Ok it was announced earlier today that Check Kongo v Paul Buentello would be fighting on this card . That sounds like a nice stand an bang fight if I ever heard one. Lets have a look at what the card looks like overall .

MAIN CARD

• Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
• Paul Buentello vs. Cheick Kongo
• John Howard vs. Anthony Johnson
• Shannon Gugerty vs. Clay Guida*

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Spencer Fisher vs. Duane “Bang” Ludwig
• James Irvin vs. Alessio Sakara*
• Chase Gormley vs. Brendan Schaub*
• Rob Kimmons vs. Mike Pierce*

* – Not officially announced

Man that card looks wonderful barring any unforseen freak accidents. You have Bones Jonse taking a step up in competition with Vera who has good Muay Thai so that should be a fun striking match. I wonder though how gun shy Bones will be Vera is really precise for the most part so would he want to throw volume and bully him but risk leaving himself open? Honestly feel this is a better match up for Vera then Lil Nog at 109.

You have what could be the toughest opponet yet for Junior Dos Santos with his fight wiht Gabe Gonzaga. If he wins this fight I will start to belive the hype more about JDS. Gonzaga is coming off of a bout of staph infection which hopefully wont effect his performance.  I wonder how this will play out will JDS go to the ground and roll with a BJJ black belt or will he strike? I have a feeling he is going to strike with Gonzaga.

You have the newly leaked unoffical match between Kongo and Buentello . I always like watching a Kongo fight where he dosen’t have to worry about take downs should be fun.

Shannon Gugerty is looking like he will be the one who will replace Sean Sherk. This could be fun since Gugerty has described him self as a grappler with 8 of his 12 wins coming by submission. How will Guida react to this style since he seems to be like glue sometimes and sticks to people .

Here is the down side to all of this . ITS ON VERSUS . Now if you have VS good for you , you can do a little happy dance if you wish. For me and the multitude of other people who do not we are instead doing the sad dance. This card looks awesome (right now) so heres to hoeing that the whole Direct TV thing gets figure out and VS is on in other providers as well . So after you follow me on Twitter sub the blog and all that jazz why don’t you email/call you provider and ask for VS.

MMA Junkie Reports:

http://mmajunkie.com/news/17573/sherk-scratched-gugerty-steps-in-to-face-guida-at-ufc-on-versus-1-in-march.mma

Shannon Gugerty

- 12-4-0 MMA/2-2 UFC Record

- Lost 2 of last 3 Fights

- Notable Wins: Matt Grice, Dale Hartt, Cub Swanson

UFC Fight Night On Verse: Vera vs. Jones
Anthony Johnson vs. John Howard (Official)
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Eliot Marshall (Official)
Clay Guida vs. Sean Sherk (Rumored)
Spencer Fisher vs. Duane Ludwig (Rumored)
Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley (Rumored)

UFC 111
Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller
Matt Brown vs. Ricardo Almeida
Kurt Pellegrino vs. TBA

UFC Fight Night 22
Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera

UFC 112
B.J. Penn vs. Frank Edgar (Rumored)
Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort (Rumored)
Kendall Grove vs. TBA

UFC 113
Jeremy Stephens vs. Sam Stout
Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet
Patrick Cote vs. TBA

MMA Junkie Reports:

http://mmajunkie.com/news/17491/clay-guida-and-sean-sherk-agree-to-meet-at-ufc-fight-night-21-in-march.mma

Clay Guida

- 25-11-0 MMA/ 5-5 UFC Record

- 2 fight losing streak

- Notable Wins: Nate Diaz, Mac Danzig, Josh Thomson

Sean Sherk

- 33-4-1 MMA/ 7-4 UFC Record

- Lost 2 of last 3 fights

- Notable Wins: Tyson Griffin, Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz

Photos : ufc.com

December 25, 2009 by Eric Jarrod

The Ares MMA fight of the year is Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida.  The fight was the main event of The Ultimate Fighter: Team US vs Team UK Finale on June 20, 2009.  The fighters met at the center of the octagon with guns blazing.  Diego was a bit quicker to the draw and took control of the fight early.  Clay Guida was almost stopped, but Guida was able to survive in Rocky Balboa fashion and make it out of the first round.  In the second round, Guida was able to use his wrestling and take control of the octagon and take Diego to the mat.  While Diego had Cuida in his guard, Diego was able to land several nasty elbow strikes to the head of Guida – one of which opened up a nasty cut on the head of Guida.  Blood always adds to the drama of a fight, and this fight was no different.  Diego was able to control the remainder of the fight, but the bloodied Guida hung in there and kept swinging.  At the conclusion of the third round, Diego Sanchez was named the winner by split decision.

mmafrenzy.com

Sanchez vs Guida just edged out Couture vs Nogueira, from UFC 102, and Josh Thomson vs Gilbert Melendez, from the latest Strikeforce card.  There was a ton of great mixed martial arts in the past year, but Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida was the fight of 2009.

1. Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102

2. Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida at TUF 9 Finale

3. Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown 2 at WEC 41

4. Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40

5. Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone at WEC 38

6. Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos

7. Donald Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson at WEC 43

8. Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle at UFC 93

9. Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night 18

10. Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99

Others: Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller at UFC 100, Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher at UFC 100, Chris Lytle vs. Kevin Burns at TUF 9 Finale, Carlos Condit vs. Jake Ellenberger at UFN 18,

The fight-ending head kick in UFC 107's main event.

The aftermath; Diego Sanchez looking like he got hit in the face with a battle-axe.

A lot has been said over the last week from a lot of different people about how there is no one at 155lbs who can beat B.J. Penn.  Let me preface my own opinion by first saying that I believe there is no deeper a division in mixed martial arts as a whole than the 155lb weight class.  There are hugely talented lightweights in the UFC.  Guys like former champ Sean Sherk; former challengers Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, and Joe Stevenson; wrestlers and boxers like Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, and Frankie Edgar; young talents like Nate Diaz and Efrain Escudero; and finally the celebrated gatekeeper Clay Guida.  Zuffa’s other mixed martial arts promotion, WEC, may soon invade these ranks as well with talents like Benson Henderson, Donald Cerrone, and champion Jamie Varner; not to mention the possibility of a future catch-weight fight with a guy like current WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo might be pretty awesome down the line.  But that’s not all, Strikeforce has two lightweight superstars fighting for their championship on Saturday night in Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson, and Japan’s DREAM promotion might have the only really intriguing fights for a guy like Penn.

Kenny Florian rounding out an already powerful striking arsenal by adding great boxing hands, footwork, and timing.

Joe Rogan even said it during the fourth round of UFC 107’s main event.  Who can challenge this guy?  Mike Goldberg was already setting the stage for Penn’s inevitable destruction of either Edgar or Maynard, when Joe Rogan quietly said “we may need to steal Aoki from Japan”.  Joe is clearly a fan of mixed martial arts and not just the UFC, so good for him for speaking his mind.  He’s right, the consensus worldwide number 2 rank at 155lbs is Japan’s Shinya Aoki, who just started fighting in a cage and will probably continue to do so at Strikeforce soon enough, making their division even more interesting, albeit still not as deep.  Aoki is an extremely creative grappler, has unpredictable submissions, and is savvy enough that he could get Penn to the ground.  DREAM also has Joaquim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri, GZ Calvancante, and of course Bellator Fighting’s Eddie Alvarez.  Almost all of those guys are consensus top ten ranked fighters at 155lbs. If I could choose the most competitive opponent for B.J. Penn it would be either Eddie Alvarez or a rematch with Kenny Florian, but if I could choose the most intriguing and exciting match-up it would be with Shinya Aoki.  Anyway, Gray Maynard should be next in line and he’d better work hard on his shot and his top game.  I don’t like his chances because no one can beat Penn at 155lbs right now.

Strikeforce Evolution

Strikeforce has put together a pretty decent card before the likes of superstars Fedor and Dan Henderson get ready to scrap again (I hear they are both fighting for the CBS card in April).  Robbie Lawler has had two opponents get hurt in preparation for him and now he has no one to fight, so he is officially off of the card.  That’s a hit because the preliminary card has really nothing exciting to speak of.  Still some great match-ups here and that’s three major main cards in a row they’ve put together that are strong from top to bottom.  I won’t make predictions for the preliminary card because I’ve literally only heard of two fighters and to the best of my knowledge I’ve only seen one of them fight (Japanese veteran Daisuke Nakamura).  However, candidate for the main card as a replacement for Robbie Lawler’s absence should be undefeated fast finisher Scott Lighty.  I kind of want to see this guy in action.  After the preliminary card, is the main card with predictions on the four fights.

Preliminary Card

• Light Heavyweight bout: Scott Lighty vs. Antwain Britt
• Lightweight bout: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Justin Wilcox
• Featherweight bout: Luis Mendoza vs. Juan Nunez
• Lightweight bout: Alex Trevino vs. Bobby Stack
• Lightweight bout: Alexander Crispim vs. AJ Fonseca

Main Card

• Middleweight bout: Ronaldo Souza vs. Matt Lindland: Two great veterans of the sport.  Lindland must be guarded after getting knocked out badly recently by Vitor Belfort and if Jacare Souza were as good a puncher as he is on the ground I’d be worried for Lindland.  I still am actually, because I don’t believe he has beaten or lasted for any significant amount of time against the competition that Jacare has in recent years.  Whether the fight is on the top or bottom I think Jacare should have an advantage if he stays busy.  This could be one of those polarizing fights that the hardcore fans will love and the casual fans will get frustrated with.  My prediction is Souza by unanimous decision.
• Heavyweight bout: Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead: Lawal or King Mo is a great showman.  He’s awesome for the sport and his success could make him another Rampage Jackson personality that attracts more of a mainstream audience.  He has talent but sometimes he does look to be a little too green, even against the low level competition he’s faced so far.  Whitehead is a big step-up for him but tactically it’s just a bad match-up for Whitehead, as King Mo is simply too athletic.  Let’s hope he’s picked up his training and wants to make a major splash in North America, but who knows, the comfort of his fame in Japan could get him thinking less about Whitehead and the Japanese don’t really give a shit if you lose a few times, as long as you come to the ring dressed as a king with an army of half-naked women.  Still, I believe Mo will breakthrough.  My prediction is King Mo by TKO in the second round.
• Middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Scott Smith: This is a really exciting fight.  Cung Le looked great in all of his fights but it’s been a really long time since we’ve seen him and he is still relatively new to the sport.  Smith is a perfect match-up to force Le’s strengths.  I’d imagine Le would fight conservatively as he usually does and gradually break his opponent down from his angles before finishing him off.  He’s great at that but what happens when he has to fight a fearless granite chinned warrior with dangerous hands?  Well, Cung is going to have to really battle here and his chin might get tested big time.  We might see some serious head kicks in this fight.  My prediction is Le by TKO in the second round.
• Lightweight Championship bout: Josh Thomson (c) vs. Gilbert Melendez (ic): This is the third time this rematch looked like it was going to happen and finally it will.  For those who don’t know Thomson controlled Melendez for all five rounds in their prior fight.  His conditioning was impeccable and I doubt Thomson is a guy who would fight unless he was in the very best condition he can possibly be in.  Melendez has been a very busy fighter though and he has transformed into a conditioning freak himself.  That’s why I think this fight is definitely going the distance, well that and because both have strong chins while neither has truely explosive offense.  It will still be a great fight.  My prediction is Thomson by unanimous decision.
  

The hype machine had been set to overtime on this one since Oct. 13^th, the moment the identity of BJ Penn’s opponent was revealed for UFC 107. Judging by gate revenues (over $1.5 million), fans had bought heavily into it. Thankfully, the main event that featured LW champion BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn masterfully defend his title against Diego ‘Nightmare’ Sanchez did not disappoint.

Penn’s very relaxed boxing style benefited him throughout the fight. He adapted early to Sanchez’ chasing and stunned him with two big counter punches that dropped his opponent to his knees. It appeared that Penn might end things with a submission or a TKO within the first two minutes of the initial round, but Sanchez managed to hang on. The latter could only hope that ‘The Prodigy’ would start gassing. Unfortunately, that never materialized, Penn effectively disfiguring Sanchez over 4 rounds. In one rare high kick to the head, Penn cut open a huge wound on Sanchez’ forehead the size of a small fault line that ultimately brought an end to the fight midway through the 5^th stanza. Penn’s conditioning seemed phenomenal. Potential opponents, who will need to compose with Penn’s improved cardio, include Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar. Though Florian’s performance that very same evening was dominant, the division has enough valid options available for Penn for the time being.

The bout featuring Frank Mir’s return to the Octagon after his early stoppage defeat to HW champion Brock Lesnar took much less time than expected but ended up playing out the way it had been described by Mir during pre-fight interviews, as he submitted Kongo at the first opportunity given to him. A short order, the bout didn’t even go beyond a minute and a half. The power of the overhand left blow that rocked Kongo sideways into becoming a submission victim was a genuine surprise. On that same note, it is a wonder Mir wasn’t awarded the submission of the night purse for his work on Kongo, as the Frenchman laid on his back for a few minutes, regaining consciousness from Mir’s vicious head choke.                           

The LW clash between Clay Guida and Kenny Florian ended in a bloody submission suffered by Guida. Notwithstanding the outcome, the fight might have ended prematurely due to Guida’s gushing head wounds. Florian, aware of his edge standing up, tried to keep it a boxing match as much as possible. It paid off around midway through the second round, when he knocked Guida off his feet before getting his back and submitting him shortly thereafter.

The other HW bout on the main card showcased a very good stand up battle between a returning veteran, Paul Buentello, and a young talented fighter who keeps improving with every outing, the towering Stefan Struve. The fight began with a brief exchange that made Buentello acutely aware of the reach disadvantage he needed to counter. Struve managed to get Buentello on the ground within the first minute or so, hard at work with several submissions that tested Buentello’ mettle, let alone his spine, for the better part of round one. The second round had both fighters visibly slowed down from their efforts in the initial stanza. Struve’s long reach turned to his disadvantage as his exhaustion enabled Buentello, and anybody given the faculty of sight for that matter, to see with ease punches and knees sent with the same expediency as smoke signals. Especially knees, notably two attempts that left Struve’s chin wide open for unguarded blows from his opponent. One of those cut the legs right out from underneath the young Dutchman. The third round saw Struve resorting to kickboxing, using his leg kicks to create distance. His opponent was busy stalking Struve, waiting for the combination that would precipitate a stoppage. Struve landed unchecked shots to Buentello’s left leg with the consistency of a grandfather clock. His UD win showed he has toughness and talent to hope breaking the top ten eventually, but as he gets there several facets of his game will need improvement. Strength and conditioning would be essential among those to be addressed. Always bearing in mind he’s only 21. 

Lastly, the WW bout opposing John Fitch to Mike Pierce went the distance, Fitch edging his adversary in an unimpressive UD win. Pierce, on the other hand, might have impressed a few.

The rest of the card looked liked this:

Alan Belcher Wilson Gouveia Technical Knock Out  (round 1)  3:03

Matt Wiman Shane Nelson Unanimous Decision  (3)  5:00

Johny Hendricks Ricardo Funch Unanimous Decision  (3)  5:00

Rousimar Palhares Lucio Linhares Submission (Leg Lock)  (2)  3:21

DaMarques Johnson Edgar Garcia Submission (Choke)  (1)  4:03

TJ Grant Kevin Burns Technical Knock Out  (1)  1:57

Bonuses ($65,000), all attributed to undercard fighters, were awarded to the following:

Fight of the Night: Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia

Knockout of the Night: TJ Grant

Submission of the Night: DaMarques Johnson

Photos by Dave Mandel, Sherdog.com

Not all of their fighters won on Saturday night in Memphis (one had to lose by default in the Guida-Florian matchup pictured), but MusclePharm has to be considered one of the big winners at UFC 107. The fluorescent MP logo was featured prominently in practically every single fight on the televised card, and it was front and center for the intense pre-fight staredown between Diego Sanchez and B.J. Penn fight for the lightweight championship. Unfortunately for Diego Sanchez (and Muscle Pharm), the most memorable images from UFC 107 are of the deep gash on Sanchez’s forehead and his bruised face two days later.

Although Sanchez ran into one of the all-time greats at UFC 107 and likely won’t be in the mix for another title shot for a while, MusclePharm has collected an impressive stable of current UFC champions, all-time greats, and future contenders, including 2DaySupplements.com’s favorite heavyweight Cain Velasquez. In addition to Velasquez, the Muscle Pharm Fight Team is a virtual who’s who of recognizable MMA warriors; Georges St-Pierre, Rashad Evans, Joe Daddy Stevenson, Guida, Florian, Sanchez, Mark Coleman, and Michael Bisping have all repped Muscle Pharm in the octagon. As interest in the UFC and MMA as a whole continues to increase worldwide, we’ve got to give props to Muscle Pharm for linking their line of fight-focused supplements with some of the sport’s most popular and visible athletes.

With another card in the books let’s take a look at the results and speculate what’s next for each fighter. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section.

BJ Penn Defeats Diego Sanchez, Fifth Round TKO (Doctor Stoppage)

If there’s one thing that everyone will take away from this fight it’s that BJ Penn is going to be on top of the UFC’s lightweight division for a very long time to come. Penn set the pace early dropping Sanchez 30 seconds into the fight with a solid punch, and came very close to finishing it with some ground and pound.

The next four rounds were dominated by Penn, who constantly found the mark with punches and knees while avoiding every take-down attempt and dodging almost anything Sanchez could throw at him. The fight ended in the fifth round when Penn opened up a massive cut on Sanchez’s forehead above his left eye.

What’s Next for BJ Penn?

Frankie Edgar and Grey Manyard both fight in the same weight class as Penn, but neither fighter is in the same league. If Penn keeps this focus he cannot lose to anyone in his division. Perhaps Penn should looking into moving up a couple of weight classes and taking on Brock Lesnar.

What’s Next for Diego Sanchez?

Plastic surgery to fix one of the ugliest cuts I’ve seen in combat sports. A long talked about rematch with previous Penn victim Kenny Florian.

Frank Mir Defeats Chieck Kongo, First Round Submission (Guillotine Choke)

Frank Mir is back and bigger than ever. The former champ came into this fight at 264 lbs, 20 pounds heavier than his fight with Brock Lesnar, and it appeared to be all muscle. Mir made it look easy too, by slipping a Kongo punch, and answering with a right hook, 30 seconds into the first round. As Kongo fell and tried to get back up Mir sank in the fight winning choke and put Kongo to sleep.

What’s next for Frank Mir?

Mir reestablished himself as a top contender in a loaded division with the victory. Assuming Big Nog beats Cain Velasquez—something I see happening—I and many others would like to see a healthy Nog get his rematch with a bigger, stronger Mir.

What’s next for Chieck Kongo?

Two straight losses to top competition seems to relegate Kongo to a gate keeper role in the upper echelon of the heavyweight class. A fight against Junior Dos Santos or Gabriel Gonzaga seems likely.

Kenny Florian Defeats Clay Guida, Second Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

The technical Muay Thai striker used his boxing and new found wrestling skills to defeat fan-favorite Clay Guida. After saying goodbye to trainer Mark DellaGrotte, and shacking up with Firras Zahabi—one of the many trainers of Georges St. Pierre—Florian put on a striking clinic, cutting Guida with an elbow, dropping him with a right hook, and cinching in an RNC for the win.

What’s next for Kenny Florian

Florian is from Boston, Massachusetts, a state which just regulated Mixed Martial Arts. Florian and Diego Sanchez in Boston in August. Make it happen.

What’s next for Clay Guida?

A springboard for Sanchez and a rebound for Florian. Guida deserves to be in the Octagon with the lightweight division’s top competitors. It remains to be seen if he can beat them. Either Gray Manyard or Frankie Edgar is next for BJ Penn, whoever doesn’t get that shot should be fighting Guida.

MMA Planet Lightweight Rankings

Wow! What a great week-end for Jiu jitsu in the MMA arena! Lots of great submissions by some of the top BJJ fighters around the world. It seems in recent times there as been a bit of a return towards the striking elements to please the crowds and referees are standing the fighters up quicker than ever! But like anything in life if you are not evolving, growing and moving forwards then you are dieing and the modern Jiu jitsu gladiators have evolved!

Firstly in UFC 107, Brazilian Top Team (BTT) sensation Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares put on a clinic of powerful wrestling and slick submission skills against Alliance black belt Lucio Linhares. “Toquinho” as he is commonly known is an absolute beast on the mat, powerful, compact and explosive with lethal submissions. Lucio was coming in off a five fight winning streak, none of which have gone the distance! This was a fantastic match up of two slick Jiu jitsu black belts with Lucio sweeping Toquinho (in the first round) with a beautiful half guard sweep but being reversed again instantly by Toquinho. Toquinho mixed up his attack nicely by landing a right hand on his feet, transitioning into a single leg then rolling back and underneath for a leg attack! Toquinho looking for a couple more leg attacks near the end of the round and coming close! Toquinho started the second round with a flying knee which Lucio caught and took him down with showing good balance and control from the top until Toquinho managed to sweep only to land in a tight triangle from Lucio. Palhares escaped with Lucio on top showing solid position and passing into mount! Toquinho escaped and reversed to top position before passing himself! After being restarted Toquinho looked for a takedown with Lucio going for a flying omoplata!!! Toquinho escaped and countered with a heel hook to finish Lucio! Great fight!!!

Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares vs Lucio Linhares courtesy of www.sherdog.com

In other great matches from UFC 107 Kenny “Kenflo” Florian used strikes and takedowns effectively to confuse and off-balance the ever tough Clay “Carpenter” Guida before dropping him with a stiff right hand in the second round. Kenny then took Clay’s back and locked in the rear naked choke for the finish making this his 8th submission victory in professional mma fights! Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir impressed all with a dominating performance over rising star Cheick Kongo. Frank floored Kongo with a vicious left hook before locking in the guillotine putting Kongo to sleep just over a minute into the fight! Awesome! 

Meanwhile over in Brazil, former Pride superstar Paulo Filho put on a dominating performance against Tatsuhiko Nishizaka in Bitteti Combat 5. Enjoy the fight below and feel free to comment on the fight or post in general!

Good luck with your training and Happy rolling!

Felipe

Jiu jitsu Kingdom

 Well UFC 107 is done and in the books. Great night of fights here best card since 104. I went 4-1 in saying the correct fighter wining and got the way Mir won correct. All in all not to bad. It should be noted that all fights are made better with Fish-n-Chips. To the Recap

Heavyweight Fight: Stefan Struve (22-3) vs. Paul Buentello (25-10)

Good opening fight. Struve needs to work on his boxing , his striking has improved overall though. This was a close fight . I had it in the end Struve wining . A case can be easily made that Buentello took rounds 2 and 3. This was a great fight though Struves got a pretty good chin to. He kept throwing a flying knee and running into one of Buentello’s hands.

Who’s next for Struve though ? White said they don’t want to feed him to upper talent fighters and feed him to the sharks so to speak. Before he goes on to fight the Carwins or Valsquez of UFC i would like to see him take on Kongo or Pat Barry. The Kongo fight would hopefully force him to work on his striking more and if not Kongos lack of ground game is well documented. The Pat Barry fight is more there both relatively in the same place in the rankings so is relatively safe for Struve.

Lightweight Fight: Clay Guida (25-7) vs. Kenny Florian (13-4)

Man was I pumped for this fight, and it delivered. I had Guida winning by decision in my predictions. I was wrong. Still a great fight. This is sort of like a smaller version of the Penn Sanchez fight. Guida is wild and crazy and bursting with energy . Florian was very calm and collected. Florian was also able to show off his improved boxing skills which might be the key to figuring out a wining stratagey against BJ Penn.  Florian was able to cut Guida with his elbows that just damn seem like they have razors on them.  Both guys looked good in this fight. Florian caught Guida with a counter right and dropped him and then boom RNC in the 2nd.

So who’s next for Florian? He doesn’t get Penn with only being one fight removed it doesn’t seem right. Then again who really hasn’t BJ beat? Maybe Joe Daddy , both are coming off a win. I wouldn’t call it a number 1 contenders fight since Joe has loss to Florian before. What about Guida though? I wouldn’t mind seeing him take on Diego again, if anything because that fight should be exciting. If not feed Guida some lower level not a EASY fight but someone he could beat.

Welterweight Fight: Mike Pierce (9-2) vs. Jon Fitch (23-3 1NC)

This was the most boring fight of the night. I thought it would be . Jon Fitch wins be suffocating Pierce. Not much to right back on the fight itself.

Who’s next for Fitch? not GSP and i doubt Koscheck . I honestly can’t come up with one. Fitch isn’t going to get any top contender competition right now . Which is sad since I enjoy Jon Fitch and would like to see him in big money fights. Maybe the loser of Paulo Thiago Koscheck? Maybe Yoshida it dosen’t really matter rankings on title shot wise so why not.

Heavyweight Fight: Cheick Kongo (24-5-1) vs. Frank Mir (12-4)

I texted my cousin doing PBP since her and her family was off watching Quads on Ice. The message was “If there is any justice in the world Kongo will KO Mir” . I never claimed to be unbiased by the way . I do not like Mir’s attitude and the way he constantly to me bitches. I do respect his abilities as a fighter. Man they didn’t even touch glove that made me super excited . It was over quick . Mir catches Kongo with a big left down choke over.

Now people will be talking about how Mir’s striking is sooo great now which I will admit it has improved but the fight was to short for me to form a opinion on. I want to see more footage to make a judgment. Those who point to the Nog fight , I counter with a Nog was injured and not the best he could be.

The big question now is who is next for Mir? To say the heavyweight div is stacked with challengers is miss leading. It more like that its in a vacuum with out Lesnar so now its who trying to find a clear number two or who’s the interim champ. Mir doesn’t deserve a shot at the Interim belt if they go that way. As a rule of thumb i generally look for at least 2 wins. I’m thinking the winner of Dos Santos Yvel.  If Dos Santos wins it would be a good striker match up for Mir TO show off his new and improved abilities. Then if he wins we can think about him taking on Carwin or the winner of Cain Nog.

Catchweight (195lb) Fight (Prelim): Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia

Nice little prelim bout here. Beltcher did try to improve that TERRIBLE Johnny Cash tattoo by adding a guitar. Nice TKO here maybe he’ll be on the main card now after complaining about it.

UFC Lightweight Title Fight (Main Event): Diego Sanchez (23-2) vs. BJ Penn (14-5-1) (c)

Damn , I turned to the guy next to me and asked if Diego had hit Penn at all the entire fight in a meaningful way? This like the Florian Guida fight showed that calm and collected can counter wild and crazy. He dropped Sanchez early in the 1st. Sanchez had a lack of options which is why I think he went kept going for the Single leg Take down.  He was caught early on so he didn’t want to stand and trade with Penn who had the better striking. That only left the ground as a option . Unfortunately if  Sanchez was not GSP so he could not take Penn down. Its just damn hard to take him down. Rounds 2-5 went basically like this. Sanchez shoots in for a single leg Penn stuffs it mostly by backing to the cage .  Diego had nothing really to answer BJ with. The end came from a leg kick which I originally though was a punch that opened up Sanchez , upon seeing it in a GIF I was corrected. That was a damn big cut though. Unfortunately it was stopped due to that cut and I hate it when that happens . Its not like Sanchez had any chance to win but still .

Who is next for BJ? Well he’s beat just about everyone so you can pick anyone who is on a decent win streak. Maybe a move up to WW? If a move up to WW is not in the books though we’ll just wait and see who pops out of the LW div.

Now what about Diego? Man I may have laughed at the YES cartwheel but man this guy has heart. He did not have quit in him and I really respect that about a fighter. Maybe feed him Nick Diaz? He’s going to be good though if he can calm down though and refine his skills a little bit more. He reminds me of someone that can shoot a GIANT MUTHA FUCKING LASER DBZ style. Well yeah you can shoot a giant laser but what about a super tiny controlled one that would be more deadly .

By Greg Savage
Sherdog.com

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In a masterful display of athletic ability, lightweight champion B.J. Penn dispatched challenger Diego Sanchez on a fifth-round cut on Saturday in the UFC 107 “Penn versus Sanchez” main event at the FedExForum.

On the eve of his 31st birthday, Penn dominated Sanchez from the opening bell and reminded the world why many believe he has no equal at 155 pounds.

“I was keeping my mouth shut, but I always wanted to fight Diego Sanchez,” said Penn, who has not lost as a lightweight in nearly eight years. “I knew he wanted to fight me, even though he didn’t say it. I knew for years he wanted to fight me.”

Penn buckled Sanchez with a straight right hand in the first minute of Round 1; it was a punch that would find its mark over and over again during the one-sided five-round affair. The Hawaiian followed with a series of unabated right hands that sent Sanchez to his knees each time he tried to rise to his feet. Showing amazing heart and determination, the challenger rolled forward to avoid the hail of firepower being directed his way. Amazingly, Sanchez gradually got his legs back under him, and even though Penn’s pace slowed, he still found his mark with a pair of right hands in the closing seconds of the first period.

The champion settled into a pattern of defending takedowns and striking as the opportunities arose during the next three rounds. Sanchez shot in repeatedly but never came close to taking the match to the floor. Penn defended by pushing down his challenger’s head and using his remarkable balance to remain standing, all while picking at Sanchez with punches and elbows in the clinch.

Penn also landed at will while the two exchanged at a distance, and the evidence of his work piled up on Sanchez’s face. Bruised and bleeding, Sanchez refused to give in despite the ineffectiveness of his attack.
At the start of the final round, Penn yelled across the ring, and Sanchez, still game, barked back. Penn charged out and resumed his dogged pursuit of Sanchez, landing his first kick of the night, his shin ripping a huge cut in the left side of Sanchez’s forehead.

Penn then flurried on his wounded opponent, and once the two separated, it became apparent the title fight had reached its conclusion. A flood of crimson washed down Sanchez’s face, and it took just seconds for the cageside physician to mercifully end the lopsided beating 2 minutes, 37 seconds into Round 5.

“B.J.’s a great champion,” Sanchez said. “He came in the best B.J. that ever stepped in the ring. I did my best. He came out on top. I’ll be back.”

Mir chokes out Kongo

Leading into their heavyweight grudge match, Frank Mir told anyone who would listen that he wanted no part of Cheick Kongo’s stand-up game. Mir stopped Kongo by choking him unconscious with a guillotine, but it was all set up by a crushing left hand.

Kongo, who made it clear he did not appreciate Mir’s attitude and commentary in advance of their bout, pursued him around the cage and seemed to have him on the defensive before the former heavyweight champion sent the Frenchman spiraling to the canvas with a left hand to the chin.

“Talent will only take you so far,” Mir said. “I really have tried to put in the hard work to deserve what it takes to be a champion in this sport.”

Florian bloodies, finishes Guida

Ed Mulholland/ESPN.com

“I’m trying to get better,” Florian said. “I want another shot at the title and [to] make you guys proud. That wasn’t a good performance [against Penn] last time. I want the real Kenny Florian next time.”

for more on UFC 107

Welcome to my 14^th week of NFL picks. I went 11-5 with my picks, bringing my total for the season 130-62 (not counting Thursday’s game). Here is a recap of last week (the X stands for the picks I got wrong):

The Steelers are free-falling out of a playoff spot. They lost their 5^th in a row thanks to the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens, Jets, Dolphins, Jaguars, and Broncos are all in the Wild Card hunt for the AFC. The NFC Wild Card hunt features the Eagles, Packers, Giants, and Falcons. Plus, the NFC and AFC East Divisions are wild as ever with the Dolphins chasing the Dolphins and Jets (AFC East) and the Eagles & Cowboys tied while the Giants are chasing both (NFC East).

Here are all of my picks for Week 14. The teams that are NOT crossed out are my picks. The s.o. stands for shutout, and the * stand for upset. Both logos will be next to the TV stations:

Here’s the game on everyone’s minds.

Game of the Week:

Since the NFL Playoffs are coming close, time for us to ponder which teams will be in the Super Bowl. We might see a preview when the Vikings host the Bengals. Both need to clinch a playoff spot before they can think about the richest prize in the NFL. They can do it with a victory this game, but both are very tough to beat. This game will be a long and hard fought battle, and the Vikings should be able to edge the Bengals out.

Prediction: Vikings 13-10

We also have a huge fight night in mixed martial arts. Time for the magic man to take over!

Pure Magic:

UFC 107 is their last pay-per-view of 2009. It’s going out with a bang, as three fights could depict the pace in the Lightweight and Heavyweight divisions.

1. Kenny Florian vs. Clay “The Carpenter” Guida (Lightweight bout)- Guida never has a boring fight, but he has lost more than he would like. Florian is coming off a disappointing defeat thanks to B.J. Penn. Both need the victory, but Guida has to finish his fights sooner or later.
   

   Prediction: Guida in 1 via TKO
   

2. Frank Mir vs. Chieck Kongo (catch weight: 215 lbs.)- This fight is a must-win for both. This fight could also determine a new contender for the Heavyweight title.Mir lost to UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, while Kongo lost to Cain Velasquez. Mir has been talking trash about Kongo’s fighting style. The last thing you want to do is anger a man with “heavy hands.”
   

   Prediction: Kongo in 1 via TKO
   

3. UFC Lightweight Championship: B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn (champ) vs. Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez (Lightweight bout)- Old School vs. New School never ringed more true. Here is Sanchez’s first title shot in his career, and Penn has never looked better. This fight could go the distance, but Sanchez cannot afford it to go that way. Penn needs to set the tempo, which is slow but vicious. Sanchez needs to go after him immediately. Expect one of the most exciting championship fights yet, and a new era to begin just in time for the holidays.
   

   Prediction: Sanchez in 3 via TKO
   

Well, that’s all the time I have for today. If you disagree with anything I say, leave a comment below (either on WordPress or Facebook) or email me at spidey23us@yahoo.com. You can also contact me via LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/seb-maldoando/18/159/a2b). Thanks for reading and good luck with your teams.

Yours Truly,

Sebastian Maldonado

Copyright @ 2007

Ok well in the words of Big Jon McCarthy” LETS GET IT ON!!!!!!”

Jon Fitch  vs. Mike Pierce

Man Fitch FINALLY has a opponet that isnt hurt or injured.  I see no reason Fitch isn’t going to just smother and grind out a nice deciscion victory over Pierce. He still isnt going to get the winner of GSP Hardy either maybe if he gets another victory or two. Then again who hasn’t GSP beat already?

Winner: Fitch via Decision

Paul Buentello  vs. Stefan Struve

Struve is replacing Todd Duffe after he has to withdraw due to injury. I didn’t give Buentello much of a chance against Duffe . In this fight i actually give him less. Struve will have a HUGE height (like always) advantage and reach advantage. His striking isn’t the greatest in the world its passable. Struve wouldn’t want to stand and bang with Buentello, he dose pack a punch. Im feeling a nice Triangular submission here thanks to his long arms. Struve has seemed to put on a bit more muscle and grown more use to fighting . Struve will proably somehow get it to the ground and from there slap on a nice submission with his long freaking arms.

Winner : Stefan Struve Submission Rd 2

Kenny Florian  vs. Clay Guida

Firstly I must say Guida’s new shirt is FUCKING BADASS!!! Its a nice throw back to Eddy and The Best Metal Band EVER IRON MAIDEN

RUN TO THE HILL KENNY

Ok on to the fight.  This is going to be good. Guida pushes the pace of the fight and over takes people with his wrestling. Ken Flo has the good BJJ and Striking he is just good in every aspect. Both these guys need a win here to stay relavant in the title picture. Florian had the right plan for his BJ Penn fight but ultimatley lost. I just have this feeling of a Decision victory for Clay Guida. He’ll stick to Florian like glue and ride it out . This should be a good exciteing fight even if how imagine it dosent sound that good.

Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir

Full disclosure here I completly dislike Frank Mir he is just t cocky for me. Yes I see the hypocracy of me liekign Lesnar and he has his “bad boy” attitude. If Kongo is able to KO Mir I will be AMAZED . Kongo is a good stnad up guy but his ground game not so much. Mir will proably try to stand and trade with him for a little bit get rocked and then take him down. Now Mir isnt as good at wrestling as Cain but Kongo dosent really have any Takedown Defense either. Unless Kongo catches Mir early and drops him and mounts for some GnP he is not going to win this. Mir will be smart enough to know if he is losing a fight and can end this fight on the ground quick.

Winner : Frank Mir via Submission RD 2

Champ B.J. Penn  vs. Diego Sanchez

Now there are two guys I’ve learned to just not bet against those to are GSP and BJ. I’m not discounting Diego just casue he is fighting BJ . Diego’s striking is unrefined and wild and will leave his chin open for one of BJ’s fist to say hi to it. He has a good gas tank but I see BJ just out classing him . Not making him look like a amatuer but just win plain and simple. Diego is going to win a round but Penn will get more. I see this ending like the Florian fight RNC in the 4th .

Winner: AND STILL CHAMPION BJ PENN via RNC in the 4th

Just a comment TYSON GRIFFIN pulled out of UFC 108 man this card cant catch a break can it? I’m thinking its cursed they need to go get a witch doctor or something to get in there and fix that bad juju

Whut? Whut? Prediction video time. This is my best! video! ever! since my last video. Ch-ch-ch-check it out.

The time has come for another UFC major card. I must say that I am impressed with the UFC’s roster size and ability to put forth so many events so quickly. This card is littered with former champions and title contenders facing off against one another in what promises to be an exciting main card.

THE MAIN EVENT:

B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez:

I believe that this is a wonderful main event.

B.J. Penn has proven to be an excellent lightweight champion ever since he got over his delusions of weight-jumping grandeur and decided to settle on his own weight class. Diego is as worthy a challenger as any who had much success at welterweight and has come down the 155lb class on a four-fight win streak.

I consider B.J. Penn to be one of the most complete fighters mixed martial arts has ever seen.

PENN AND KILLER

His excellent boxing coupled with his insane flexibility and Jiu-jitsu pedigree gives any potential challenger nightmares. To top it all off, the man has a chin that appears to be made out of concrete. At this point in his career he has beaten strikers, wrestlers and Jiu-jitsu Blackbelts of all shapes and sizes. His only recent stumblings have come against the truly elite fighters in higher weight classes.

However, there is a type of fighter that inhabits the lightweight division that he has not yet fought. I refer to these types as “scramblers.” Guys like Clay Guida, Gil Melendez, Frankie Edgar. Guys that attempt to grind out victories, but at a much faster pace than a Matt Hughes or a Gray Maynard. Among scramblers, Diego Sanchez is king.

Diego makes this fight interesting for a number of reasons.

He has never been finished in 23 fights, He has an endless supply of stamina, and he has improved every time he steps into the cage. In his first five-round fight I believe he will make this match interesting.

B.J.’s most difficult opponent in any fight is his own gas tank. We watched him basically hand Matt Hughes a victory in their rematch, and we also watched him all but throw in the towel in his first fight with Georges St. Pierre and then literally throw in the towel in their rematch. His win over Kenny Florian was impressive, but Kenny did not push a pace anywhere near the one that Diego will.

I believe Diego’s best chance at victory is to attempt to merely outpoint Penn for the first three or four rounds without over-committing.

Since B.J. relies solely on his boxing, leg kicks and body kicks with an attack and retreat style are his best option. As Penn’s strength fades he should slowly turn up the juice on his strikes until the final bell sounds. Engaging Penn on the ground is a dicey affair and while I think Diego’s ground striking ability is solid I don’t think he will be able to maintain top position long enough in the opening rounds to land meaningful strikes, that is if he even managed to thwart Penn’s legendary takedown defense.

RISE AND SANCHEZ

All that aside, I don’t see Diego being the man to dethrone Penn.

My crystal ball shows Penn landing the more meaningful strikes until Sanchez shoots for a leg. I then see B.J. sweeping, hopping on his back and securing the rear naked choke in the third round.

THE UNDERCARD:

Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo:

While Kongo is a very gigantic, very serious kick boxer, he also has takedown defense akin to an NFL quarterback. While Mir loves talking about how he is going to keep the fight standing like a “warrior” we all know how this one ends. Mir clinches against the cage, lands some weak punches and then sweeps Kongo onto his back. From there he wonders momentarily about which of Kongo’s appendages he will grab before securing a submission.

Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce:

(See Jon Fitch vs. everyone not named Georges St. Pierre.)

Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida:

This fight will be exciting.

"NAH, I'M GOOD. SERIOUSLY. NO, PUT THE STITCHES AWAY."

I see Guida pushing a pace that Florian can’t handle for three rounds en route to an upset unanimous decision victory. I don’t think that Kenny will be able to fend off all of Guida’s takedowns nor do I think that he will be able to sweep him. He could, however, prove me wrong.

Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve:

This is what I like to see: a giant, one-dimensional fighter vs. even-bigger, one-dimensional fighter. Struve certainly has potential given his size and his age, but I think that Buentello has been around too long to fall for anything Stefan throws at him. Look for Struve to get chin checked several times leading to a TKO early in round 2.

That does it for UFC 107 see you next time for what may come be known as UFC 108: Injuries are a pain in the ass.

- Tony Silipigno