UFC Fight Night 22 Results

Ross "The Real Deal" Pearson VS Cole "Magrinho" Miller

 Result: The fight was fairly back and forth until just over a minute into the second round where Miller caught Pearson with a powerful shot that sent him to the canvas, where he slapped on a rear naked choke to seal the deal.

Cole "Magrinho" Miller victory via round 2 submission

Jim Miller VS Gleison Tibau

Result:  In this three round fight, Jim Miller clearly landed the heavier and cleaner punches in the stand up, and dealed the significant damage to Tibau. He was aggressive and stuck to his gameplan.

Jim Miller victory via unanimous decision

Efrain Escudero VS Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira 

Result: The fight was back and forth, and towards the end, both fighters were hit with a groin shot. First Escudero was kicked by Oliveira and had to take a minute to recover, then later when Escudero had Oliviera up against the cage, he hit him directly in the groin with a fierce knee, that left Oliviera on the ground in pain for several minutes. Remarkably when he agreed to continue, he looked enraged and quickly started attacking aggressively. He attacked with a variety of knees and punches untill he eventually caught Escudero in a scramble, slipped on to his back while he was standing and sunk in a choke.

Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira victory via 3rd round submission

Nate "The Great" Marquardt VS Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares

 

Result: This main fight was even up until late in the first when during a scramble on the mat, Palhares grabbed Nate's leg for a submission and Nate simply slipped out of it. At that point, to everyone's sunrise, Palhares turned his head while laying on the mat (as Nate rose up) and pointed to Nate's leg saying something about him having greased. At that point Nate dove on him with a heavy right hand that shocked Palhares and Nate continued with punches from the top until it was called. (Palhares later apologized for accusing him, as Nate was checked before and after the fight)

Nate "The Great" Marquardt victory via 1st round TKO

Total Prediction Record for UFC Fight Night 22: 2 - 2

UFC 118 Results and Analysis

Saturday night in Boston made way for some interesting fights, with the latest "Boxing VS MMA" dispute being settled (for now), and the lightweight belt being retained by its owner. Lets look at the results of the fight card:

Nate Diaz VS Marcus Davis

 Results: Diaz performed well in this fight, showing from the beginning he was superior to Davis (and Diaz knew it). He out boxed "The Irish Hand Grenade", beating the side of his face and cutting him pretty good, up until late in the 3rd round where he slapped on a nice guillotine.

Analysis: Marcus Davis looked slow in comparison to Diaz, whose stand up was more effective. Diaz beat him up and wore him out until just minutes from the end of the 3rd when Diaz locked in the submission.

Nate Diaz via 3rd Round Submission

Kenny Florian VS Gray Maynard

Results: Florian had no answer for Maynard's impressive wrestling as he was repeatedly taken down and pout pointed en route to a Unanimous Decision.

Analysis: Florian looked far from impressive last night, and seemingly had no way to alter his game plan around Maynards wrestling. Maynard gets a title shot with Frankie Edgar following this win.

Gray Maynard via Unanimous Decision

 Demian Maia VS Mario Miranda

 Results: Maia tried a few times to finish the fight, utilizing his great BJJ skill set, but was unable as he rode superior grappling to a Unanimous Decision.

Analysis: Miranda, a solid striker, simply could not get around Maia's grappling and wrestling. He did fight off numerous submission attempts, but could not earn the win.

 Demian Maia via Unanimous Decicion

Randy Couture VS James Toney

 

Results: Within the opening seconds, Randy Couture shot for a low take down, and Toney just kind of fell over. After that Couture utilized some ground and pound before locking in an easy arm triangle, and his simplest pay day ever.

 Analysis: There isn't really much to be said about this fight. Anyone who saw it going any other way then what happened last night was either sniffing glue or James Toney himself.

Randy Couture via 1st Round Submission

 

 

Frankie Edgar VS BJ Penn

 Results: The fight resembled much of the previous match up, except with Edgar looking more dominant. he utilized take downs and effective boxing, as well as good defensive wrestling to win a unanimous decision.


Analysis: Once again, BJ did not seem to have anything for Edgar, and it seemed that just like last time, he spent way too much of the fight tentative and waited much too long to try to take the fight to the ground, which he seemingly couldn't handle anyway. 

Frankie Edgar via Unanimous Decicion

  Total Prediction Record for UFC 118 : 3-2

StrikeForce Houston Preview and Predictions

The latest edition of the fight promotion Strikeforce, takes us down to Houston, Texas.With the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight championships on the line, lets dive into some previews and predictions for the main card:

August 21, 2010

Toyota Center,
Houston, Texas, United States

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Tim Kennedy
K.J. Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel
Bobby Lashley vs. Chad Griggs
Daniel Cormier vs. Jason Riley
Andre Galvao vs. Nate Moore
Vinicius Magalhaes vs. Rocky Long
Kier Gooch vs. Adam Schindler
Jose Santibanez vs. Reynaldo Trujillo
Humberto DeLeon vs. Chad Robichaux
Chad Cook vs. Arteneus Young

Bobby Lashley

Lashley comes into this fight undefeated with over Bob Sapp and Wes Sims. His strong wrestling base and large frame allow for good power as well as ground and pound

VS

Chad Griggs

Griggs has a fairly impressive MMA record with only one loss and eight wins, but he does not really hold any victories over notable opponents. Griggs will make his Strikeforce Debut in his fight with Lashley. While Griggs has a big frame, similar to lashley, he lacks a major base, such as Lashley's wrestling.

Analysis: While Lashley has stated recently that he wants to use more stand up in this fight then he has previously done before, if that angle fails him, his superior wrestling and strength will put Griggs away.

Prediction: Bobby Lashley Via 2nd Round TKO

KJ Noons

 Noons has a record of 9-2, with 7 KO/TKO victories, and a notable win over Nate Diaz. Noons supports a boxing skill set and is very smooth and powerful with his technique and can pick apart most fighters.

VS

Jorge Gurgel

Gurgel is coming not only off a loss, but off a almost year long layoff between his last fight. Gurgel has very credible BJJ but lacks wrestling and grappling. Gurgel loves to slug it out despite his BJJ background.

Analysis: KJ Noons has very impressive boxing and should match up well to Gurgel's need to fight a stand up war.

Prediction: KJ Noons by Unanimous Decision

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza

Jacare is finally up for the belt in a bout against fellow contender Tim Kennedy. Jacare, has great grappling, judo and submissions. Jacare won 10 of his 12 fights by submission.

VS

Tim Kennedy

Tim Kennedy is coming of a four fight win streak as he fights to win the Middleweight title.He has credible grappling and solid stand up.

Analysis: Kennedy is a solid fighter, but with Jacare's improved striking and great BJJ, he should be able to take the belt home.

Prediction: Jacare Souza by 3rd Round Submission

King Mo

This will be King Mo's first title defense in the Light Heavyweight Division and is undefeated overall.King Mo has incredible wrestling and can take opponents to the mat at will, and also has heavy enough hands to put them away on the ground or mat.

VS

Rafael Cavalcante

Cavalcante comes into the title fight with a two fight win streak. He has won 8 of his 9 victories by way of KO/TKO.His great striking has finished 5 opponents in the first round.

Analysis: Cavalcante is indeed a dangerous striker, but stylistically, this is a horrible match up for him. Not only is King Mo a solid boxer with KO power, but Cavalcante will not be able to defend Mo's take downs. Puncher's chance aside, King Mo retains the belt.

Prediction: King Mo by 3rd Round TKO

Results to follow event

WEC 50 - Cruz vs. Benavidez 2 Results and Analysis

The 18th of August provided a great night of WEC fights for fans, with several high profile slug fests, and a fight or two crazy enough to be added to the fight of the year discussion: Lets get right to it, and look into the results and then analyze the fights a little;

Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski VS Zachary Micklewright

 Results: Palaszewki looked dominant in his performance over tough opponent Micklewright. The first round was close, with both fighters landing shots, but Bartimus looked more confident in his striking. he only needed under a minute in the second round to drop Micklewright to the mat and end the fight.

Analysis: Micklewright was supposed to bring great stand up and power and the always interesting southpaw stance into the fight, but he clearly got outclassed at his own game.

Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski Victory Via KO

 Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen VS Brad "One Punch" Pickett 

 

Results: Jorgensen's bout with Pickett won fight of the night honors, and has so far been called one of the best fights this year, and rightfully so - This fight was as exciting as they come. The fight went to the score cards, but not for lack of both fighters trying to knock each their opponent's head off.

Analysis: Both of these fighters have the capability to throw with heavy hands, but luckily for them they also have some of the best chins in the business. Jorgensen took some punishment from Pickett early on but followed up in the later rounds with his own power shots, and taxed owns leading to some nice offensive elbows.Both fighters took a load of punishment but Pickett's face looked far worse off come the bell.

Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen Victory via Unanimous Decision

 Chad Mendes VS Cub Swanson

Results: Chad Mendes came into the fight undefeated and planned to use his wrestling to keep it that way. He effectively used his take downs and top control to neutralize Cub Swanson for most of the 3 rounds.

Analysis: Swanson made good headway with the fact that he could escape from some mat a few times, but overall he could not stop the take downs, and that cost him the fight.

Chad Mendes Victory Via Unanimous Decision

Anthony "Showtime" Pettis VS Shane Roller

 Results: Anthony Pettis has the nickname "showtime" for a reason, and that's because his flashy yet effective strikes, and ability to finish the fight are a spectacle to be seen. Using a variety of stand up strikes and keeping Roller from utilizing his wrestling, Pettis took the fight just about to the scorecards till he caught Roller with a last second triangle.

Analysis: Roller looked slow and uncoordinated in this fight. Either that or Pettis just looked brilliant, some of the strikes he pulled off were straight out of the Anderson Silva playbook. And in the end Roller was too gassed to stop himself from falling into the submission just seconds from the bell.

Anthony "Showtime" Pettis Victory Via 3rd Round Submission

Dominick Cruz VS Joseph Benavidez

Results: In his first title defense of the Bantamweight belt, Cruz went up against his former opponent, Benavidez. Cruz was as always, incredibly quick on his feet, hard to hit, and showed brilliant cardio. He used these traits and his superior wrestling and take downs to take the fight all 5 rounds to the judges, while having the fight in his favor.

Analysis: Benavidez fought a much better fight then the first time these two met, but it was till hard for him to match the speed and elusiveness and ultimately defend his take downs, granting Cruz extra points. The fight would have been a unanimous decision, but apparently one of the judges forgot basic math or napped during the fight.

Dominick Cruz Victory via Split Decision

 Total Prediction Record for WEC 50 - Cruz VS Benavidez 2 : 3 - 2
 

UFC 117 - Silva vs. Sonnen Results and Analysis

Saturday night in Oakland, California the UFC provided their avid fans with a card for the ages. The entire main card was extremely exciting and intense and lived up to all the hype. Let's look at the results, the analysis of each fight:

 Junior "Cigano" Dos Santos VS Roy "Big Country" Nelson

Result: Junior Dos Santos used Roy Nelson as a punching bag for 3 rounds, using some nice combinations and uppercuts, but being unable to keep it from going to the judges.

Analysis:Cigano looked good, but he still couldn't finish Nelson, and we did not see any of his ground game so it is tough looking ahead towards a possible fight against Cain/Lesnar and predicting how he might perform.

 Junior Dos Santos Victory by Unanimous Decicion

Matt Hughes VS Ricardo Almeida

Result: Matt Hughes looked a little worn down previous to his fight Saturday night, but he used that time to silence critics as he rocked Ricardo Almeida and then put him to sleep with a wrestlers version of the anaconda choke.

Analysis: Hughes put himself back in the welterweight picture as he reels off his third win in a row, submitting a high level Jiu-jitsu fighter. Hughes rocked Almeida early in the first, giving him the opening to jump on Almeida and secure the choke.

Matt Hughes Victory by Submission

Clay "The Carpenter" Guida VS  Rafael Dos Anjos

Result: Guida and Dos Anjos fought a primarily stand up, back and forth slug fest with Guida landing the heavier and more accurate shots. Guida notriously fast pace was matched by Dos Anjos for the most part until Guida caught him with a big hand to the chin that injured Dos Anjos. Later in the fight as Guida took Dos Anjos down and grinded him into the mat, he pressed down with his shoulder on the recent jaw injury and Dos Anjos ended up submitting.

Analysis:Guida looked impressive and as always, fought with great cardio and a  ferocious pace.If he can reel off a few more wins, he might be able to fight some of 

the top of the division.

Clay Guida Victory by Submission (Injury) 

Jon Fitch VS Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves

Result: Jon Fitch used his superior wrestling and takedown ability to neutralize the anemic looking Alves in route to the score cards.

Analysis: Jon Fitch as always, looked good in his fight, though it was arguably the least exciting fight on the main card. But regardless, Fitch wins fights, and he beat Alves for the second time Saturday night. Alves on the other hand, looked like the bad cut (missed weight) effected his conditioning and energy levels.

Jon Fitch Victory by Unanimous Decision 

 

Anderson "The Spider" Silva VS Chael Sonnen

Result: Chael Sonnen completely dominated The Spider for the better part of 5 rounds. He dealt with the stand up (even rocking Anderson once or twice) and grabbed him and taking him to the mat where he worked his ground and pound on his way towards a score card completely in his favor. That was untill the late 5th round where he made a mental mistake in his posturing up and Anderson slid in the triangle choke forcing Chael to tap.

Analysis: Chael Sonnen more or less performed better against Silva then every single one of this previous UFC opponents combined, a few more minutes and he would have seen the score cards with him winning every round convincingly. But it is MMA and Silva capitalized on Sonnen's mistake and retained his belt.

Anderson Silva Victory via Submission

 Total Prediction Record for UFC 117 - Silva vs. Sonnen : 1 - 4

UFC 117 - Silva vs. Sonnen Preview and Predictions

The second UFC event in August kicks off this Saturday night in California, with a very impressive fight card that should have fans very excited. A Middleweight title fight headlines the card as legendary Anderson Silva takes on challenger Chael Sonnen. A welterweight rematch involving Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves, as well as a heavyweight fight between Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson to determine the next contender for the title complete a impressive fight card. Let's preview the main card fights and look into predictions:

UFC 117 - Silva vs. Sonnen

 Oracle Arena,
Oakland, California, United States 

Anderson Silva  vs. Chael Sonnen  

Jon Fitch  vs. Thiago Alves  

Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
Junior dos Santos  vs. Roy Nelson
Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
Phil Davis vs. Rodney Wallace
Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
Stefan Struve vs. Christian Morecraft
Tim Boetsch vs. Todd Brown
Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman

  

Junior "Cigano" Dos Santos

Junior Dos Santos comes into this fight riding a very impressive six fight win streak, with Cigano finishing all six opponents. The impressive win streak includes victories over Stefan Struve, Gabriel Gonzaga, Mirko Filipovic, Fabricio (the Fedor beater) Werdum and Gilbert Yvel. Dos Santos sports a fantastic skill set, and his best weapon is his amazing stand up. He has very heavy hands, very quick boxing and the ability to finish just about anyone.

VS

Roy "Big Country" Nelson

If you have ever seen Roy Nelson, you understand where exactly his nickname came from. His surprisingly un-athletic looking body seems to clash with the idea that he is an MMA fighter (and a successful one at that). Looking past how Nelson looks, he carries a lot of power in his hands, and is a competitive grappler. His two fights in the UFC so far were both KO victories over the likes of Stefan Struve and Brendan Schuab.Nelson might not have the gas tank that some fighters have but his weight advantage can be helpful from the top position.

Analysis: Both Dos Santos and Nelson have the power to knock out most MMA fighters, but against each other, Dos Santos has the advantage of faster hands,better boxing and counter punching. Both fighters have the obvious puncher's chance but it seems more likely that Dos Santos will overwhelm Nelson sometime in the fight.

Prediction: Junior Dos Santos 2nd Round TKO

Matt Hughes

 Matt Hughes, one of the greatest veterans of the sport, rides a two fight win streak into this bout, with wins over Renzo Gracie and Matt Serra. Despite his last two victories, Hughes is not as dominant as he once was. He sports a excellent 44 - 7 record, but is probably closer to retiring then ever. His signature slams are long gone, and his take downs have looked lack luster as of late. Hughes is a two time Welterweight champion and sports the kind of experience few other fights have earned.

VS

Ricardo Almeida

Ricardo Almeida sports a 3 fight win streak coming into this match, with wins over Kendall Grove and Matt Brown. Almeida is a very successful BJJ practitioner and wrestler with good take-downs and top game. This is Almeida's second stint in the octagon and a win over Hughes could give him some big name recognition on his way up towards the title.

Analysis: Hughes is one of the best Welterweight fighters of all time, but clearly his best years are behind him at this point. The fight is not impossible for him to win, but it is highly likely he will fall victim to Almeida's wrestling and BJJ Saturday night.

Prediction: Ricardo Almeida 2nd Round Submission

Clay "The Carpenter" Guida

Clay Guida is coming into this bout with a victory in his last fight over Shannon Gugerty, but being 1 - 2 in his last 3 UFC fights. Guida has the advantage of having cardio superior to most MMA fighters, and can keep a ferocious pace throughout the entire fight. he employs a ground and pound style that takes advantage of his good top control, cardio and explosiveness. He also has a very solid chin, and has never been finished via TKO or KO in his career.

VS

 Rafael Dos Anjos

Rafael Dos Anjos comes into Saturday night's fight with a 3 fight win streak in the octagon. His grappling and BJJ are excellent (BJJ Black Belt) and he has won half his fights by submission and has never been submitted.He won submission of the night in his last victory by arm bar over Terry Etim. A win over Guida would likely help Dos Anjos climb up the lightweight division.

Analysis: Guida has the cardio and chin to force any fighter to wear out and go the distance, but he loses some of his advantage to Dos Anjos because of his superb BJJ and grappling. Guida will look to take Dos Anjos down and control and pound him, but could easily fall prey to the black belt Brazilian fighter.

Prediction: Rafael Dos Anjos 3rd Round Submission

Jon Fitch

Jon Fitch is a superior force in the lightweight division and rides a four fight win streak into his rematch with Thiago Alves.The only downfall of Fitch's win streak, maybe only according to fans, is that they all were decision wins.He holds tremendous wrestling ability, but lacks a superb stand-up or finishing power of other fighters.He beat Thiago in their first fight, thought that was four years ago.

VS

 Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves

Thiago Alves last fought in 2009 when he challenged GSP for the Welterweight title, losing a unanimous decision. He has vicious power, winning 10 of his fights by (T)KO, including finishing opponents Chris Lytle(won fight of the night) ,Matt Hughes (won knock out of the night), and Karo Parisyan. He has good take down defense, cardio, and the ability to finish any opponent.

Analysis: Jon Fitch is a great MMA fighter, and uses his specific strategy to neutralize opponents and grind out wins, but this might not work on Alves. The Pitbull's stand up is far better than that of Fitch, and his TDD has improved vastly since the last time they fought.

Prediction: Thiago Alves 2nd Round TKO

Anderson "The Spider" Silva

Anderson Silva is one of the best fighters to ever come into the UFC, if not the best. He is undefeated in the octagon, and is the longest reigning champion in the promotion's history. He has defeated numerous talented fighters such as Rich Franklin (twice), Chris Leben, Forrest Griffin, and Dan Henderson. He has amazing striking ability and some of the best counter punching in the business and has won knock out of the night and fight of the night twice each. As of late though, he has seemed a little complacent in the cage, even forcing Dana White to reprimand Silva harshly in his last fight, telling him that if he repeated such a performance, he would be cut from the promotion.

 VS

Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen is currently the #2 Middleweight in the UFC and is stepping up to fight Anderson Silva for the belt this Saturday night. Sonnen rides a three fight win streak into the title match, with victories over Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, and Dan Miller. Sonnen is also the only fighter ever to defeat Paulo Filho, a former WEC Middleweight champion. Sonnen employs superior wrestling in his fights (NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon), and a good top game. In the months leading up to the fight, Sonnen has been incredibly open about his views of the fight and Anderson Silva, letting immense amounts of trash talk fly.

Analysis: Realistically, Silva is leagues above Sonnen in ability (though Silva is leagues above everyone), and will most likely take this fight easily. But Sonnen does provide an interesting match up in that his wrestling is very good, and time and time again the key to beating Silva is believed to be taking him to the mat and controlling him for the fights entirety. Sonnen has the wrestling to take him down and keep him there, but he lacks the stand up to mess around much on the feet, and is also very susceptible to submissions.Big money would be put on Silva's head, but with Silva's complacency and  desire for octagon dance-offs, Sonnen's hilarious and ridiculous trash talk and being the underdog of the ages; I'm going to bite the bullet and believe the impossible.

Prediction: Chael Sonnen Unanimous Decision

Results to follow event