With the original headliner changed twice now due first to Nick Diaz getting pulled from a title fight due to being Nick Diaz, and then the title fight getting scrapped altogether because champion Georges St. Pierre suffered a knee injury, this card has taken a few hits. Nevertheless, we still have a good fight card ahead of us, and here is what I think is going to go down tonight
Jeff "The Big Frog" Curran vs. Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen
bantamweight
Curran makes his return to the UFC, two weight classes below where he fought for the organization previously, while Jorgensen looks to put his stamp on returning to title contention. Curran is well rounded, but is most well known for his submission game, especially off of his back. Jorgensen is rapidly becoming a very well rounded fighter himself, but still relies on a solid wrestling game backed up by brutal ground and pound. Curran is as tough as they come, and isn't going to be a walk in the park for Jorgensen, but "Young Guns" is too strong, to fast, and has too much top pressure to give Curran any space to work his game. Jorgensen wins a spirited decision, but Curran will definitely make him work for it.
Jorgensen via Unanimous Decision
Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop
featherweight
Hioke makes his UFC debut, and will try to back up the impressive record he's amassed fighting over seas. Roop continues to show he is more than the fighter we saw on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter. Hioki has a very strong submission game, but also has sneaky stand up that he uses to set up his bread and butter. Roop, probably the tallest 145 pounder in the UFC, has improved in every fight since coming to the Zuffa organizations. His striking and take down defense have grown by leaps and bounds, and he will give Hioki everything he can handle. I see Hioki being somewhat stifled by the reach of Roop, but eventually getting him to the ground, where Roops 6'1" frame will work against him. Hioki will find a way to get Roop to tap early in the second round in a fairly entertaining fight.
Hioki via Submission, Rd. 2
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Roy "Big Country" Nelson
heavyweight
In a fight where both men desperately need a win, it figures to come down to who wants it more. Filipovic hasn't been even close to the fighter he was before the UFC, and is staring potential retirement in the face. Nelson has battled criticism of his motivation, and physique, but perhaps he can put to rest at least half of that tonight. On the feet, when motivated, Filipovic has the edge here. Unfortunately he hasn't seemed to have been motivated quite some time, and seems content to back up and let the fight come to him. When moving forward and using punches to set up his devastating kicks, he can be a terror. This coupled with his surprisingly stout ground game make him a fighter not to take lightly, if no longer feared. Nelson is an extremely well rounded fighter, combining strong power in his stand up, with a sophisticated ground game that most take lightly due to his portly appearance. The downside to that, is that Nelson has a fairly deficient offensive take down skill set, and Filipovic has solid take down defense, so this will most likely turn into a stand up fight, which favors the Croatian. A spirited fight early will slow as it progresses, and though Nelson will have spots where he he will look good, Filipovic will outlast him, and perhaps send Nelson out of the UFC in a decision.
Filipovic via Unanimous Decision
Cheick Kongo vs. Matt "Meathead" Mitrione
heavyweight
This fight will most likely be decided on the feet. Now that I have gotten the fairly obvious out of the way, lets move on to the specifics. Kongo is a chiseled beast of a man, with KO power and as he showed in his last fight, a surprising recuperative ability. He hits hard and accurately, and is getting better at stuffing take downs, and getting up off the mat when he does get taken down. Submission defense is still a glaring weakness, but in this fight, it may not come into play at all. With only five career MMA fights to his name, you'd think Mitrione would be at a huge disadvantage here. The fact is, he's a fantastic athlete who is rapidly picking up the game, and each time he steps into the Octagon, he fights a higher caliber fighter, and has finished all but one of his fights via KO or TKO. Kongo is the cleaner striker, but has a suspect chin. Mitrione might hit a bit harder, and has a head like a mountain goat. In a war of attrition, Mitrione is tougher, and in my opinion, harder to lay hands on, and will either win a lopsided decision, or nasty TKO. "Meathead" takes this one, and potentially puts himself in position for a big fight after this.
Mitrione via TKO, Rd. 2
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn vs. Nick Diaz
welterweight
This fight should prove to be the fight of the night as the two veterans lock horns in what may be a number one contender match behind Carlos Condit. Diaz wins and he gets the title fight he originally cost himself by being a knucklehead, and if Penn wins, well, we'll see what Dana White decides. In the stand up department, both men favor boxing, with Penn being the more technically sound, and bigger puncher, and Diaz having the reach advantage, coupled with his high volume "punches in bunches" style. Both men have outstanding chins, and will look to simply batter the other into submission. On the ground, they are both black belts in brazilian jiu jitsu, but with different approaches. Penn uses his ground game to look for sweeps and reversals to gain top position and either pound you out, or take your back and choke you from there. Diaz is more offensively aggressive, looking to grab whatever he can and bend or twist it in a direction it was not intended to be. Neither man has ever been submitted, and I don't see that changing tonight. If Penn is properly motivated, there are few in the world that can stop him. When he isn't, his gas tank betrays him, and a lack of desire is evident. Never one to shy away from a scrap, Diaz can push a pace few can match, and motivation is always there, but can he rise to the occasion, and be the fighter everyone wants him to be? That is where he is deficient, and it my be too much to overcome. This will be a stand up war, and Penn will take advantage of the looping punches that Diaz throws, and score more often than the Stockton native. Diaz will get his shots in, but they wont be enough as Penn wins a wildly entertaining decision, and the challenger after Condit for the 170 pound title will once again be up in the air.
Penn via Unanimous Decision.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
MMA and me; day 169
The last month has been brutal, but I finally got back into the gym and I couldn't be happier. Due to my rib still not being fully healthy, I'm not doing any jiu jitsu or grappling for a bit, but I can still hit pads, so I'll be doing a heck of a lot of boxing. Tuesday we worked on some combos that were new to me, and I loved it! We started off with a jab, straight, high catch, counter, hook catch, hook, straight, left turn, double jab. Next was the jab straight to begin again, then into a double body catch, counter, double hook, straight, left turn, double jab. I liked that one a lot, because of the double hook that sets up the straight beautifully! We followed that with another jab straight set up, then a low block. This was different then what we've used in the past to block or counter a jab, and used the elbow to intercept the punch, the counter right off that, then pull, counter, and left turn, double jab. Lastly, we used a different set up, and began things with a straight, hook, straight slip, roll, counter, pull, counter, left turn, double jab. We finished off with a good 6-7 minutes of burnouts on the bags, and that was class. Awesome day, felt great to be back in the gym, and thanks to Coach Troy for working after class with me and a couple other fellas as well.
Tuesday's combos
1) 1-2-high catch-2-3-2-hook catch-3-2-left turn-1-1
2) 1-2-catch body 6-catch body 5-6-5-3-2-3-3-2-left turn-1-1
3) 1-2-low catch-2-3-2-pull-2-3-2-left turn-1-1
4) 2-3-slip 2-roll-2-3-2-pull-2-3-2-left turn-1-1
Tuesday's combos
1) 1-2-high catch-2-3-2-hook catch-3-2-left turn-1-1
2) 1-2-catch body 6-catch body 5-6-5-3-2-3-3-2-left turn-1-1
3) 1-2-low catch-2-3-2-pull-2-3-2-left turn-1-1
4) 2-3-slip 2-roll-2-3-2-pull-2-3-2-left turn-1-1
Thursday, October 13, 2011
taking a little time off
So the blog has been out of date for a while now. This is due to several reasons. I had been planning on taking some time off after my grappling tournament at the end of September (which I'll get to in a minute) because I just needed some me time, and I very much needed to spend more time with my beautiful and amazing wife who graciously sacrificed many an evening to allow me to train and prepare for two months leading up to the tournament. A few days before the event, I unfortunately injured my rib cage. I thought it was no big deal, and went ahead cutting weight and planned on participating as normal.
Well I made weight (by a pound and a half, WHOO HOO!) and the following day got ready to compete. Well my rib was still bothering me, but I chalked it up to a normal nagging injury that happens when training combat sports. I won my first match pretty handily, but I wasn't able to get the submission finish. I won on points, 15-0, which if you're not familiar with grappling tournament scoring, is a pretty sound drubbing, not to toot my own horn. During the match, I could definitely feel my rib getting worse, and I also heard a pop in my left elbow defending a submission, but I wasn't pulling out. I'll be damned before I give in to injury, often to my detriment, and this was no different. In my second match I went up against my gym mate and good friend Morgan. I'll be honest, when we're both 100% healthy, I maybe beat him 40% of the time, and that's probably being generous to me. Not wanting to give up, I did my best, but succumbed to an arm bar early in the match, and heard another, albeit smaller pop in my right elbow. After this, my coach told me that he didn't want me grappling any more that day, and at this point, I couldn't keep toughing it out. I withdrew from the remainder of the tournament, and watched with a great deal of pride as Morgan went on to win first place in our division. Morgan, you did a damn good job my friend, congratulations!
The following week was full of some pretty bad pain in the ribs, and I finally went and got it looked at, ten days after the initial injury. A few x-rays and a chat with the doc later, it was determined that nothing was broken or dislocated, but I had most likely torn either muscle or cartilage in between two of my ribs. He gave me some uber anti-inflammatories which knocked the sweeling way down, and reduced the pain to a very manageable level. I'm taking the rest of the month off from grappling (maybe longer, we'll see what coach says), but I'm hoping to be back to boxing next week, and start to get back into the swing of things. Thanks to everyone for their support, friends and family. I could not have gotten even half this far without your help. Thank you to my coaches and training partners, you are all amazing people who push me and challenge me every day. Lastly, to my unbelievable wife, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I plan on never letting you forget this!
One last thing. A lot of people have been curious what I look like these days, and others wanted to see photos from before I really started cutting weight, and after. Well I started on a dietary supplement about two weeks out, and was between 185 and 188, those are the first batch of pictures (with hair) When I weighed in, I was at 168.6, and the shaved head pictures are from that day. Here they are, and yes, I am a very hairy bastard.
I LOVE YOU ALL!
Well I made weight (by a pound and a half, WHOO HOO!) and the following day got ready to compete. Well my rib was still bothering me, but I chalked it up to a normal nagging injury that happens when training combat sports. I won my first match pretty handily, but I wasn't able to get the submission finish. I won on points, 15-0, which if you're not familiar with grappling tournament scoring, is a pretty sound drubbing, not to toot my own horn. During the match, I could definitely feel my rib getting worse, and I also heard a pop in my left elbow defending a submission, but I wasn't pulling out. I'll be damned before I give in to injury, often to my detriment, and this was no different. In my second match I went up against my gym mate and good friend Morgan. I'll be honest, when we're both 100% healthy, I maybe beat him 40% of the time, and that's probably being generous to me. Not wanting to give up, I did my best, but succumbed to an arm bar early in the match, and heard another, albeit smaller pop in my right elbow. After this, my coach told me that he didn't want me grappling any more that day, and at this point, I couldn't keep toughing it out. I withdrew from the remainder of the tournament, and watched with a great deal of pride as Morgan went on to win first place in our division. Morgan, you did a damn good job my friend, congratulations!
The following week was full of some pretty bad pain in the ribs, and I finally went and got it looked at, ten days after the initial injury. A few x-rays and a chat with the doc later, it was determined that nothing was broken or dislocated, but I had most likely torn either muscle or cartilage in between two of my ribs. He gave me some uber anti-inflammatories which knocked the sweeling way down, and reduced the pain to a very manageable level. I'm taking the rest of the month off from grappling (maybe longer, we'll see what coach says), but I'm hoping to be back to boxing next week, and start to get back into the swing of things. Thanks to everyone for their support, friends and family. I could not have gotten even half this far without your help. Thank you to my coaches and training partners, you are all amazing people who push me and challenge me every day. Lastly, to my unbelievable wife, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I plan on never letting you forget this!
One last thing. A lot of people have been curious what I look like these days, and others wanted to see photos from before I really started cutting weight, and after. Well I started on a dietary supplement about two weeks out, and was between 185 and 188, those are the first batch of pictures (with hair) When I weighed in, I was at 168.6, and the shaved head pictures are from that day. Here they are, and yes, I am a very hairy bastard.
I LOVE YOU ALL!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
UFC 136
A busy week necessitates a short preview once again. One of these days I'll make time to get back to writing these the way I prefer, but until then....
Nam Phan vs. Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia
featherweight
A rematch of a highly contentious fight from last December that Garcia somehow won, Phan looks to even the score this go around. Despite fighting out of Greg Jacksons camp in Albuquerque, Garcia is more of a head hunter than an octagon tactician. Throwing most of his punches from his hips and looping them like Wanderlei Silva on crack, a patient counter puncher, like Mark Hominick or Phan in their first fight, has shown to be his bane. What Phan lacks in size and strength, he makes up for with fight savvy, octagon awareness, and buckets of heart. Garcia is going to come out throwing all of his punches with everything he can, and unless Phan gets careless and gets clipped, it's going to be a rough night for "Bad Boy". It very well could be a repeat of Garcias second fight against Chan Sung Jung, but most likely Phan will counter punch to his hearts delight en route to a decisive, and very entertaining three round victory.
Phan via Unanimous Decision
Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard vs. Joe "L-Lau" Lauzon
lightweight
Guillard is two wins away from getting a lightweight title shot, and Lauzon is going to try for his most definitive win since knocking out Jens Pulver in his UFC debut. Since joining the aforementioned Jacksons Camp, Guillard has been nothing short of spectacular, dispatching seven of his last eight opponents. He's fast, strong, and keeps getting better, which for a guy that young, is a scary prospect. He'll keep this fight standing and use his frighteningly quick and powerful stand up to end Lauzons night in a hurry. "J-Lau" is nearly as tenacious on the ground, as Guillard is on the feet. With an approach to the ground game that few in the division can match, the only thing that seems to go against him is suspect conditioning, and his seeming unwillingness to pace himself early in fights. This fight will make it out of the first round, which seemingly favors Lauzon, but with Guillard being the bigger, stronger fighter, and Lauzon not really being able to offer enough in the stand up department to phase the "Young Assassin", the Jackson fighter will most likely get the referee stoppage in the second.
Guillard via TKO, Rd. 2
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian "The All American" Stann
middleweight
In his first fight in over a year, Sonnen looks to get right back into title contention with a win over the surging Stann. After coming within half of a round of winning the 185 pound strap, legal issues and alleged PED use have shelved him for the last year, but if he can utilize his smothering ground and pound and avoid the big shots on his feet, he should be able to get back to cementing his belief that he is the rightful heir to the middleweight throne. Stann, has other plans. Coming off the two biggest wins in his career, Stann has reinvented himself at middleweight, and a win over Sonnen would ostensibly catapult him to the front of the admittedly short line of fresh challengers for Anderson Silvas belt. Much like Guillard, Stann has found career rejuvenation with Greg Jackson, and the refinement to his well rounded style have paid big dividends. He will need to be able to avoid the take downs, and try to land shots of the elusive, and sturdy chin of Sonnen. Stann also should look to exploit the gaping hole Sonnen has in his ground game, as the Oregonian has shown an almost non existent submission defense. This fight will be very close, but as much as I'd like to pick Stann, I think Sonnen overcomes cage rust and can squeak out a three round nod from the judges.
Sonnen via Unanimous Decision
FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Champion: Jose "Scarface" Aldo vs. Kenny "KenFlo" Florian
Florian steps into just his second 145 pound fight in what is perhaps his last shot at championship gold. Despite all his accomplishments in the sport, he is still dogged by his seeming inability to perform when the spotlight shines on him. A solid octagon tactician with nasty muay thai, and a wicked ground game, he still seems to be his own worst enemy when the stakes are raised. Aldo, well, what can you say about the man that has absolutely walked through every opponent he has faced? Out side of Anderson Silva, no fighter can match his blend of speed and power backed up by unerring accuracy. At only 25 years old, he has nothing but time in front of him to cement himself as one of the best pound for pound fighters ever. A concern for Aldo is the strain of cutting to 145 puts on him, but having done it far more than Florian (who has no easy go of it himself) this seems to be a non issue, at least for now. One area where we don't know much about Aldo is on the ground, and with that being somewhere that Florian has shined in the past, one thinks he'll do his best to get it there. Though he will put forth a valiant effort, Aldo is too much in all other areas for Florian, and will shine as he composes another epic victory over the course of a five round decision.
Aldo via Unanimous Decision.
LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Champion: Frankie "The Answer" Edgar vs. Gray "The Bully" Maynard
When last these two men fought, it was a sterling five round war that resulted in an unsatisfying draw. Maynard beat Edgar to a pulp in the first round, then saw him come roaring back in the next several round and turn what looked to be a sure win for Maynard into an early front runner for Fight of the Year. Edgar will keep doing what he's been doing his whole career; be the quicker, more technical fighter, and rely on his conditioning to run circles around bigger and stronger fighters. Maynard will need to utilize the skills that won him their first match, namely being a gigantic 155 pounder, and some of the best wrestling in the division. If he tries to stand and bang with Edgar again, he'll likely have the tables turned on him, as he is too slow and does not have the head movement or footwork to keep up with Edgar over the course of five rounds. There's always the chance that he can capitalize on early success like he nearly did in their last fight, but I don't see Edgar making those mistakes again. Expect Maynard to try and get this to the ground early, but Edgar is simply too difficult to nail down early in fights, and despite giving up a massive size advantage, he keeps the fight in areas where that gap just wont come into play. It will be a close, competitive fight, but nowhere near as gripping as their previous one, and Edgar will walk away with title in hand after five grueling rounds.
Edgar via Unanimous Decision
Nam Phan vs. Leonard "Bad Boy" Garcia
featherweight
A rematch of a highly contentious fight from last December that Garcia somehow won, Phan looks to even the score this go around. Despite fighting out of Greg Jacksons camp in Albuquerque, Garcia is more of a head hunter than an octagon tactician. Throwing most of his punches from his hips and looping them like Wanderlei Silva on crack, a patient counter puncher, like Mark Hominick or Phan in their first fight, has shown to be his bane. What Phan lacks in size and strength, he makes up for with fight savvy, octagon awareness, and buckets of heart. Garcia is going to come out throwing all of his punches with everything he can, and unless Phan gets careless and gets clipped, it's going to be a rough night for "Bad Boy". It very well could be a repeat of Garcias second fight against Chan Sung Jung, but most likely Phan will counter punch to his hearts delight en route to a decisive, and very entertaining three round victory.
Phan via Unanimous Decision
Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard vs. Joe "L-Lau" Lauzon
lightweight
Guillard is two wins away from getting a lightweight title shot, and Lauzon is going to try for his most definitive win since knocking out Jens Pulver in his UFC debut. Since joining the aforementioned Jacksons Camp, Guillard has been nothing short of spectacular, dispatching seven of his last eight opponents. He's fast, strong, and keeps getting better, which for a guy that young, is a scary prospect. He'll keep this fight standing and use his frighteningly quick and powerful stand up to end Lauzons night in a hurry. "J-Lau" is nearly as tenacious on the ground, as Guillard is on the feet. With an approach to the ground game that few in the division can match, the only thing that seems to go against him is suspect conditioning, and his seeming unwillingness to pace himself early in fights. This fight will make it out of the first round, which seemingly favors Lauzon, but with Guillard being the bigger, stronger fighter, and Lauzon not really being able to offer enough in the stand up department to phase the "Young Assassin", the Jackson fighter will most likely get the referee stoppage in the second.
Guillard via TKO, Rd. 2
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian "The All American" Stann
middleweight
In his first fight in over a year, Sonnen looks to get right back into title contention with a win over the surging Stann. After coming within half of a round of winning the 185 pound strap, legal issues and alleged PED use have shelved him for the last year, but if he can utilize his smothering ground and pound and avoid the big shots on his feet, he should be able to get back to cementing his belief that he is the rightful heir to the middleweight throne. Stann, has other plans. Coming off the two biggest wins in his career, Stann has reinvented himself at middleweight, and a win over Sonnen would ostensibly catapult him to the front of the admittedly short line of fresh challengers for Anderson Silvas belt. Much like Guillard, Stann has found career rejuvenation with Greg Jackson, and the refinement to his well rounded style have paid big dividends. He will need to be able to avoid the take downs, and try to land shots of the elusive, and sturdy chin of Sonnen. Stann also should look to exploit the gaping hole Sonnen has in his ground game, as the Oregonian has shown an almost non existent submission defense. This fight will be very close, but as much as I'd like to pick Stann, I think Sonnen overcomes cage rust and can squeak out a three round nod from the judges.
Sonnen via Unanimous Decision
FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Champion: Jose "Scarface" Aldo vs. Kenny "KenFlo" Florian
Florian steps into just his second 145 pound fight in what is perhaps his last shot at championship gold. Despite all his accomplishments in the sport, he is still dogged by his seeming inability to perform when the spotlight shines on him. A solid octagon tactician with nasty muay thai, and a wicked ground game, he still seems to be his own worst enemy when the stakes are raised. Aldo, well, what can you say about the man that has absolutely walked through every opponent he has faced? Out side of Anderson Silva, no fighter can match his blend of speed and power backed up by unerring accuracy. At only 25 years old, he has nothing but time in front of him to cement himself as one of the best pound for pound fighters ever. A concern for Aldo is the strain of cutting to 145 puts on him, but having done it far more than Florian (who has no easy go of it himself) this seems to be a non issue, at least for now. One area where we don't know much about Aldo is on the ground, and with that being somewhere that Florian has shined in the past, one thinks he'll do his best to get it there. Though he will put forth a valiant effort, Aldo is too much in all other areas for Florian, and will shine as he composes another epic victory over the course of a five round decision.
Aldo via Unanimous Decision.
LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Champion: Frankie "The Answer" Edgar vs. Gray "The Bully" Maynard
When last these two men fought, it was a sterling five round war that resulted in an unsatisfying draw. Maynard beat Edgar to a pulp in the first round, then saw him come roaring back in the next several round and turn what looked to be a sure win for Maynard into an early front runner for Fight of the Year. Edgar will keep doing what he's been doing his whole career; be the quicker, more technical fighter, and rely on his conditioning to run circles around bigger and stronger fighters. Maynard will need to utilize the skills that won him their first match, namely being a gigantic 155 pounder, and some of the best wrestling in the division. If he tries to stand and bang with Edgar again, he'll likely have the tables turned on him, as he is too slow and does not have the head movement or footwork to keep up with Edgar over the course of five rounds. There's always the chance that he can capitalize on early success like he nearly did in their last fight, but I don't see Edgar making those mistakes again. Expect Maynard to try and get this to the ground early, but Edgar is simply too difficult to nail down early in fights, and despite giving up a massive size advantage, he keeps the fight in areas where that gap just wont come into play. It will be a close, competitive fight, but nowhere near as gripping as their previous one, and Edgar will walk away with title in hand after five grueling rounds.
Edgar via Unanimous Decision
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