Haven't done one of these in a while, but this Ultimate Fight Night was pretty unique as a whopping nine fights off this card were made available. The first three on the card (Lentz/Lowe, Simpson/Miranda, Hendricks/Waldburger) were dark, but the UFC aired the remaining five undercard fights live on Facebook, followed by a live (or tape delayed, for us West Coasters) broadcast of the main card on Spike TV. Quick, random thoughts from the night.
- I didn't expect much from the first FB fight featuring Sean McCorkle and Christian Morecraft, but Morecraft actually looked decent on his way to a 2nd round submission. He was tagging McCorkle on the feet and showed some okay grappling as well before locking up a standing guillotine that put "Big Sexy" to sleep. I doubt he'll ever be of much consequence in the heavyweight division, and this fight was probably more notable for the sheer size of the competitors (6'6" 265 for Morecraft and 6'7" 266 for McCorkle), but Morecraft put on a good show and was rewarded with a victory.
- Michael McDonald vs Edwin Figueroa may have been my favorite fight of the night. Two young guns, 20 and 26 respectively, in an all out war. The standup exchanges were exciting with both men landing shots and neither backing down. McDonald had Figueroa in a bunch of tight spots on the ground, and even though it looked like he was going to finish a few times, Figueroa hung tough, refused to tap and managed to escape. Though he put in a great effort taking the fight on just six days notice, Figueroa didn't have enough as McDonald grabbed a convincing decision with a 30-27 verdict on all scorecards. Still, a super entertaining fight and a bright future for both guys.
- Figueroa had my favorite quote of the night after Joe Rogan asked how he handled taking the fight on such short notice. He said, "If God takes me to it, He'll take me through it." Such a simple truth that's so easily forgotten and would take away a lot of our stress and worry.
- John Hathaway nearly finished Kris "Savage" McCray early on in the fight with a leglock but ended up pulling out a split decision victory. It was a good, not great win in my opinion as, other than that initial submission attempt, Hathaway did not threaten to finish McCray in the fight. Still he was able to score on the feet and on the ground and remains a well-rounded threat in the welterweight division. Would like to see him take a step up in competition, which he's undoubtedly ready for.
- Really glad Chan Sung Jung, aka the Korean Zombie, picked up a win over Leonard Garcia in their rematch tonight. Many thought he should have won the first time around, and he left no doubt as he finished Garcia with a twister in the 2nd. I had never actually seen anyone do that before, and apparently it was the first time it's been used as a finish in the UFC so congrats to Jung for that. He obviously can hold his own on the feet and his grappling looked sick tonight. Hope to see him again on a main card soon.
- Amir Sadollah looked good in finishing DaMarques Johnson. Johnson took the fight on late notice and was game as usual, but Sadollah was really able to dominate in the 2nd round. He got taken down and hit a couple times but was never in trouble and kept calm until he was able to put Johnson down himself before controlling him and dropping punches and elbows until he got the win.
- I will never understand how Anthony "Rumble" Johnson cuts down from a walking weight of around 230 all the way to 170/171, but he does and he was able to use his strength to his advantage tonight. I, and most others I would assume, was expecting a slugfest, but aside from a big head kick that knocked Dan Hardy down in the 1st, Johnson focused on his takedowns and ground and pound to impose his will. Sometimes I forget how good his wrestling is as he's often content to bomb away on opponents, but Rumble used his size to his advantage, dragging Hardy down every round and keeping him there, sealing a dominant victory.
- In the main event, Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis was able to take a decision over Antoino Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira, overcoming a 1st round in which all his takedown attempts where stuffed. Lil Nog got the better of the standup exchanges, but Davis adapted in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, shooting for single instead of double-leg takedowns and scoring with them. I'm a little surprised Lil Nog didn't use his guard a little more offensively as it looked like he was more focused on defending from Davis's ground and pound and pushing him away to get back on his feet. I get that he (correctly) felt he had an advantage there, but he's a black belt and a Nogueira, so I would have thought he'd spend a little more time working his lethal guard play, especially towards the end of the fight when he had to know he was behind on the scorecards. Still, it was a good fight. Nogueira is clearly still relevant in the 205 division although he will probably never be a title contender. Davis is a #sowonderful up-and-comer with some serious skills but some serious work to do as well. I think he's ready to test himself against another world-ranked opponent.
Overall a nice night of fights. A couple snoozers here and there (Madsen/Russow, ugh), but several high-paced barnburners as well (Semerzier/Cacares was fun while it lasted). Good show, looking forward to GSP/Shields in April.
Showing posts with label ultimate fighting championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ultimate fighting championship. Show all posts
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thursday, August 6, 2009
UFC 101: Declaration
So one of my interests is MMA. I just thought I'd throw up some thoughts about the main card of this weekend's UFC event. I didn't want to bore you with it as my post of the day, but I threw up another one and I probably won't get a chance to put this up tomorrow so here goes.
Josh "The Dentist" Neer vs Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino
Two very solid contenders in the 155 division. Both of these fighters have good grappling skills and are well rounded overall. Honestly, this would be a good pick for fight of the night since both of these guys can fight at a good pace for all 15 minutes.
While Pellegrino looked good in his last fight finishing Rob Emerson, I don't think he'll be able to handle Neer. Neer's been in the cage with some elite competition and arguably has better wins, having beaten Mac Danzig and Din Thomas in two of his last three fights. While Pellegrino has good offensive grappling, Neer's gone the distance with other good submission guys like Nate Diaz and Joe Stevenson so he should be able to stay out of anything Batman throws his way. I like Neer to take a hard earned decision in this one.
Ricardo Almeida vs Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove
It's hard to know what to make of these two guys at 185. Almeida had a four year layoff from MMA and looked pretty lackluster two fights ago against Patrick Cote. Bear in mind that that was for #1 contender status so it was one of the most important fights of his career. Kendall on the other hand, has shown flashes of talent after winning season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter, but KO losses to Cote and Jorge Rivera, decent veterans but nothing special, placed question marks on his chin and desire.
I like Almeida here. While I don't know if he'll show up, his skill set matches up well against Grove's. He's not a threat to KO Grove, but for all of Kendall's length and reach advantage, he generally prefers fighting on the inside with elbows and knees. That strategy will likely get him taken down and Almeida shouldn't have a problem grabbing one of Grove's long limbs and cranking it for a submission.
Amir Sadollah vs Johny Hendricks
A battle between two relative newcomers, this is probably the weakest fight on the main card. After beating CB Dollaway twice to win TUF7, Amir's been sidelined by injuries and eventually dropped to 170, where this fight is taking place. I didn't watch that season of TUF, but from what I've heard, Amir is a scrappy fighter with some submission skills. Hendricks is a 5-0 wrestler with some experience in the WEC.
It's hard to call this one, mainly because we don't really know what Sadollah brings to the table other than a fierce Amirbar. But I'm going to take Hendricks in this one. He's a young stud who hopefully can stay out of Amir's submissions unlike Dollaway and grind out a decision.
Anderson "Spider" Silva vs Forrest Griffin
Now this is interesting. Silva is the reigning 185 champ and top pound for pound fighter in the world. He decimates opponents with his accurate strikes and devastating Muay Thai clinch. He's not known for his ground game, but he's a black belt under the Nogueira's and he does have a servicable defensive guard. Griffin is a former light heavyweight champion and has wins over former #1 ranked Shogun Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. He's a tough guy who can take a lot of punishment, has a decent ground game and doesn't hit very hard.
A lot has been made of Griffin's size advantage and while I do think it will make a difference if it goes to the ground, I think that Silva will be able to finish it on the feet. He will still be just as fast at 205 and carry power and Forrest has been KOed in the past. But Forrest undoubtedly is his biggest challenge to date and a win for Griffin really wouldn't surprise me here. However despite Silva's last two atrocious showings, I like him to bounce back big time with a highlight reel KO.
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn vs Kenny Florian
Penn is one of the most talented fighters of all time but questions about his desire and conditioning have always held him back. In shape and focused though, he's a formidable opponent even to guys outside his weight class. Florian started in the UFC on TUF season 1 making it all the way to the finals before getting mauled by Diego Sanchez. Since then he's grown into a complete fighter with solid kickboxing skills on the feet and effective use of elbows and submissions on the ground.
What impresses me about Florian is that he is so well-rounded and constantly improves and you can see it from fight to fight. He's won his last 6 fights, all against top competition, and finished all of them except his last one against the always tough Roger Huerta (who you will be seeing in Tekken the movie). However, I still think BJ is one of the best martial artists of our time and he is always in shape at 155. I don't hold his last fight against GSP against him and you just need to see his past three lightweight fights against Sean Sherk, Stevenson, and Jens Pulver to see why. He's a force on the feet with quick hands and good head movement and his grappling is world class both in MMA and in the jiujitsu world. Florian is one of those sexy upset picks, but I'm going with my head and will say that BJ will finish him sometime before the championship rounds.
Josh "The Dentist" Neer vs Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino
Two very solid contenders in the 155 division. Both of these fighters have good grappling skills and are well rounded overall. Honestly, this would be a good pick for fight of the night since both of these guys can fight at a good pace for all 15 minutes.
While Pellegrino looked good in his last fight finishing Rob Emerson, I don't think he'll be able to handle Neer. Neer's been in the cage with some elite competition and arguably has better wins, having beaten Mac Danzig and Din Thomas in two of his last three fights. While Pellegrino has good offensive grappling, Neer's gone the distance with other good submission guys like Nate Diaz and Joe Stevenson so he should be able to stay out of anything Batman throws his way. I like Neer to take a hard earned decision in this one.
Ricardo Almeida vs Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove
It's hard to know what to make of these two guys at 185. Almeida had a four year layoff from MMA and looked pretty lackluster two fights ago against Patrick Cote. Bear in mind that that was for #1 contender status so it was one of the most important fights of his career. Kendall on the other hand, has shown flashes of talent after winning season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter, but KO losses to Cote and Jorge Rivera, decent veterans but nothing special, placed question marks on his chin and desire.
I like Almeida here. While I don't know if he'll show up, his skill set matches up well against Grove's. He's not a threat to KO Grove, but for all of Kendall's length and reach advantage, he generally prefers fighting on the inside with elbows and knees. That strategy will likely get him taken down and Almeida shouldn't have a problem grabbing one of Grove's long limbs and cranking it for a submission.
Amir Sadollah vs Johny Hendricks
A battle between two relative newcomers, this is probably the weakest fight on the main card. After beating CB Dollaway twice to win TUF7, Amir's been sidelined by injuries and eventually dropped to 170, where this fight is taking place. I didn't watch that season of TUF, but from what I've heard, Amir is a scrappy fighter with some submission skills. Hendricks is a 5-0 wrestler with some experience in the WEC.
It's hard to call this one, mainly because we don't really know what Sadollah brings to the table other than a fierce Amirbar. But I'm going to take Hendricks in this one. He's a young stud who hopefully can stay out of Amir's submissions unlike Dollaway and grind out a decision.
Anderson "Spider" Silva vs Forrest Griffin
Now this is interesting. Silva is the reigning 185 champ and top pound for pound fighter in the world. He decimates opponents with his accurate strikes and devastating Muay Thai clinch. He's not known for his ground game, but he's a black belt under the Nogueira's and he does have a servicable defensive guard. Griffin is a former light heavyweight champion and has wins over former #1 ranked Shogun Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. He's a tough guy who can take a lot of punishment, has a decent ground game and doesn't hit very hard.
A lot has been made of Griffin's size advantage and while I do think it will make a difference if it goes to the ground, I think that Silva will be able to finish it on the feet. He will still be just as fast at 205 and carry power and Forrest has been KOed in the past. But Forrest undoubtedly is his biggest challenge to date and a win for Griffin really wouldn't surprise me here. However despite Silva's last two atrocious showings, I like him to bounce back big time with a highlight reel KO.
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn vs Kenny Florian
Penn is one of the most talented fighters of all time but questions about his desire and conditioning have always held him back. In shape and focused though, he's a formidable opponent even to guys outside his weight class. Florian started in the UFC on TUF season 1 making it all the way to the finals before getting mauled by Diego Sanchez. Since then he's grown into a complete fighter with solid kickboxing skills on the feet and effective use of elbows and submissions on the ground.
What impresses me about Florian is that he is so well-rounded and constantly improves and you can see it from fight to fight. He's won his last 6 fights, all against top competition, and finished all of them except his last one against the always tough Roger Huerta (who you will be seeing in Tekken the movie). However, I still think BJ is one of the best martial artists of our time and he is always in shape at 155. I don't hold his last fight against GSP against him and you just need to see his past three lightweight fights against Sean Sherk, Stevenson, and Jens Pulver to see why. He's a force on the feet with quick hands and good head movement and his grappling is world class both in MMA and in the jiujitsu world. Florian is one of those sexy upset picks, but I'm going with my head and will say that BJ will finish him sometime before the championship rounds.
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