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UFC 148 Pre-Fight Analysis: Part II

Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote In a matchup clearly designed for entertainment, fan favorite Cung Le will face veteran Patrick Cote. Strikeforce tried to make Cung Le a superstar. They tried to sell his san.

Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote

In a matchup clearly designed for entertainment, fan favorite Cung Le will face veteran Patrick Cote. Strikeforce tried to make Cung Le a superstar. They tried to sell his san shou background and his wrestling background and his acting credentials. But the reality is that he’s a forty year old fighter with a 7-2 career record and no significant wins. He lost in his last fight against Wanderlei Silva, which proves he is not an elite fighter at middleweight. The UFC knew this when they brought him over from Strikeforce and they are using him to generate exciting fights against fighters who will be willing to stand with him. Enter Patrick Cote. Cote gets a chance to defeat a name fighter in his return to the octagon after being let go following three consecutive losses to Anderson Silva, Alan Belcher and Tom Lawlor. In hindsight, that release may have been premature given the emergence of Belcher.

This fight is not complicated to analyze. It will take place mostly on the feet. Le will employ all of the kicks and spinning techniques fans expect from him. He will use his wrestling defensively to keep the fight standing if Cote decides to strike. Le has the technical ability to keep Cote at a distance and outstrike him. He even has the power to finish the fight if he can land a clean combination. But Cote has never been finished via KO or TKO and I don’t expect Cung Le to do what Anderson Silva couldn’t. Cote will more than likely also want to keep the fight standing. He is a more traditional striker but that doesn’t make him any less of a threat. The power in his right hand is more dangerous than any single strike Cung Le possesses. He comes into this fight on a four fight winning streak outside of the UFC and he will be looking to use Cung Le as a step toward once again competing at the top of the middleweight division.

The oddsmakers currently have Cote favored at -245 with Le the underdog at +205. I’m not surprised to see Cote favored but I am slightly surprised at the margin. That said, Cote is the more experienced and probably more dangerous fighter. His striking is good enough to neutralize Le’s unorthodox style and earn the victory either via (T)KO or decision. If Le wants to earn the upset, he will need to utilize movement and keep Cote guessing and moving backward. Either way, this should be an entertaining fight between two dangerous strikers.

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia

In a matchup of upper level middleweights, Dong Hyun Kim will face Demian Maia as both men look to move up the ranks at 185 pounds. Kim has won six of his seven fights in the UFC excluding his fight with Karo Parisyan that was ruled a no contest after Parisyan tested positive for PEDs. Maia has struggled recently losing two of his last three fights in the UFC.

Maia has been a fixture in the UFC middleweight division for years having risen as far as a title fight with Anderson Silva. He was outclassed badly in that fight and has been up and down since then with wins over Mario Miranda, Kendall Grove and Jorge Santiago and losses to Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman. He seems to struggle when he faces the higher level of competition with his most impressive wins coming against Chael Sonnen and Dan Miller. He still possesses some of the most dangerous jiu-jitsu in the world at any weight class but his opponents have been able to neutralize that by refusing to play the ground game with him. His standup has improved over the last few years but is not at a level where he can win a striking match against a top level fighter. He will likely struggle to get Kim to the ground in this match and will need to take advantage of any opportunity he gets to grapple. More than likely, most of this fight will take place on the feet and that does not bode well for Maia. His grappling is by far the most dangerous weapon either fighter brings to the cage but unless Kim allows him to utilize it, Maia will likely be stuck in another striking match.

Dong Hyun Kim has only one official loss on his professional record and that came against Carlos Condit who is one of the best middleweights in the world. That said, Kim has yet to earn a signature victory with his biggest win coming against Amir Sadollah. Maia represents an excellent opportunity to earn a victory over a well respected middleweight and take a step up in the division. Kim was a knockout artist in Korea but that has not translated over to his UFC career as he has won all of his fights by decision. His striking is solid but not excellent and he has the defensive wrestling to keep the fight standing. He obviously has the power to finish with his strikes but has not been able to show it thus far in the the UFC. A finish against Maia would be a major statement but a decision is much more likely. He will need to keep the fight standing because even though he is competent on the ground, no one is safe against Damien Maia and he would be foolish to play that game. If he follows the appropriate gameplan and keeps the fight standing, he is capable of outstriking Maia to earn the victory.

Kim comes into the fight as the favorite at -145 with Maia the underdog at +125. The line is appropriate and this fight seems to have a clear script. Maia is always a threat if the fight goes to ground but I see no reason why Kim would allow that to happen. If the fight stays on the feet, Kim will have the advantage and he should be able to land more cleanly on his way to a decision victory.

UFC 148 Pre-Fight Analysis: Part III

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie In a clear mismatch of UFC featherweights, former title contender Chad Mendes will face MMA’s favorite one trick pony, Cody McKenzie. This fight barely even warrants a breakdown. Mendes is.

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

In a clear mismatch of UFC featherweights, former title contender Chad Mendes will face MMA’s favorite one trick pony, Cody McKenzie. This fight barely even warrants a breakdown.

Mendes is one of the best 145 pound fighters in the world. His only loss came in his last fight against Jose Aldo who is one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA. Mendes relies on his excellent wrestling and control to grind his way to victories. Eight of his eleven victories have come via decision. He keeps things simple and continues to show improved striking with every appearance. McKenzie has made a career out of his much celebrated modified guillotine choke. He used it to win all of his fights on the Ultimate Fighter as well as his last fight against Marcus LeVesseur. But whenever he has fought higher level competition such as Vagner Rocha, Yves Edwards and even Nam Phan, he has not been able to compete and was finished by all three fighters. Chad Mendes trains with one of the best camps in the world at Team Alpha Male and one of their specialties is guillotines. He will not allow McKenzie to attack his neck and this will be a great opportunity for him to earn a finish.

Mendes is favored at –600 with McKenzie at +450 and quite honestly, that line could move even further in favor of Mendes. This is not a close fight and while anything can happen in MMA, no one can reasonably expect McKenzie to win. He has one route to victory and if he locks up that choke, he could pull off the upset. But the much more likely course for this fight would be Mendes dominating McKenzie and eventually earning the victory via TKO due to ground and pound.

Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton

The UFC will kick off its blockbuster UFC 148 card with a bantamweight matchup between two veterans in Ivan Menjivar and Mike Easton. Both fighters started their professional careers around the same time but Menjivar is perceived to be the more experienced fighter with thirty two professional fights to Easton’s thirteen. Both fighters are also riding multi-fight win streaks in the UFC since the introduction of the bantamweight division with Menjivar winning three in a row and Easton winning two. However, both are coming off less than impressive victories.

Menjivar is the more well-rounded fighter with the ability to finish the fight on the feet and on the ground. He is most dangerous in the submission game but often hurts his opponents with strikes before pouncing for the finish. At age thirty, he is still capable of making a run in the 135 pound division but he will need to improve on his recent form is he hopes to do that. In his most recent victory over John Albert, Albert actually appeared to be the better fighter and dominated the first three minutes of the fight before burning himself out attempting to finish. Menjivar was able to take advantage and earn the victory via rear naked choke when his exhausted opponent gave up his back and was unable to defend. If he wants to defeat Easton, he’ll need to improve significantly over that performance.

Easton has spent the majority of his career fighting in smaller organizations taking two separate two year breaks from MMA. Easton is an explosive athlete with huge power in his hands. He has made a career of overpowering his opponents and either finishing with punches or grinding his way to a decision. He will have a power and athleticism advantage against Menjivar but will probably be at a technical disadvantage in almost every area. Like his opponent, Easton also earned a less than impressive victory in his last outing with a split decision win over Jared Papazian. Two judges scored the fight in favor of Easton but the third round was so close that either fighter could have legitimately been scored the winner. If he approaches this fight with a similarly basic gameplan of standing and hoping to land his huge right hand, he could be in trouble because Menjivar is more dangerous than Papazian and has the power to put him in trouble.

The bookmakers currently have this line as a straight up pick ‘em with both fighters at -115. This fight will come down to who really wants to be a factor in the UFC bantamweight division and whose camp comes up with the better gameplan. Menjivar has the technique to outpoint Easton on the feet and threaten him on the ground. But Easton’s power could be too much for Menjivar to handle. If Menjivar moves in and out and defends the takedown, he can win this fight on the feet. But if he allows Easton to gain and maintain top position, look for Easton to grind his way to victory.

Dana White Gets the Victory Against His Hacker

The world today is growing exponentially towards technology, and while the accompanying benefits are undeniable, risks are always involved. Dana White, President of the UFC, and the UFC website, UFC.com, have felt the full force of these risks. Recently, someone known by the username JoshTheGod, hacked into UFC.com and White’s personal information. But this online war started much earlier this year, in January.

White had advocated in support of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), as much of UFC merchandise gets pirated. As expected, many online hackers retaliated against the president of the UFC. After JoshTheGod targeted and harassed Dana White over various social media sites, he targeted UFC.com shutting down the website. White practically dared them to do it again. He responded to the hackers by stating on Twitter:

“I’m in the fight biz not the website biz!! Might be a big deal to other companies not mine.”

“Lol, I’m not fucking ebay. My website being down doesn’t mean shit”

And “I could give a flying rats ass about UFC. Com.”

Dana White went on to state, “The internet is a place where cowards live.” Shortly after this statement, White’s social security number was posted online. Dana White showed little attention to this as he uttered, “You’re gonna send some pizzas to my house and put my Social Security number out? Who gives a shit? If people really wanted to get your Social Security number, I’m sure they could find it. I’m supposed to bow down to you guys now? I’m going to come after you harder. If you want to fight me, you better pack a f—ing lunch, man. Because we’re gonna go until somebody wins and somebody loses.” White then turned to the FBI as he said he had a plan of attack figured out. As the FBI was already looking into piracy of UFC merchandise, they knew where to look. After UFC.com was hacked, other branches of the government investigated into the crime. This led these departments to pinpoint the hackers responsible, and make arrests.

While it took a good 6 months for the entire case to come to fruition and work itself out, the hacker has finally been identified as 18 year old Mir Islam, and has been subsequently arrested along with other assailants. Islam, who was also behind multiple other websites involving credit card fraud, was the head in the major sting operation. As it turns out, he had been selling credit card information to a government run website while the FBI zoned in on him. White feels as if he had a lot to do with this in opposing the group, standing his ground, and helping the feds zone in an the hacker.

We all know that Dana White is one badass guy, and this simply adds to the list. If someone posted my social security number on the internet, I would be terrified. On the other hand, I am not the head of the number one mixed martial arts promotion in the world. Anyone who decides to mess with Dana White is picking a fight with the wrong guy. He is the epitome of a man who doesn’t care what anyone thinks or feels about him, and does what he wants to do. This is the worst enemy of an online hacker, and any internet predator for that matter. Whether or not Dana White had a large part in the arrest of these criminals, we can at least thank him for challenging these assailants in a way we all wish we could embody.

By: Emily Kapala

It’s a draw for both Arianny Celeste and Praveen Chandra

In the world we live in today, any domestic dispute between a man and a woman is usually settled quite simply; the man takes the hit or the charges are dropped. Regardless of whether the.

In the world we live in today, any domestic dispute between a man and a woman is usually settled quite simply; the man takes the hit or the charges are dropped. Regardless of whether the woman starts it, she will take the stereotypical stance of the damsel in distress that was abused. In the case of UFC’s favorite ring girl, the latter outcome was the final conclusion.

The entire world of mma was shocked when a domestic violence case was surrounding UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste. She truly is a fan favorite, and scrutiny was placed on her boyfriend, Praveen Chandra. She even made an appearance the same night of the incident at UFC 146. Not only is she upholding her professional status, but also showing the world she is not affected by the results of the dispute. On May 26th, Celeste reported that her boyfriend of seven months had choked her and grabbed her arm. Pictures and reports taken at the scene validate these claims. However, Chandra told the LA police that Celeste had initially kicked him in the nose inside the limousine before entering the hotel. She then allegedly threw two vases at him once getting inside the hotel once the argument escalated. Injuries on Chandra also matched the descriptions he claimed took place. Both participants were taken into custody. However, they were released and Celeste made a showing at the UFC event a little late.

It is clear that in any domestic abuse case, the general public will almost always side with the female. Clearly in this case there should be fault given to both sides. But how come it is always socially acceptable for a female to hit a male, but it is unacceptable for a male to hit a female? I think all abuse is abuse period. I don’t think it should be slated by gender but simply the fact that domestic assault is taking place. That being said, both parties were clearly victims in this case. Regardless of who started the domestic abuse, the second person never should have retaliated unless in the case of pure self defense. Both Celeste and Chandra were dropped of all charges. The LA police department cited there was insufficient evidence to prove otherwise. Hopefully, for the sake of her career and public appeal, Celeste has learned from her mistakes. She has been given a second opportunity with a clean record, and needs to utilize this freedom. Even if she was convicted of domestic battery, her fans and the UFC would more than likely feel sorry for her misfortune or root for her “defending” herself. Either way Celeste’s reputation has not been smeared, so once again the female’s character is intact and unharmed.

By: Elise Kapala

Why Silva has the Advantage Over Sonnen

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.

By: Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

UFC 148: Who Spilled the Pro Wrestling in My MMA?

Anyone who, like me, grew up on pro wrestling in the eighties has realized by now that Dana White is some sort of bizarre hybrid between Vince McMahon and a legitimate professional athletic commissioner. And as we head into this week’s UFC 148 card, his brain must be buzzing as both aspects of that persona are watching a dream scenario unfold. Every pro wrestling promoter knows the most important part of creating an explosive main event is creating a dramatic back story involving two characters that force fans to pick a side. For the uninitiated, that scenario traditionally involves a heel (bad guy) and a babyface (good guy).

Going into UFC 148, Chael Sonnen is clearly the heal. In real life, he may not actually be the biggest asshole in the world but at this point, it doesn’t even matter because he has become his character. He has let an endless stream of arrogant guarantees interspersed with blatantly disrespectful trash talk ooze out of him throughout his rivalry with Anderson Silva. On top of that, he was suspended after the first Silva fight for having elevated levels of testosterone. If Sonnen ever gets tired of putting his body in jeopardy in the octagon, he could take his gimmick to the WWE and not have to change a thing.

On the other side of this middleweight title matchup is the ideal babyface. Again, I’m not really sure if Anderson Silva is Bruce Lee reincarnated but it doesn’t matter because he too has become his character. Silva is a martial artist. He’s a family man. He respects the traditions of the sport. He does nothing but train hard, say his prayers and eat his vitamins. He already defeated Sonnen once and still Sonnen antagonizes him. Finally, Silva has snapped. Now he is threatening Sonnen. And who can blame him. Even a peaceful warrior must eventually stand up to a bully and that moment has now arrived.

We have our heel. We have our babyface. All we need now is a back story. And as you may have heard, these two men have fought before. In typical pro wrestling fashion, the heel beat the face around the cage for twenty three straight minutes. The fight seemed over. Sonnen was dominating. But in an instant, the whole course of the fight changed. Silva slapped on a triangle, Sonnen panic tapped, tried to pretend he didn’t and then realized that he just lost the biggest fight of his life.

On Saturday night, we get to see the rematch that was inevitable from the moment Sonnen felt Silva’s spider legs pressing against his arteries. I expect the atmosphere to be one of the most electric in MMA history. If I was Dana White, I would hire Gorilla Monsoon for one night just so he could say, “You can cut the electricity with a knife!” Only the most professional, detached and potentially non-human observers will be watching this without at least a slight rooting interest.

My brain is well aware that Chael Sonnen is not the person he portrays himself to be to sell fights and Anderson Silva isn’t a real life version of the ninja from the NES Ninja Gaiden series. Both men are great athletes looking to test their skills at the highest level of combat sports and Sonnen is doing everything he can to make both men as much money as possible. And normally, that would be my mindset for watching a fight. But for some reason, this matchup brings back those pro wrestling days and I’m going to choose to suspend my disbelief for one evening. I’m going to buy what the hype machine is selling me and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.