Main card
Welterweight bout: B.J. Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione
Heavyweight bout: Mirko Filipović vs. Roy Nelson
Bantamweight bout: Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran
Featherweight bout: Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop

Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Lightweight bout: Dennis Siver vs. Donald Cerrone
Featherweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Bart Palaszewski

Preliminary card (Facebook)
Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Eliot Marshall
Lightweight bout: Ramsey Nijem vs. Danny Downes
Middleweight bout: Chris Camozzi vs. Francis Carmont
Middleweight bout: Dustin Jacoby vs. Clifford Starks

The “Biggest” by far has to be the UFC signing recently released Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. The Reem will meet former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar in a Heavyweight match up which will headline UFC 131 on December 30th with a title shot hanging in the balance. Yep, that is how shallow the Heavyweight division is right now in the UFC a guy coming into a promotional Debut is fighting a guy that has been inactive for 14 months for a title shot…

The next bit of news comes as little surprise as the UFC annouced that they will throw an event at Saitama Super Arena in Japan on February 26th of next year. At this point DREAM FC needs to be scared, not only did upstart One FC throw a huge show to stake their claim in the Asian MMA scene, but now Asia will be in Dana White’s cross hairs. Dana has been stocking up for this show for the last few years now. Not only does he have a ridiculous stable of PRIDE stalwarts that will provide instant brand recognition (Shogun, Wanderlei, Nogueria, Cro Cop, Rampage, Anderson Silva), but he has been slowly absorbing many of Japan’s biggest stars, Yoshirio Akiyama, Yushin Okami, and newly minted Hatsu Hioki. I would not be stunned if Dana decided to open his check book and sign another big name Japanese fighter like Shinya Aoki or Tatsuya Kawajiri to help ignite the Japanese Fan base. Given DREAM’s financial woes they will be ill equipped to protect the home grown talent they do have.

I would not be stunned to see a card full of PRIDE stars with Akiyama, Hioki and Okami featured on it. Dan Henderson would also make a lot of sense if he got signed… hmm…. Henderson vs Silva main event?

  SEE THE RESULTS HERE

The UFC makes it’s return to the home of Vale Tudo and Brazilian Ju Jitsu on August 27th and the UFC pulled no punches in coming back to Brazil with a huge card fielding many of the nations biggest stars. Headlining the fight is a Middleweight title fight between Jedi Master Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami, but like all good MMA cards the real value lies underneath the main event. Brazil welcomes back MMA legend Minotauro Nogueira.  Mauricio “Shogun” Rua also comes back to his native Brazil in a card that is basically full of Brazilians fighting on the first UFC card in Brazil in well over a decade, in fact counting the undercard every single fight but one features a Brazilian fighter. This event also features one of the best promo posters in UFC history.

The Main Card starts off with a great fight between Muay Thai Knockout Artist Luis Cane and Sengoku and Shooto veteran Stanislav Nedkov in his UFC debut. Cane is coming off a Knockout win at UFC 128 and Nedkov has yet to be beaten in his professional career. Luis Cane makes for a step up in competition for Nedkov as his most notable win comes by way of Kevin Randleman. Cane has tied up with the likes of Lil’ Nogueira and Sokoudjou.

The main card continues with a lightweight fight between undefeated 8-0 prospect Edson Barboza and Ultimate Fighter Season 9 winner Ross Pearson. Barboza has been an electrifying prospect with 7 of 8 wins coming by a stoppage. Pearson is 5-1 in the UFC and coming off a win over Spencer Fisher. In the deep UFC lightweight division, both of these fighters need a win to move up from the back of the division to the middle.

Next up will be a heavyweight clash between former PRIDE champion Antonio Minotauro Nogueira and fast rising Brendan Schaub. This is the first fight for Nog in over a year since being stopped by current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velazquez. Since then he has been held back while rehabbing from knee and hip surgeries, getting some long overdue work done on some long nagging injuries. While Nogueira has been on the mend, Brendan Schaub has been one of the fasting rising young stars in the UFC. Since losing to Roy Nelson in the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 finale, “The Hybrid” has been on a four fight winning streak with 3 knockouts most recently putting out PRIDE star Mirko Cro Cop.

The co-main event features a rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Forrest Griffin. Griffin won their first fight in dominant fashion by submission in 2007.  Since then both men have won and lost the UFC light heavyweight title and both find themselves in the title mix with a win. Shogun has been on the mend seemingly for a few years and recently dropped his title to Jon Jones. Forrest Griffin won his return from a long injury over Rich Franklin.

The main event features Champion Anderson Silva fighting the last man to “defeat” him Yushin Thunder Okami. Silva has been arguably the most dominant champion in the UFC’s history and Okami’s “win” came by disqualification after getting knockout out by Silva by an illegal upkick. The UFC tends to gloss that over in the promo spots. That said it is difficult to argue that Okami is the most deserving victim challanger to Anderson Silva following his dismantling of Nate Marquart.

Why Silva Should win this fight:

1. He is Anderson Silva.
2. He is Anderson Silva.
3. He already beat a very similar fighter in Chael Sonnen. Sonnen even got caught using TRT and still lost.

Why Okami Could win this Fight:

1. Teammate Chael Sonnen did have success against Silva and was winning on most scorecards going into the last round.
2. Silva has shown a potential weakness to dominating wrestlers and Okami’s skills are substantial in this regard. His Judo background also gives him significant submission experience over Sonnen, which proved to be his downfall.
3. Okami is a freak athlete at Middleweight, he could be called the most “westernized” Japanese fighter. He is a physical freak, he cuts weight, he has a background in wrestling to go with his Judo background. He will be the bigger stronger man in the cage.
4. Training with Dan Henderson could never hurt.

How can Silva win:

Silva is a versitile fighter, that said he will want to fight from the outside with his superior striking and prevent takedown attempts from Okami. Forcing the fight to be a kickboxing match will yield a comfortable win for Okami, should he get taken down Silva’s guard has proven effective.

How can Okami win:

Okami is not a sitting duck in the stand-up game, but he should want no part of Silva’s fists, knees, elbows, feet, ankles and or lightsaber. Okami could conceivably win this fight in a fashion similar to how Shogun Rua beat Lyoto Machida, by clinching him up, not giving Silva room to work, smashing Silva against the cage and mauling him. This strategy could work, but it comes with the risk of eating a Silva elbow or fist on the way in. Okami’s best bet is to employ a similar strategy to Chael Sonnen, he needs to ground Silva and simply blast away with a smothering, busy ground and pound attack. If Okami is feeling like taking a risk, he has the grappling chops to test out Silva’s guard game and try to advance positions and look for submissions, but I reckon that Okami probably looked at Sonnen’s fight and saw the way to beat Silva.

Main Card Predictions:

• Nedkov over Cane by Submisson. Cane is a lethal striker, Nedkov may test his mettle with Cane, but he is the more rounded fighter and could win on the ground.
• Pearson over Barboza by decision. Pearson should look to take this fight to the ground to keep away from Barboza’s power. If he can he can grind out a decision win.
• Schaub over Nogueira by KO. I am a huge Nog fan, not quite like my Sexyama fanboyism… but close. That sweep that he pulled on Couture is one of my favorite moments in MMA history. That said he is coming off a long layoff and fighting a fighter in top form in Schaub. I would not be stunned at all if the veteran Nogueira beats Schaub though.
• Shogun Rua over Griffin by KO. Shogun was a injured shell of himself when the two last met and Shogun is in a position where a loss to Griffin would be a massive setback. I expect to see him in great form as he works his way back twords the title. Griffin is one tough hombre though and I expect Shogun to really have to earn it.
• Silva over Okami by KO. I give Okami a much better chance then the oddsmakers do. Okami is coming off as a +400 underdog, which is insane. I don’t care is Silva is fighting Phil Baroni, +400 is a bit extreme. Okami has a legitimate chance in this fight. He is a game, strong, skilled, fighter with a lot of experience who hasn’t been stopped since 2003. If it was anyone else but Silva I would love Okami as an upset pick. That said it is Anderson Silva. He is on MMA’s Mount Rushmore already. He is possibly the most dominant fighter of this era and he does it with finishes not by grinding out fighters and playing it safe, at least when he isn’t being a clown/fighting a fellow Brazilian. I see Okami having some early success, not getting the finish, then walking into a knockout somewhere in the second or third rounds. If it gets past three rounds though, look out.

What are your picks?

-Brian Bautista

Chapter 3 (Sort of): A Brief History of MMA

Note: This section will not contain much in way of technical information and may not be required for the New MMA fan. It is meant to provide a context from which to understand how the sport arrived where it has today.

            The idea of multi-discipline fighting can be traced back to ancient times in Rome and Greece in the form of Pankration, and Jujutsu in Japan in the middle ages. MMA would also be derived from Vale Tudo Fighting in Brazil in the 1920s. Other early examples of MMA would be the famous grappling match between Helio Gracie (Founder of BJJ) and Masahiko Kimura (who some believe to be the best Judoka ever). Early professional wrestling tours in the United States often employed a “shooter” or a “hooker” basically a pro wrestler with legitimate grappling credentials used to beat up unsuspecting yokels who “thought” it was fake.

The first sanctioned MMA fight in the US would be between “Judo” Gene Labell (Baddest man ever) and Milo Savage. I would love to go into detail about this but the fight nerd has already done an awesome job of explaining this so I will let him take over.

There were also other great mixed styles fights at the time, the most famous being Mohammed Ali vs Antonio Inioki. MMA would continue this “style vs style” approach in the United States as early UFC’s were Judo vs Boxing, Karate vs BJJ, Wrestling vs Shoot fighting, etc. Fighters that didn’t have styles just made them up for marketing (like Tank Abbot’s pit fighting).

Mean while in Japan, “hybrid” (grappling and striking) fighting began to take off in the form of RINGS, Pancrase and Shooto. Later Pride FC would be formed and it would become the most dominant MMA promotion on earth for a short time. It combined the production values of professional wrestling with the fighting styles of MMA. It was an instant hit and it quickly attracted the best fighters from around the world. Japanese fans would find favorites ranging from a Croatian police officer (Mirko Filopic), an American Football player (Bob Sapp), a ripped Tom Selleck lookalike (Don Frye) and a Russian firefighter (Fedor Emilanenko). Above all others they revered (and still do) a Japanese professional wrestler named Kazushi Sakuraba.

While the “style vs style” form of MMA persisted, the game started to evolve. Over time you had Judokas working on boxing, you had wrestlers learning to Kickbox and you had Kickboxers learning Brazilian Ju Jitsu. It became not just a good idea to learn other styles, it became a necessity. As Dana White put it in the intro the the UFC 2009 video game “Come in with just wrestling, leave with just a concussion”. Today it is rarer and rarer to see “purists” in an MMA match. There are fairly pure kick boxers still around. (Mirko Cro Cop, Pat Barry), a handful for pure grapplers (Roger Gracie) But today learning the basics of most major styles has became a prerequisite to stepping into the cage.

MMA was slowly gaining ground in the United States but over time their momentum had waned. While the UFC (the flagship of North American MMA) had built a solid dedicated fan base, they had failed to created the interest in both casual sports fans and mainstream media (ESPN). It was not until one desperate idea that MMA found itself shoved into the mainstream consciousness. That idea would become 2005′s hit show The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate fighter was a reality show loosely based off WWE’s Tough Enough. It was a stroke of brilliance in not only capitalizing off of the Reality TV craze of the time, it also revealed and fixed one of the UFC’s primary flaws, it had failed to make fans know of and care about their fighters. While the show was a great idea and quickly drew solid ratings, it likely would have flopped if not for the epic war that concluded it. Forest Griffin vs Stephan Bonner was an instant classic, with all of the emotion of two fighters literally fighting for their futures. It was a three round war that would come to be called “The most important fight in the history of the UFC” by Dana White. Many fans would hail it as one of the greatest fights ever. It was the closest thing to a real life version of a fight from Rocky. While Forest Griffin won the match, Dana extended the same UFC contract to Stephan Bonner. Since then the Ultimate fighter has been a major vehicle by which the sport has attracted a new audience, it has produced several champions, contenders and fan favorites.

Today MMA finds itself in a growth spurt with the UFC attempting to bring the sport to true mainstream status. New promotions seem to spring up like weeds, the sport in Japan has gone through some tough times following Zuffa’s acquisition of Pride Fighting Championship (More on that later). Dana White seems to be out to grow the sport internationally by holding events in Germany, England, Australia, and Canada. His obsession seems to be getting the sport licensed in the state of New York as he constantly flirts with the prospect of holding an event in Madison Square Garden. It seems unlikely that New York will sanction the sport before their legislature adjourns for the year.

Next time we will talk about the straight forward easy to follow world of judging in MMA.

What a difference a few months makes, huh?

Four months ago, the second-biggest MMA promotion in America, Strikeforce, was still struggling to make their mark on America’s radar. After several attempts to import successful Japanese promoting tactics (the occasional freak show match, talent trades with DREAM, etc.), they set 2011 off with a bang – the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament.

The eight participants (Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Antonio Silva, Andrei Arlovski, and Sergei Kharitonov) and subsequent opening round were celebrated by fans and MMA media alike. The WHGP looked to be the closest thing to a legit heavyweight tournament since the PRIDE Fighting Championships 2006 Openweight Grand Prix, which featured Barnett, Overeem, Werdum (in their first match, ironically enough), Fedor Emelianenko, Hidehiko Yoshida, Mirko Cro Cop, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, among others.

Jump ahead to this month and, to say the least, things have changed. Unfortunately, issues of finding a state where Josh Barnett could get licensed (due to being denied a California license in 2009 after testing positive for steroids) delayed the second bracket of opening round matches, not to mention ‘The Sale,’ which could easily have ended up as the death knell to this tournament going forward.

The current Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament brackets

Thankfully, this tournament is still ‘business as usual,’ as UFC President Dana White promised when Zuffa bought Strikeforce in March. That phrase became something of an ironic punchline when Strikeforce staff was let go shortly after the purchase, as well as announcing Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz for UFC 135. Notwithstanding whatever contractual obligations Zuffa is forced to fulfill to Showtime, its wholly possible that Strikeforce’s heavyweights could have been absorbed into the UFC and the tournament scrapped altogether.

Unfortunately, the tournament does have a lame-duck feel to it in light of recent developments, but if nothing else, hopefully we’ll get to see some exciting heavyweight action.

Here’s a breakdown on this weekend’s card, including the second bracket of opening round matches of the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix:

170 lbs. – Nah-Shon Burrell x Joe Ray:  Burrell and Ray’s records are identical (5-1), though Burrell clearly is the striker, with all of his wins coming by TKO / KO. Ray reportedly trains with American Top Team, and splits his wins 3-2 striking finishes to submissions. Ray’s competition has been stiffer, including a third-round KO over 27-13 Chad Reiner.

Prediction: Ray via submission (round one)

170 lbs. – Todd Moore x Mike Bronzoulis: Expect fireworks in this match, as both fighters come in very evenly matched in record. Moore fought in WEC and DREAM, though he didn’t fare well. His last match was a second-round TKO win in November 2010. Moore will be giving up size here, as someone who appears to alter between lightweights and heavyweights, whereas Bronzoulis stands 6’0”. Both men have eight TKO / KO victories to their record, so conventional wisdom would dictate this plays out as a striking match.

Prediction:  Bronzoulis via TKO (round three)

155 lbs. – Brian Melancon x Isaac Vallie-Flag: Bit of an experience difference here, with Melancon sporting a 5-1 record while Vallie-Flag stands at 11-3-1, with fights going as far back as 2003. Even more impressive is that Vallie-Flag, now training at Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, has fought 2-3 times since 2006. If experience is on Vallie-Flag’s side, youth could be on Melancon’s, however, as his recent wins were over fighters with up sided records similar to Vallie-Flag’s.

Prediction: Vallie-Flag via submission (round two or three) or decision

155 lbs. – Conor ‘The Hurricane’ Heun x Magno Almeida:  The storyline here is Heun, a grappling talent with high expectations who’s suffered injuries and inactivity in the past two years, against Almeida, a young prospect on a five-match submission win streak, four of which in the first round, dating back to 2008. Heun hit the restart button on his training earlier this year at Jackson’s MMA, and reportedly has been training hard with that team’s usual suspects. His two losses, against KJ Noons in 2010 and Jorge Gurgel in 2009, were incredibly close decisions which I thought he win. This is a gut-check match for the former collegiate wrestler and 10^th Planet Jiu Jitsu brown belt. As for Almeida, this marks his ‘big show’ debut, though he has finishes against decent competition in Brazil and California. I’d expect Almeida to stick to his bread-and-butter and try to take this match to the ground. Heun should keep this match standing, as he has against stiffer competition. This match will be broadcast live on HDNet.

Prediction:  Heun via unanimous decision

155 lbs. – Gesias ‘J.Z.’ Cavalcante x Justin ‘The Silverback’ Wilcox: Wilcox is an AKA (San Jose) fighter riding a six-fight win streak. Those wins are mostly decisions on Strikeforce Challengers shows or the untelevised portion of major Strikeforce events.  After an eight-match win streak from 2005-2007, Cavalcante is in fact 1-3-1 since 2008. That said, his losses were decisions to Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Josh Thompson, respectively. Handing Wilcox his first defeat would put Cavalcante back on people’s radar, though Wilcox, as a former body builder and D-1 wrestler, has the strength and pedigree to hold his own grappling with JZ. I expect that to play a major factor in what happens in the cage here. This match will be broadcast live on HDNet.

Prediction: Wilcox via split decision

265 lbs. – Valentijn Overeem x Chad Griggs: This is one of two ‘alternates matches’ to the tournament. Make no doubt, Griggs is dangerous. He summarily dismissed Gian Villante, a rising heavyweight that Xtreme Couture had prepped and built. He also ran Bobby Lashley to the point of exhaustion by round two when they squared off last August in Houston. Overeem’s experience in comparison is on another level, with over 50 MMA fights alone. This elder Overeem (by four years) may have too much jiu-jitsu for Griggs, and though Griggs can take a punch, the guys he’s faced in the past aren’t of Overeem’s striking pedigree. If Griggs can execute a strategy of fighting from the clinch, where Overeem can’t throw long power shots, but also avoid Overeem taking the bout to the ground, that may be a viable strategy. Otherwise, I expect Overeem to be one of the two alternates to this (hopefully) continued tournament.

Prediction: Overeem via TKO or submission (round one)

265 lbs. – Daniel Cormier x Jeff ‘The Snowman’ Monson: This is the tournament’s other alternates match. Monson replaces Shane Del Rosario, who withdraw from the match after being hit by a drunk driver. Cormier is a former NCAA Division 1 runner-up and All-American, with a plethora of gold medals in international wrestling tournaments from 2001-2007. Monson is a noted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and one of the top heavyweight grapplers in the world, having ranked and won numerous tournaments during those same years. To that end, Monson as a close grappling equal, is a more dangerous challenge for Cormier, who rides a 7-0 undefeated streak. Monson is a seasoned 42-11, and has already fought three times this year. In fact, he has a match in France scheduled three weeks before this event. If this goes to the ground, it could be a very interesting scrap, as Cormier might have the grappling to stay on par with Monson. Standing, Cormier could have the advantage.

Prediction: Monson via unanimous decision

155 lbs. – KJ Noons x Jorge Masvidal: The 10-3 (in MMA) K.J. Noons faces Masvidal’s veteran record of 21-6 in Masvidal, a Miami-based former street-fighter. Noons comes off a five-round war with Nick Diaz from last year, while Masvidal rides of a decision win over Billy Evangelista from March. Standing, Noons should be able to pick Masvidal apart, who hasn’t lost by strikes since 2008 (including going the distance with Paul Daley). Masvidal is associated with American Top Team in Florida, so I’d expect him to be polishing his jiu Jitsu for this fight.

Prediction: Noons via unanimous decision or TKO (round two or three)

 265 lbs. – Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers: One of the two opening round tournament matches in bracket #2. Rogers returns to Strikeforce after a quick parlay to beat Ruben Villareal (who’s known for a hard chin) via unanimous decision. After 10 consecutive TKO / KO victories, Rogers got a taste of his own TKO medicine from Fedor Emelianenko and Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem. Like Andrei Arlovski, this tournament is an opportunity to see if Rogers got his mojo back. Conventional wisdom sees Barnett taking Rogers down and threatening submissions. That may require taking some speed knots from the heavy-handed Rogers, but Barnett should still have his chin. Villareal doesn’t have Barnett’s ground game, so if Rogers’ previous match is any indication of his KO power, hopefully ‘The Grim’ is working on his grappling.

Here’s a nice little “empty arena” match, but also an example of how EVERY pro wrestler, MMA  fighter, and quite frankly, the entire democratic party, should package what they’re selling:

Prediction: Barnett via unanimous decision

265 lbs. – Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum:  This tournament opening-round match has all the makings: a reigning champion enters the tournament, revenge against his opponent over a loss in a previous tournament (PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute in 2006), that opponent dethroning the People’s Champ (Fedor), anxious to prove it wasn’t a fluke win. Overeem is on a roll right now, finishing his last six opponents (nine if you don’t include the no-contest with Mirko Cro Cop. In MMA, he hasn’t recently faced competition the likes of Werdum, though any question about his hand  and legs should view the K-1 World Grand Prix from December, where Overeem finished Gokhan Saki and Pete Aerts in one night (after winning a unanimous decision quarter final match). As “The Man Who Beat Fedor,” Werdum rides high on that accolade, though his career be hot and cold as well. He won his last three, but was TKO’ed prior to that by Junior dos Santos. Before that, he finished Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga. And prior to that, he dropped a decision to Andrei Arlovski. In their 2006 PRIDE match, Werdum submitted (a smaller, albeit only slightly) Overeem in round two. Will history repeat itself?

Prediction: Overeem via KO (round one)

The Finish

There’s two interesting parts to this weekend’s show. One of course is the question of who advances in the tournament and how do the subsequent matches pair up. The other, which is part of the bigger picture, is what the matches say about these eight fighters’ place and relevance in the UFC.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen four of the UFC’s top heavyweights (Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, Junior Dos Santos, Shane Carwin) compete in matches important enough to have title shot ramifications. And although one match was given Fight of the Night honors while the other one was booed by fans, both were one-sided decisions that left the UFC title picture flatter than expected.  Conversely, only one of the four matches of the first bracket in the WGPH, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, went past the first round. In that match, Fedor’s stamina and resolve to surviving punishment was quite similar to Carwin’s.

All of these heavyweights are competitive enough to compete in the UFC, and given the speed at which Strikeforce fighters are being absorbed into the octagon, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the winner of this tournament challenging the winner of Cain Velasquez x Junior Dos Santos in early 2012. That injection of new competition will certainly be a shot in the arm for that weight class. In the meantime, expect more fireworks from Saturday’s behemoths, serving as a reminder of why people were excited for this tournament to begin with.

I had that emotional attachment to one fighter, an emotional attachment that I’ll likely never experience again. The fighter who tugged at my heartstrings, like only my beloved Colorado Avalanche can do, was “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell.

Since there is no long-term history in MMA and my dad didn’t force me to cheer for a certain fighter because he suffered through a tough period where a fighter could never win a big fight and he wanted me to suffer through those same periods, I had to fall in love with a fighter the ol’ fashion way. By watching an event and then liking the guy who won the main event because that meant he was the best. Don’t judge my methods of picking of a favorite fighter, everyone single one of you reading this right now who started watching the NBA in the nineties is a Chicago Bulls fan due to Michael Jordan but you gave up on the team after Jordan retired until this season.

The event was UFC 37.5 and the main event was Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort. It was a highly competitive fight but at the end of 15 minutes, Liddell’s arm raised in victory. I was instantly sucked in by Liddell’s performance and look. The Mohawk, the blue shorts, his willingness to stand with a guy who had a highlight reel of KO’s, and of course the big flurry in the third round where he knocked down Belfort really sealed the deal for me. I had found my first favorite fighter. My fighting Peter Forsberg or my MMA Steve Austin, if you will.

From that point on, I made it my mission to keep up with Liddell’s future. When I found out he was fighting at UFC 40, I had to see it. It didn’t hurt that the main event featured Tito Ortiz battling Ken Shamrock, who I followed during his WWF days, but Liddell was the real reason I wanted to see the event. And in true “Iceman” fashion, he delivered. A left kick upside Renato Sobral’s head and that was all she wrote for “Babula.” It was the first Liddell fight where I was rooting for him prior to seeing his arm raised in victory and I felt proud. Like I made the right decision in who I decided to support and God rewarded me by blessing my eyes with a spectacular knockout.

Then God taught me how cruel the sport of MMA can be at UFC 43. It was the first time Liddell challenged for the title (albeit an interim title) and he was facing some old guy named Randy Couture. Little did I know that “old man Couture” was Benjamin Button years before Brad Pitt put me to sleep over the course of two and a half hours. I admit, I cheated on Liddell after this loss. I wanted to back a winner. I had just witnessed Patrick Roy give up the final goal of his career in overtime of game seven in the playoffs a little over a month before Liddell lost to Couture. I couldn’t handle back-to-back disappointments like that. I’m not a Chicago Cubs fan dangit.

I stuck with Liddell though (although Couture did become my second favorite fighter after his UFC 43 victory) and was excited to see him back in action against Ortiz. I know Liddell went over to Japan and beat Alistair Overeem but lost to Quinton Jackson but all those guys in Japan were cheaters so that didn’t really bother me. (In reality, I didn’t keep up with MMA via internet in those days and didn’t know much about the PRIDE organization.) Based on all the build up, I was a little worried. In recent years, Ortiz had been afraid to fight Liddell. Why did he now all of a sudden want to go to war with “The Iceman”? Did he think Liddell was on the downswing after losing two of his last three? Did he know something I didn’t? Last time I saw Liddell, he lost and last time I saw Ortiz, he dominated a guy who I thought was “The World’s Most Dangerous Man.” I was worried, which also struck me as odd. Why was I worried about a guy who I’d never met and only seen fight three times in two years? I was invested though. This Ortiz guy kept running his mouth and I wanted Liddell to shut him up. And shut him up he did. Liddell finished Ortiz with strikes early in the second round and a huge smile came to my face when Liddell did his trademark “arms out yelling” pose while blood trickled down the face of a screaming, almost crying, Ortiz.

After beating Vernon White at UFC 49, the same night Couture regained the UFC Light Heavyweight Title by defeating Belfort, Liddell became a part of my weekly television viewing. Dana White, knowing that Liddell and Couture were my two favorite fighters and knowing that I needed something to watch every Monday after WWE Raw, made Liddell and Couture the coaches on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter and setting up a rematch between the two.

Barely managing to stay up every Monday night after Triple H almost always put me to sleep moments before TUF started, I kept finding some way to watch every episode of TUF 1. Not only was the stuff with Liddell and Couture interesting, but the whole show was new and interesting. Chris Leben’s problems with Josh Koscheck and Bobby Southworth, Diego Sanchez being weird, the fighters switching teams,Sam Hoger stealing things, ect…. It gave me a new look at my two favorites fighters and helped me feel more connected to them.

Of course The Ultimate Fighter 1 culminated in the big Liddell vs. Couture 2 fight at UFC 52 on April 16, 2006, almost six years to the day. My excitement level had never been higher. After seeing these two men for every week on my television set and feeling that God had played a cruel joke on me by allowing Couture to win the first fight (because we all know God plays favorite in MMA), I was ready for Liddell to get redemption, gain the title, and validate my poor reason for making him my favorite fighter. It didn’t take long for Liddell to do just that. One big right hand just over two minutes into the fight and moment later the belt was being strapped around Liddell’s waist for the first time ever. While I wasn’t fighting back tears the way I did when Ray Bourque held up the Stanley Cup, I was overcome with joy nonetheless.

With the title in his left hand and the KO power in his right, Liddell looked to defend and I was behind him all the way. I won’t bore you guys with the details of how awesome Liddell’s title run was because I know how boring it is to listen to your friends when all they want to do is brag about how good their team is doing. “That’s great to your team made it to the Conference Finals, Mike. My team is playing golf right now because they only won five of their last 20 games. Congratulations on still being able to care about the playoffs and having some hope, I’m sure Paul Stastny’s handicap has gone down in recent weeks. Maybe he’ll make the PGA Tour next off-season. Now shut up before I punch you in the face.”

Speaking of punching people in the face, that’s exactly what Liddell was doing during his title run. He finished Jeremy Horn, Couture, Sobral, and capped off his title run with a victory over Ortiz in the biggest UFC fight at that time. While the bouts against Horn, Couture, and Sobral were just “another fight” in Liddell’s career and my support of him, the Ortiz fight was personal. Liddell vs. Ortiz was like the Avalanche vs. the Detroit Red Wings for me because Ortiz wouldn’t shut up, even though he lost the first fight. Liddell had a great quote prior to the fight saying, “Look how much he talked after I beat him, imagine if I lost.” Liddell just couldn’t lose this fight. I couldn’t handle Ortiz running his mouth. Sure they’d be 1-1 but this fight was for the title and this fight was when both guys were on big winning streaks and this was the biggest fight in UFC history. UFC 47 was a regular season game between two bitter rivals looking to make a statement. UFC 66 was Game 7 in the playoffs. Proving that he’s as clutch as Joe Sakic, Liddell got the job done in Game 7, finishing Ortiz with strikes in the third round.

With Liddell at his peak of popularity and me heading off to college to waste my parents money, I thought now would be the perfect time to introduce “The Iceman” to my friends. My friends and I are what I like to call, “playful drunks.” When we have a few too many, we like to embarrass ourselves. And what better way to embarrass yourself than fighting with your friends so that when you have to go to class on Monday, you’re all bruised and scratched up and drawing attention to yourself? And thus “Chuck Liddell’n” was born. Not “drunk fighting” and not “lets be stupid and hit each other.” We called it “Chuck Liddell’n” It made sense, right? Who Liddell likes to drink and he likes to fight, so it only made sense that we combine the two. I essentially forced my love for Liddell upon my friends. I didn’t care though, Liddell was on top of the world. The guy had dynamite in his hands and a legendary sprawl. Who could possibly beat him? No one. That’s who. For the record, I was undefeated at “Chuck Liddell’n” and if you dare to challenge me, all you have to do is bring the shots and I’ll show my appreciation by bringing the strikes.

Then it all came crashing down and it hurt inside. I was worried about UFC 71 when Liddell met Jackson for the second time. By this point in my MMA fandom, I had been covering the sport for smaller fights and I studied up on all the history I could. I watched the first fight and saw how “Rampage” roughed up Liddell on the ground. The only thing I took comfort in was how “off” Jackson looked in his UFC debut against Marvin Eastman. If he fought like that against Liddell, I knew Liddell would win. Unfortunately Jackson didn’t fight the same way. Liddell was clipped early and finished. Amazingly, I wasn’t that upset that. Disappointed that after all that hype the fight lasted all of two minutes? Yes. But not upset. Now that I had more MMA knowledge in my brain, I knew how things worked and I knew that Liddell wasn’t invincible.

It was the next fight that upset me. We all know Liddell was given Keith Jardine as essentially a “gimme” fight to get him back on track and set up the big fight with Wanderlei Silva. Jardine had just been destroyed by an unknown Houston Alexander, no way he was going to last two minutes with Liddell. But then two minutes passed. And the first round passed, the second round, and after 15 minutes Jardine was still standing. “What the hell just happened? Liddell doesn’t go to decisions,” I thought. Not only that but since I score fights while watching them, I scored the fight for Jardine. I had Jardine winning and so did two of the three judges. The only person more upset than me was probably Liddell, who was slumped over in the corner while Jardine was being interviewed. Now what?

A few weeks later, UFC made the big announcement. “UFC 79: Liddell vs. Silva.” It was on and I was pumped. But I was also extremely worried. Liddell had lost two straight fights, I knew a third straight might be the end. Now of course Silva had also lost two straight but he had lost to Dan Henderson and Mirko “Cro Cop.” Liddell had lost to Keith freakin’ Jardine. Plus Silva was a murderer. If Liddell couldn’t beat Jardine, how the heck was he going to beat one of the scariest guys in MMA history? I had my faith though. In fact, at this point I was writing for 411MMA and in their event roundtables that features the predictions from all the writers, I was the only person to pick Liddell. That was the way I wanted it though. Liddell & I vs. The World.

Liddell vs. Silva turned out to be my favorite fight of all-time, likely never to be surpassed. It was fifteen minutes that lived up to the hype and at the end of it, when Liddell raised his arms in victory, I got up from my couch and raised my arms with him. “The Iceman” was back. I can’t count how many times I’ve watched this fight since it happened but it’s to the point where I can mute the broadcast and still know exactly what Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are saying. And while I have UFC 79 on DVD and I have the UFC Unleashed: Liddell vs. Silva special on my DVR, I always watch the original PPV broadcast. I still get goose bumps seeing the “6 Years in the Making” graphic and when Silva is in the ring, the lights go down, and the first thump that starts “Intro” by DMX before the camera cuts to Liddell is one of my favorite “non-fight” moments in MMA.

Liddell’s next fight would be at UFC 88 in Atlanta, Georgia. Seeing as I had never been to a UFC event, that Georgia was only a seven hour drive away, and that Liddell was headlining, there was no way I was going to miss this event. His opponent would be Rashad Evans, a good fighter who was undefeated but also a guy who struggled to beat Michael Bisping, a relatively undersized light heavyweight, and a guy who had the style that Liddell ate for lunch (almost exclusively a wrestler with limited stand up). I was excited to see my MMA hero add another knockout to his list and earn another shot at the belt.

It wasn’t meant to be though. Evans knocked Liddell out cold in one of the most memorable KO’s in UFC history. While I’ve seen the KO a million times thanks to various highlight reels, I’ve never gone back and watched the entire fight. I just can’t do that to myself. I was in the arena, I was ready to cheer with thousands of others when Liddell won, I don’t want to relive what was and what could have been that night. After the event I remember sitting in my hotel room thinking that Liddell should seriously consider retirement. A brutal KO loss to a guy who was pretty much hand picked for him to beat? This seemed even worse than the Jardine loss at the time. In hindsight, seeing as Evans went on to be UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and one of the best light heavyweights in the world while Jardine faded into obscurity until recently, the Evans loss wasn’t so bad. But September 6, 2008 ranks up there with May 31, 2002 (the night Patrick Roy gave up 7 goals in Game 7 to the Red Wings. A victory would have set up an Avalanche vs. Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup finals, which would have allowed me to see the Avalanche play in the finals since I live in North Carolina) in terms of worst sports memories. To add insult to injury, I was hit with a barrage of text messages that read, “Your boy got knocked the F out.” This goes to show you what kind of friends I have.

UFC 97 was rumored to be Liddell’s last fight. Dana White said as much in all the pre-fight hype. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua would be Liddell’s opponent, and while I was worried, Rua had failed to impress in his two UFC fights so I was confident. Liddell didn’t seem himself though. Maybe he came back too quickly from the Evans KO, maybe Rua had finally found his UFC groove, or maybe Liddell was just done. Whatever the case was that night, Liddell just wasn’t “The Iceman.” He was pulling his right hand and he was knocked down and out by a lunging jab. The power and chin seemed to be gone, so what else was left? After that fight, I thought nothing. He had a great run but it was time to call it a career.

For 14 months Liddell did call it a career. He returned at UFC 115 against Rich Franklin, which I was excited for. When he was originally scheduled to have a third bout against Ortiz, I thought it would be an easy victory for Liddell but I didn’t want Ortiz to land that one punch and actually beat, and even worse retire Liddell. Franklin I could deal with though. I’ve always liked Franklin and I thought it was a good style fight for Liddell. I was extra confident. Based on all the reports, we wouldn’t see the same ol’ Liddell who relied almost exclusively on his right hand and was more predictable than a Michael Bay film. I was so confident in Liddell that I even made a friendly wager with fellow 5OZ writer and good friend Adam Tool.

Liddell came out to “Won’t Back Down” by Eminem at UFC 115. Perfect. My favorite fighter walking out to my favorite musical artist? No way this night would end badly. The fight started. Franklin threw a kick and Liddell answered with a kick that looked like it hurt 100 times more than the kick Franklin threw. This was a new Liddell. He was kicking again, he was mixing in takedowns, and the power was there. Sorry “Ace,” tonight just wouldn’t be your night. Then it happened. After seemingly hurting Franklin along the cage, Liddell looked for the kill and ran smack into a right hand that put him out. I just saw on my couch, stunned at what I just saw. I wasn’t sad or even disappointed. I was just stunned that Liddell had looked so good only to be caught with just seconds remaining in the round. To add to my stunnedness, moments later Franklin announced that his left arm had been broken early in the fight. Not only had Liddell looked so good and not only did he lose with just seconds remaining, but he lost to a guy with a broken arm. Why was God so cruel?

After UFC 115 I wrote that I never wanted to see Liddell fight again. It was just getting too painful. He had nothing left to prove and his chin just couldn’t handle the light heavyweight power. I couldn’t take seeing him unconscious; needing extra attention to be revived, and asking, “What happened?” after the fight was over.

On December 29, 2010, exactly 3 years after his epic fight with Silva, Liddell officially announced his retirement. I was happy and even relieved that it was finally over. While MMA retirements seem to be about as official as pro wrestling retirements, I felt in my heart that Liddell was truly done. He’s now married, UFC is probably compensating him well, and he seems happy in life.

It still upsets me when people say things like, “Liddell threw away his legacy” or “I hope (insert fighter here) doesn’t go out like Liddell.” Why wouldn’t a fighter want to go out like Liddell? He went out on his shield, he went out fighting the best, and he went out on the biggest stage. I hope fighters don’t go out like Ken Shamrock, because that’s the worst way to go out. Fighters should be so lucky to go out like Liddell did. And sorry people, but losing three straight fights, even by brutal KO, all to former champions isn’t throwing away a legacy that includes being one of the fighters who helped usher in MMA to the mainstream, becoming the first true crossover MMA star, multiple UFC Light Heavyweight Title defenses, being one of the biggest draws in MMA PPV history, ect….

On August 8, 2009 at UFC 101 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I finally met the man himself. I was sitting in the stands waiting for the event to begin when I saw the infamous Mohawk walk out from the backstage area. Even though I was half way across the arena, I wasn’t going to be denied. I ran across that arena so fast that I’m shocked security didn’t stop me, suspecting me of thievery. I made my way down to the arena floor, waited my turn, and finally handed my hat to Liddell to sign. Of course, my hat was an official “Iceman” hat that I’d worn every day since I got it for my birthday in 2008. After getting an autograph from my favorite fighter, I felt like a kid who just discovered Cinemax. I texted my friends, called my parents, and tweeted to my followers. That hat now hangs in my room and hasn’t been worn since UFC 101.

I still pay tribute to Liddell every week through my writing. My event previews, “The Walk Out” is titled because no one had a more exciting walk out than Liddell. His bouncing to the music and his energy going down the aisle always got me pumped for what I was about to see. And my event reviews, “The After Party” is titled because in every post-fight interview, Liddell always invited people to come party with him at his after party.

There will never be another Chuck Liddell in my MMA life. Sure I have fighters that I like and cheer for but there is no emotional investment. I’m more invested in my prediction record (because that’s why 5OZ pays me the big bucks) than any one fighter. Maybe I’m crazy for getting so attached to a fighter. But is it really any crazier than getting attached to a sports team? I wouldn’t trade my ups and downs with Liddell for anything. Except UFC 88. I’d be happy to cut off my right hand if it meant Liddell KO’d Evans. Don’t worry, I’m over it though.

Nope, mixed martial arts isn’t like other sports. Fighters don’t fight daily, every other day, or weekly. A loss or two could set a fighter back for a year, maybe even longer. A fighter can’t just magically improve over a 3-month period just because he switched training camps and got better training partners. But you can become emotionally attached to fighters and should your heart lead you to a certain fighter, enjoy every moment.

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Heavyweight Fight: Shane Carwin vs. Junior Dos Santos

After 10 weeks of coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos faces Shane Carwin due to Lesnar having a diverticulitis relapse. The winner will go on to challenge for the UFC heavyweight strap later this year.

Carwin Skill Assessment: Despite his wrestling background, Carwin has become known for his one punch knockout power. He’s not a technically sound striker, although he did show off a good straight left-right uppercut against Lesnar. Otherwise he’s almost exclusively a one-two puncher. He does a nice job of using his jab to set up his takedowns and he has strong takedowns but we also haven’t seen a lot of them. He tried to takedown Frank Mir but couldn’t get it and Mir’s takedown defense isn’t high-level. When he does get a takedown, he’s a monster on top. He does a nice job of posturing, moving to better positions, and staying active with strikes. Carwin doesn’t really offer anything off his back other than how to get up. He looked lost against Lesnar but he was also gassed out. Against Gabriel Gonzaga though, he got up with relative ease after being stunned with a couple of right hands. Carwin’s biggest strength might be in the clinch. Against Mir, he dominated him in the clinch by controlling him, landing knees to the thighs, and using his free hand to punish Mir with short punches and uppercuts. The big concern with Carwin is his health and conditioning. He’s coming off major spinal surgery and hasn’t competed in almost a year. Also, from what I’ve heard, he’s dropped a little bit of weight, which might help his conditioning but could also take away from his power.

Carwin Game Plan: Carwin needs to make this a dirty fight. He needs to use his strength to bully Dos Santos into the clinch, rough him up in the clinch, and try to get the takedown. He’s proven that he can generate a ton of power in a very short distance so he has no reason to stay at a striking distance with Dos Santos.

Dos Santos Skill Assessment: Ever since Dos Santos burst onto the UFC scene in 2008, he’s quickly become the most feared striker in the division. He’s an excellent technical boxer. He likes to go the body early, especially with the jab, and that’s all to set up his right hand to the head. He’ll also switch the combo around, throwing a jab to the head and then a right hook to the body. His favorite combo to use though is a left hook followed by a right uppercut. He’s also a solid counter puncher with a powerful left hook. We’ve seen Dos Santos’ takedown defense tested a couple of time in the UFC and each time he’s passed. He was down for a brief moment against Gonzaga and immediately popped back up and he stuffed every takedown attempt from Roy Nelson. Neither of those men have the strength or credentials of Carwin though. Working in Dos Santos’ favor is his quick hips and good balance. Because we’ve never seen Dos Santos on his back, we don’t really know how good his guard or jiu-jitsu is. His teacher,Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, says that Dos Santos gives him fits on the ground but what else would you expect his trainer to say? Dos Santos does seem like a guy who is a sponge though so it wouldn’t shock me if he has quickly learned the jiu-jitsu game. At the very least I think he’ll be able to limit Carwin’s ground work. I wouldn’t be shocked of Dos Santos has been training leg locks in preparation for this fight. Carwin is going to be tough to submit up top because of his build but Dos Santos could snatch one of his legs and take it home with him. Dos Santos’ clinch game isn’t bad but he was controlled and roughed up a bit by Nelson. Dos Santos’ chin has never been tested like it will likely be tested against Carwin but he has taken some stiff punches from Mirko Cro Cop and Nelson and didn’t blink. The big advantage Dos Santos has in this fight is his speed. In addition to having faster hands, he’s also quicker and lighter on his feet.

Dos Santos Game Plan: Dos Santos needs to use his speed. Jab to keep Carwin at bay and show the uppercut to make Carwin think twice about shooting in. When Carwin moves in aggressively, Dos Santos has to move away and then counter with the straight right. Dos Santos needs to be at a distance at all time. He can’t let Carwin press him against the cage or get him to the ground.

Fight Prediction: As the UFC promo hints at, this fight could come down to who lands first. My guess is that Dos Santos will land first because he is the quicker of the two. Plus, Carwin is too much of a mystery coming off major surgery and changing up his strength and conditioning programming. I think Dos Santos will be able to tag up Carwin early, avoid the takedown, and put Carwin away.

Official Prediction: Junior Dos Santos to defeat Shane Carwin by TKO in Round One

Featherweight Fight: Diego Nunes vs. Kenny Florian

Starting his career at middleweight on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter, Kenny Florian now drops to featherweight to take on Diego Nunes.

Nunes Skill Assessment: Nunes is a well-rounded fighter who looked very impressive against Mike Brown. He’s a good striker although he mainly just throws kicks. He has quick leg kicks, likes to throw a lead leg head kick, and loves the spinning back kick. When he does throw his hands, he usually leads with a straight left or right, depending on which stance he’s in. For a fighter with no wrestling background, Nunes showed off some impressive takedown defense against Brown, who is known for his powerful wrestling. Nunes is a purple belt in jiu-jitsu although because UFC pulls content from other sites and doesn’t bother putting up WEC content on their site, I haven’t seen much of Nunes on the ground. My guess is that he can hold his own against Florian, especially if he’s on top, but he won’t be able to submit Florian off his back. Nunes is very good in the clinch. He likes to grab the plum clinch, has good control with it, and throws very good knees to the body and head. Nunes is a rather large featherweight and should have a strength advantage in this fight.

Nunes Game Plan: Nunes needs to use his size, strength, and pace in this fight. This is Florian’s first time cutting to 145 and history has shown that guys just don’t have the stamina they usually have when making their first cut to a new weight. Nunes needs to wear on Florian and bully him around. I know Nunes is more a striker than a grinder but he has to be willing to change things up and get a little dirty in this fight.

Florian Skill Assessment: Like Nunes, Florian is a well-rounded fighter. He’s a very technical striker, who use to just throw kicks but has really developed good boxing in recent years. He stands southpaw, a quick jab, and a good counter left straight. He uses a lot of kick feints but when he decides to throw them, he throws them quickly and with a lot of power. Florian’s takedown defense has been suspect throughout his career but I do think it’s better than he’s given credit for. He stuffed all of Clay Guida’s takedowns and we saw last weekend how good of a wrestler Guida is. Florian’s trouble is against big, strong wrestlers, which Nunes is not. Florian has decent takedowns but after seeing Nunes stuff the takedowns of Brown, I’m not sure if he’ll be able to get Nunes to the ground. On top though, Florian has very good control, loves using elbows, and uses head and arm control to set up his passes. Off his back he stays active with elbows and likes to use the omoplata to try and sweep. In tight, Florian likes to grab the plum clinch to throw knees and close quarter elbows. As mentioned above, this is Florian’s first time cutting to 145 and so I don’t expect him to fight up to his full potential. It’s very possible that his conditioning won’t be what it should be.

Florian Game Plan: One would think that Florian would have the size advantage considering he’s cutting down but he just doesn’t have that body type to be a power guy. So he needs to use his speed and boxing in this fight. Use his jab, put a straight left behind it, and just make it a technical fight. If the takedown is there, go for it but I wouldn’t be overly concerned with it, especially because it could lead to him burning energy that he may not have.

Fight Prediction: This is a tough fight to call because no one really knows how the weight cut will affect Florian. My guess is that he’ll get off to a strong start and then fade should the fight go to a third round. I think Florian will be able to do enough in the first two rounds though to sort of coast in the third, should his conditioning not be there. I’m keeping my expectations low simply because I fear that Florian will fight conservative by using a lot of jabs and movement and just frustrating Nunes with his reach.

Official Prediction: Kenny Florian to defeat Diego Nunes by Decision

Middleweight Fight: Mark Munoz vs. Demian Maia

Powerful wrestler Mark Munoz battles jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia in a middleweight showdown with title implications.

Munoz Skill Assessment: Munoz is a strong wrestler with one punch power and some of the most brutal ground and pound in MMA history. He likes to strike but he’s not a great striker. He has a stiff jab but he loads up a lot on his right hand and doesn’t throw many straight punches. What I like about his striking though is that he’s always throwing. He throws on the clinch break and he throws on the way up after failed takedowns. His strength is still his wrestling though. He has a quick single leg takedown although he doesn’t set it up very well. He’d be a lot more dangerous if he threw the overhand right used it to go into a takedown but, up until now, he hasn’t added that to his game. On top, he’s a handful. He’s great at posturing up and raining down his heavy hands. Off his back he’s very good at quickly getting to his feet, and as mentioned above, throwing his hands on the way up. He’s very strong in the clinch and does a nice job of staying active with knees. He has a tendency to be over-aggressive, which could be to his detriment against a grappler like Maia.

Munoz Game Plan: Munoz just needs to fight smart against Maia. Keep it on the feet for the most part because it should be an even fight, at worst, for Munoz if they’re both standing. The in the final moments of the round, go for the takedown and secure the frame. He needs to use his jab to keep Maia at bay and set up his right hand, not just throw it wildly. He can’t over-commit to his punches because Maia does a nice job of ducking under and getting takedowns.

Maia Skill Assessment: Even though he hasn’t submitted an opponent since February 2009, Maia is still one of the best grapplers in the sport. His striking has improved over the years but it’s still very basic. He stands southpaw and leads with an overhand left and then likes to throw a right hook. Even though he’s not known for throwing many leg and body kicks, he’d be wise to use them in this fight, as long as he keeps his hands up when he throws them as a way to bait Munoz into a takedown. And if Munoz doesn’t go for the takedown, then they’ll score for him. Maia’s striking is mainly just used to get inside though. Maia is a very underrated wrestler, especially in the clinch. He has a good single leg drag and in the clinch he’s very crafty. He’s great at using trips and throws to get his opponents down and he’s also not afraid to pull guard in order to get the fight to the ground. On the ground, whether he’s on top or on his back, Maia is aces. On top, he has excellent control and is very active with his strikes in order to set up his submissions and passes. I’d like to see him throw more elbows on the ground though. Off his back, he has excellent triangles and armbars and sets them up beautifully with wrist control. He’s also good at using sweeps and initiating scrambles in order to end up in a dominant position. I’m a little worried about Maia’s cardio. In his last two fights, he’s faded a bit in the final five minutes. Now granted he works very hard on the ground and spends a fair amount of energy trying for takedowns and staying active on top but his conditioning could be improved.

Maia Game Plan: On the feet, Maia needs to use kicks and just wait for Munoz to become over-aggressive in order to get his takedowns. Use his strike to get inside on Munoz, clinch, and work from there. Take away the legs of Munoz with knees, look for trips, and try to get the fight to the ground by any means. On the ground, whether he’s on top or bottom, Maia will be comfortable and he’ll just look to do what he does best.

Fight Prediction: This will either be a chess match on the ground or dull striking contest. Either way, I favor Maia in the fight. I think he’ll be able to frustrate Munoz on the feet by not engaging too much, which will lead to Munoz making a mistake that Maia will capitalize on in order to get things to the ground. From there, Maia will be able to control the fight and wear out Munoz with his grappling expertise.

Official Prediction: Demian Maia to defeat Mark Munoz by Decision

Heavyweight Fight: Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman

Competing in MMA for the first time 2006, Jon Olav Einemo takes on Dave Herman, who is making his UFC debut.

Einemo Skill Assessment: Einemo is one of the best pure grapplers in MMA. He’s the only man to defeat Roger Gracie at ADCC, which tells you all you need to know about his jiu-jitsu skills. He also trains at Golden Glory, which houses some of the best strikers in MMA. As far as Einemo’s striking goes, it’s very basic. He has a decent jab but his best punch is a straight right hand. His striking is pretty much used to get inside and get the clinch though. He’s very strong in the clinch and has quick and heavy hips, which helps him get takedowns. As you would expect, his top game is outstanding. He has great control and is very good at using that control and his craftiness to pass to better positions. Once he has the mount, he’s almost impossible to shake off. As with most high-level grapplers, he’s very patient in setting up his submissions and passes and makes sure to secure position before submission. The biggest concern with Einemo is that he hasn’t had a MMA fight since 2006. So no matter how much he’s been training or competing in grappling tournaments, he’s going to have some cage rust. I’m also not sure he’s ever competed in the cage, which is a disadvantage because it’s something that does take getting used to.

Einemo Game Plan Obviously Einemo’s best chance to win this fight is on the ground but he might be able to find success on the feet. Herman throws a lot of kicks, which leaves him open for straight right hands, which is Einemo’s best punch. He needs to get inside on Herman, drag him to the ground, and work his ground game. Herman has a solid guard but he’s not on the level of Einemo and in fairness, few are.

Herman Skill Assessment: Herman is a relatively well-rounded fighter who is finally getting his big break. His striking is solid but I think overrated by a lot of people. He has power in his hands but he doesn’t really throw them. He prefers to throw mainly kicks, usually leg kicks and push kicks. Defensively he gets caught way too much with punches, especially with left hooks and straight right hands. Herman’s strength is in the clinch. He has good balance, he’s strong in the clinch, and he has an underrated muy-thai game. He’s very active with elbows in the clinch. He’ll throw them in tight and while trying to defending the takedown. On the ground he has a solid top game, heavy ground and pound, and I think he’ll really benefit from being allowed to throw elbows in the UFC. Off his back he has a good defensive guard and again, loves to throw elbows. Of course I doubt he wants to spend too much time on the ground against a grappler like Einemo.

Herman Game Plan: Herman needs to keep the fight on the feet and make this a fast paced fight. Because Einemo hasn’t fought in five years, his conditioning will likely suffer. Herman needs to push the pace and really test the cardio of Einemo. Herman should really look to use the cage to his advantage by bullying Einemo into the cage and batter him up with short elbows and knees.

Fight Prediction: I think Einemo is a very talented fighter who has talent beyond his grappling. But I can’t favor him when he hasn’t fought since 2006 because I don’t know what we’ll see from him or how much he’s improved or regressed over the years. At least with Herman, I know what I’m getting, and while it’s not always pretty, it’s more often than not effective. I think Herman will be able to keep the fight standing, use the cage to his advantage, and rough him up with strikes.

Official Prediction: Dave Herman to defeat Jon Olav Einemo by TKO in Round Two

Lightweight Fight: Vagner Rocha vs. Donald Cerrone

Vagner Rocha makes his UFC debut on short notice against the always-entertaining Donald Cerrone.

Rocha Skill Assessment: Unfortunately I can’t find any video of Rocha so I can only assess his talent based on what I’ve read/heard about him. Personally, I think every MMA organization that ever runs a show in the history of everdom should send me the video so I can properly do my job. Anyway, Rocha is a rather sloppy striker who throws a lot of overhand rights and leaves himself open to counter punches. His wrestling isn’t great and it’s certainly not on the level Jamie Varner, who Cerrone out-wrestled not too long ago. Rocha’s strength is his jiu-jitsu. He’s a jiu-jitsu black belt and even teaches down in Florida. Most of his wins have come via armbar, so I think it’s safe to assume that he has a pretty good armbar. Rocha used to fight at welterweight so my guess is that he’s a rather large lightweight. Rocha is taking this fight on short notice so I’m not sure how good his cardio will be.

Rocha Game Plan: Even though Rocha isn’t a great striker, the overhand right could serve him well against Cerrone considering the amount of kicks and knees Cerrone likes to throw. Rocha needs to get the fight to the ground though and he needs to use his size to do so. Get the fight in the clinch, look for trips, and then work his top game while also avoiding the ground activity of Cerrone. Rocha is a much more technical grappler than Cerrone so he needs to try and turn this into a technical jiu-jitsu contest. He also needs to get off to a fast start. Cerrone is a slow starter and because Rocha’s cardio may not hold up, he needs to look to get Cerrone out of there early.

Cerrone Skill Assessment: If nothing else, Cerrone is always exciting. He’s a very good technical striker, although he gets hit way too often. He has a quick jab, likes to use a left hook-leg kick combo and throws a crisp one-two. He also likes to a throw a lot of knees up the middle to counter fighters coming in or trying to go to the ground. As mentioned, Cerrone gets hit a lot but his parents blessed him with an outstanding chin. Cerrone’s wrestling has improved a lot over the years. Offensively, he does a nice job of ducking under his opponents strikes and getting takedowns. His takedown defense is what has really shown the most improvement as of late though, especially against Varner. On the ground, Cerrone is one of the most active fighters in the sport. He’s constantly attacking, both on top and from his back, not only with strikes but also with submission and sweep attempts. His constant activity does get him in trouble though as he loses positions because he tries to move before he secures himself. A consistent problem that Cerrone has run into is his slow starts. In many first rounds, he looks like he’s just going through the motions. It’s only really cost him once in his career, in the second fight against Ben Henderson, but it’s never good to almost give away the first round and put yourself in a position to have to win two straight rounds or finish. It’s fair to question Cerrone’s mind set considering that he was scheduled to face an Ultimate Fighter champion and a guy that he didn’t like to now facing an unknown but Cerrone is the type a guy who just loves to fight. I’m pretty sure you could have told him that he was fighting me this weekend and he still would have trained like it was a title fight.

Cerrone Game Plan: Cerrone will most likely want to keep this fight standing. I’m sure he’s confident in his grappling but there’s no point in risking it when jiu-jitsu is Rocha’s specialty. Cerrone needs to use his boxing and throw his knees up the middle. He may want to stay away from kicks so he doesn’t give Rocha an opening for takedowns but if Cerrone doesn’t feel threatened by Rocha’s wrestling then I’m sure he’ll let his legs go.

Fight Prediction: This is really Cerrone’s fight to lose. He should be able to keep the fight standing and if he does, he should pick apart Rocha with his technical striking. I’m sure Cerrone will eat a punch or five, but he’ll give 10 in return and his pace and power will eventually wear out Rocha.

Official Prediction: Donald Cerrone to defeat Vagner Rocha by TKO in Round Two

Preliminary Fight Predictions

*Yves Edwards to defeat Sam Stout by Decision
*Chris Weidman to defeat Jesse Bongfeldt by Decision
*Krzysztof Soszynski to defeat Mike Massenzio by TKO in Round Two
*Nick Ring to defeat James Head by Decision
*Dustin Poirier to defeat Jason Young by TKO in Round One
*Joey Beltran to defeat Aaron Rosa by TKO in Round One
*Michihiro Omigawa to defeat Darren Elkins by Decision

THE UFC  HEADS TO PITTSBURGH – JUNE 26 WHERE NATE MARQUARDT  MAKES HIS WELTERWEIGHT DEBUT

UFC heavyweight Brenden Schaub called the MMA:30 Radio Hour after his win over Mirko Cro Cop to talk about what’s next for him in the heavyweight division, his thoughts on the UFC purchase of Strikeforce, how he’s going to spend his $70K in bonus money, and why he thinks he may be ready for a title shot. Listen to the interview below.

Main Card
5 points for correct winner/loser
3point for correct method
Spike
4 points for correct winner/loser
2 point for correct method
Facebook
3 points for correct winner/loser
1 point for correct method
Unaired Prelims
2 points for correct winner/loser

Possible Points – 66

Eric’s Points – 48
Eric’s Accuracy – 73%

Matt’s Points – 57
Matt’s Accuracy – 86%

Michael’s Points – 34
Michael’s Accuracy – 52%

Play-by-Play Results and Commentary

Main card:

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4) vs. Jon Jones (12-1) – Jones via TKO

Eric - Jones via TKO +8
Matt – Jones via TKO +8
Michael – Jones via TKO +8
Urijah Faber (24-4) vs. Eddie Wineland (18-6-1) - Faber via Decision

Eric - Faber via TKO +5
Matt – Faber via Decision +8
Michael – Faber via Submission +5
Jim Miller (19-2) vs. Kamal Shalorus (7-0-2) – Miller via TKO

Eric - Miller via Decision +5
Matt – Miller via Decision +5
Michael – Miller via Submission +5
Dan Miller (14-4) vs. Nate Marquardt (30-10-2) – Marquardt via Decision

Eric - Marquardt via TKO +5
Matt – Marquardt via Submission +5
Michael – Miller via Decision +0
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (27-8-2) vs. Brendan Schaub (7-1) – Schaub via KO

Eric - Schaub via TKO +5
Matt – Schaub via KO +8
Michael – Cro Cop via KO +0

On Spike

Luiz Cane (10-3) vs. Eliot Marshall (8-2) -  Cane via TKO

Eric - Cane via TKO +6
Matt – Cane via TKO +6
Michael – Cane via TKO +6
Edson Barboza (7-0) vs. Anthony Njokuani (13-4) - Barboza via Decision

Eric - Barboza via KO +4
Matt – Barboza via TKO +4
Michael – Barboza via TKO +4

On Facebook

Ricardo Almeida (13-4) vs. Mike Pyle (20-7-1) – Pyle via Decision

Eric – Almeida via Submission +0
Matt – Pyle via Decision +4
Michael – Almeida via Decision +0
Kurt Pellegrino (16-5) vs. Gleison Tibau (21-7) – Tibau via Decision

Eric – Tibau via Decision +4
Matt – Tibau via Submission +3
Michael – Pellegrino via Submission +0

Preliminary card:

Joseph Benavidez (13-2) vs. Ian Loveland (14-7) – Benavidez

Eric - Benavidez +2
Matt – Benavidez +2
Michael – Benavidez +2
Raphael Assuncao (16-3) vs. Erik Koch (11-1) – Koch

Eric - Koch +2
Matt – Koch +2
Michael – Koch +2
Constantinos Philippou (7-1) vs. Nick Catone (8-2) – Catone

Eric - Catone +2
Matt – Catone +2
Michael – Catone +2