turn on two lightweights as Jim Miller looks to rectify his loss against Nate Diaz with a win against submission specialist Joe Lauzon.
How will the UFC’s final event of 2012 go down? Read on to find out.
When it comes to making MMA picks, I’m bad. Notoriously bad. Epically bad.The problem, I think, comes from my background as an amateur historian. Too often, I live in the past, a place that’s very dangerous for anyone looking to accurately project the …
When it comes to making MMA picks, I’m bad. Notoriously bad. Epically bad.
The problem, I think, comes from my background as an amateur historian. Too often, I live in the past, a place that’s very dangerous for anyone looking to accurately project the results of sporting events.
In the fight game, yesterday’s hero can find himself relegated to the fringes of the sport in just a matter of months. What you think you know? That’s the most dangerous information of all.
Honestly, I was happy with this paradigm. I would blissfully write about things that had happened, leaving the tricky business of predicting the future to others. To the suckers. People who didn’t understand that four-ounce gloves leave no margin of error, that the slightest malady or injury could change a fight dramatically without you being any wiser.
And then, Kountermove came along. Maybe it was the more traditional fantasy format, the accumulation of points and the salary cap especially, that made it more intriguing than your basic “pick ’em” contest? Maybe it was the fact that other industry pros were there (and picking fights successfully) that awakened the competitive bones lurking beneath the surface?
“Our game is fairly simple on its face: Our games are played over a single night during one event. Prior to the event, players get a total of $25,000 fantasy dollars and you get to pick five fighters for your team,” Ard said. “Each fighter is given a specific price by Kountermove. We assign a value for each fighter based on how we believe the fight will go.
“Points are scored if your fighters scores a finish, wins a round, lands significant strikes, knocks an opponent down, scores takedowns, secures dominant positions or attempts submissions. The more dominant your fighters’ performance, the more points you’re going to score. If you score more points than your opponents, then you win the money.”
Sound easy? It’s not. But I’ll let you discover that for yourself. Kountermove has kindly provided a free tournament, with a cash prize to the winners, for my readers here and on Twitter. Sign up and give it a shot.
And don’t worry—I won’t leave you to pick blind. Here are some of my suggestions for UFC 155. Remember, my past success is no indication that these won’t be awful picks. After all, that’s the lesson of Kountermove. Never live in the past.
Underdog pick for UFC 155: I like ConstantinosPhilippou (Salary $4,600) thanks to his knockout power and ability to get back to his feet. I think Boestch can take him down, but can he keep him there for three rounds? Added bonus? If he wins, he’s likely to get the KO. That means extra points, and I like extra points.
The MMA Encyclopedia Lock for UFC 155: Jim Miller. Jim is simply better at every phase of MMA than Joe Lauzon. Most critically, his wrestling is better, meaning he can dictate where this fight goes. Lauzon‘s recent hot run has overvalued him in some circles. I think Miller sends him crashing back to earth and hard.
My Main Event Pick: While Kountermove games are won on the undercard, the main event always attracts the most interest and is the most frequently played fight in any Kountermove tournament. This one is particularly tough. In a recent internal email, Bleacher Report staffers were fiercely split between Velasquez and dos Santos. I like Cain.
I picked him in the first fight, one dos Santos won easily, but that bout should hardly even count thanks to Cain’s significant injuries going into the cage. In many ways, assuming both are healthy, this is the first bout between both men at full strength. Cain’s wrestling and overall ability at full power will prove too much for the champion.
I encourage you to take a look at their site and give the game a shot. It’s free, and you can win some cash in my tournament. There is no financial relationship between Kountermove and Bleacher Report or Kountermove and me. I simply believe in their product and think it is a game worth playing.
I’ve read the comments—many Bleacher Report readers believe themselves experts. Now’s your chance to go out and prove it. See you there.
Cain Velasquez steps in to the main event looking to erase the lone loss on his record and reclaim the UFC Heavyweight Championship.Standing across the cage will be Junior dos Santos. Without question these are the two best heavyweights MMA has ever se…
Cain Velasquez steps in to the main event looking to erase the lone loss on his record and reclaim the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Standing across the cage will be Junior dos Santos. Without question these are the two best heavyweights MMA has ever seen.
Velasquez rebounded from the KO loss by defeating Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 146. It was a bloodbath. Velasquez opened Silva up and blood poured everywhere as the title contender continued his ferocious beatdown.
That outcome is unlikely against Dos Santos.
Here are five keys for Velasquez’s title hopes on Saturday night.
Like most UFC events, the lead up to UFC 155 has been dominated by the main event, which isn’t surprising considering the UFC’s heavyweight belt has been called the biggest prize in combat sports. But while most of the focus is falling on J…
Like most UFC events, the lead up to UFC 155 has been dominated by the main event, which isn’t surprising considering the UFC’s heavyweight belt has been called the biggest prize in combat sports.
But while most of the focus is falling on Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez this week, these two finish fights so quickly that their time inside the cage isn’t likely going to last long Saturday night.
That leaves the door open for one of the undercard bouts to try to steal the show, and since some of the most entertaining fighters on the UFC roster are set to throw down, competition is going to be fierce.
Joe Lauzon, who collects fight-night bonuses on an absurdly consistent level, is set to compete in the co-headliner against Jim Miller in a bout that is almost guaranteed to produce fireworks.
And exciting as Lauzon is, the casual fan may find themselves even more enamored by Leonard Garcia, who throws punches like he’s swinging a 20lb hammer and gets into some fan-friendly wars in the process.
However, Lauzon and Garcia’s fights on Saturday likely won’t even compare to the high-energy bout that Brad Pickett and Eddie Wineland are set to deliver.
The lighter weight classes in the UFC have produced some of the best fights in the organization since they came over from the WEC a couple of years ago, and with two of the best bantamweights on the roster set to fight this weekend, the main event on FX looks like an early favorite to in the Fight of the Night award.
Both Pickett and Wineland have been making moves towards title contention over the course of their last few bouts, and with both men coming off of impressive knockout victories, all signs point to a war between two of the best at 135.
Pickett has long had a reputation as one of the most fun to watch fighters in the bantamweight division, and despite a tough loss to interim champion RenanBarao back at UFC 138, he’s still considered a top threat to the bantamweight crown.
Much of the same can be said about Wineland, who overcame a tough 0-2 start to his UFC career by smashing Scott Jorgensen with a brutal one-punch knockout at UFC on FX 3.
With the bantamweight division short on title contenders at the moment, the winner of this fight is going to be in prime position to compete for a UFC belt at some point in 2013.
With the stakes so high, expect Pickett and Wineland to both bring their ”A” game to the cage this weekend, and if that happens, those two may be the fighters fans are talking about when UFC 155 comes to an end.
UFC 155 will feature an important clash in the middleweight division. Alan “The Talent” Belcher meets Yushin “Thunder” Okami on the PPV portion of the card.Belcher will be going for his fifth consecutive victory in the division. His last outing was an …
UFC 155 will feature an important clash in the middleweight division. Alan “The Talent” Belcher meets Yushin “Thunder” Okami on the PPV portion of the card.
Belcher will be going for his fifth consecutive victory in the division. His last outing was an impressive TKO victory over RousimarPalhares on UFC on FOX in May.
Okami rebounded from back-to-back losses at UFC 150 with a win over Buddy Roberts. A win over Belcher will put him back in the mix at middleweight.
As the middleweight division continues to get deeper, this is a must-win for both fighters if they hope to challenge for the championship in the near future. Belcher sits on the precipice of earning that shot right now.
Joe Lauzon is the epitome of an exciting fighter. In his 22 career wins, he has never seen a decision. That is quite an amazing feat. He also holds 11 post-fight bonus awards. Four of those are Fight of the Night, six are Submission of the Night and on…
Joe Lauzon is the epitome of an exciting fighter. In his 22 career wins, he has never seen a decision. That is quite an amazing feat.
He also holds 11 post-fight bonus awards. Four of those are Fight of the Night, six are Submission of the Night and one was a Knockout of the Night performance against Jens Pulver in his UFC debut.
Many are wondering if, and when, Lauzon will take the next step in his career and make the transition from exciting fighter to legitimate lightweight contender. Let’s take a look at some facts.
Lauzon is 28 years old. Many fighters hit their prime between the ages of 28 and 30. Lauzon has lost four times in his UFC career. Two of those were to Kenny Florian and Sam Stout. The third was to George Sotiropoulos, when he was at the height of his seven-fight winning streak.
His latest loss was to top lightweight contender Anthony Pettis. That is nothing to be ashamed of. Lauzon has always bounced back after losing as well. That shows he goes back and makes improvements to his game.
He has been near the top of the lightweight division for a while now. In his UFC 155 fight against injury replacement Jim Miller, he has the chance to knock off another fighter who constantly hovers near the top as well.
If Lauzon is to win his fight against Miller, a few things will need to happen. Lauzon will need to start out fast and not let Miller dictate the pace. He will also need to maintain pressure and keep Miller on his toes with his striking or submissions.
Miller has the stronger wrestling, but Lauzon has the better striking. Lauzon should look to control Miller with his striking, and that could either set up a knockout or a submission. Miller has an iron chin, but that should not stop Lauzon from trying to find it.
If Lauzon wins this fight, he should be considered a legitimate lightweight contender. He has all the skills, is coming into his physical prime and is ready to show he is an elite fighter. With a win against Miller, Lauzon would be one step closer to reaching his goal.
When it comes to making