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
 

5 Runningbacks Looking for Big Numbers in 2010

The NFL is approaching very quickly, and every running back in the league, is yet again looking to run for as much yards and touchdowns as humanly possible, break all the records, and become the next Barry Sanders. Let's look at a few big dogs to look for come the 2010 season:

Chris Johnson

 This is the easiest pick of them all, Chris Johnson was just phenomenal last year, coming right to the precipice of breaking the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season (CJ ran for 2006 yards in 2009). In 2009, CJ had a fantastic 5.6 yard per carry average, over 500 yards receiving, he was nearly unstoppable. His athletic ability mixed in with unheard of speed, and elusiveness made him the best running back in the league last year and certainly sets him up to retain that title in 2010. CJ hopes a repeat performance of his over two thousand yard season can put him up for a Most Valuable Player award (he didn't receive one vote for MVP last year). What's disappointing is even with this dominating performance, the Titans were still 8 - 8 last year. 

 Maurice Jones-Drew

 

Maurice Jones-Drew was an elite fantasy back last year, ending up 4th overall in yards and 2nd in touchdowns, all while being on a pretty anemic Jaguars offensive unit. Don't expect his numbers to plummet this season though as Jones-Drew will no doubt produce similar numbers this season.

 Adrian Peterson

Peterson's numbers may have dropped from 2008 to 2009, but his touchdowns nearly doubled. The lowest production he's ever had in his 3 short years in the NFL was his rookie season in which he ran for over 1300 yards (while only starting nine games). Peterson is the player that in his rookie season, broke the all time NFL record for most rushing yards in a game (Peterson ran for 296). He is always dangerous, always turning small plays into highlight reel moments, and will be near the top of most every draft board.

Cedric Benson

 

Cedric Benson played his best season of his career last year, looking great in his second year with the Bengals rushing for over 1200 yards. If that wasn't enough, Benson is in a contract year, and history has shown that players put up some of their best statistics during this period to ensure that they get big financial rewards. The additions of Terrell Owens, Antonio Bryant and Jermaine Gresham lend a lot of help the the Bengals passing attack, balancing out the offense and freeing up defenders from hounding Benson.

Ray Rice

 Ray Rice ran for over 1300 yards last year, but their are a few reasons why he could see even more production this year. With the additions of Donte Stallworth and Anquan Boldin to help the Ravens offense evolve, it will balance out their previous run heavy game plan, allowing Ray Rice to get better coverages. And with only a few years under his belt, he is still a young player and as he gains experiences, his awareness will improve.

UFC Live On Versus 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko Results and Analysis

It was an interesting night of fights Sunday at the San Diego Sports Arena, during the UFC's second stint providing a free event via the Versus channel. The bout between Jones and Matyushenko did not disappoint and headlined a night of intense mixed martial arts. Lets's look at the results, the analysis of each fight and if the predictions held any truth:

Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi VS Tyson Griffin

 Result: Takanori Gomi came into the octagon with a purpose, and that purpose was fulfilled a minute into the fight when Gomi throws a mean right that drops Griffin to the mat, where Gomi punched him out until the ref intervened.

Analysis: Gomi's first fight in the UFC against Florian was lackluster, but this second fight is a good a bounce back as any. Tyson Griffin has never been stopped until now, and Gomi made it look easy, decking Griffin and putting him away early in the first round. Gomi could be on his way up the UFC ladder.

Takanori Gomi Victory by 1st Round Knock Out

Jake Ellenberger VS John "Doomsday" Howard

Result: Ellenberger used excellent takedowns along with some vicious elbows to put away John Howard midway through the 3rd round. The TKO was a doctor stoppage, a big elbow (possibly breaking or fracturing Howard's orbital bone) caused Howard's left eye to swell shut.

Analysis: Ellenberger looked impressive against the heavy handed Howard, and neutralized him for most of the match. He could be a dominant force in the division if he continues to fight like he did sunday night. 

Jake Ellenberger Victory by 3rd Round TKO

Yushin "Thunder" Okami VS Mark "The Philippine Wrecking Machine" Munoz

Result:Yushin Okami earned a big victory over a very credible foe in Mark Munoz on Sunday night. The decision was close, but Okami did enough to sway the judges in his favor at the end of the night. Okami's striking was superior that night and his sprawl neutralized Munoz.

Analysis: Munoz, a great wrestler with superb takedowns as well as ground and pound, looked very sub par versus Yushin Okami. Okami defended just about every single one of Munoz's takedown attempts and outpointed him in the standup. It was a very disappointing fight for the up and coming Munoz.

Yushin Okami Victory by Split Decision

Jon "Bones" Jones VS Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko

Result: Jon Jones continues time and time again to impress fans and fighters alike, and sunday night was no different when he ran through Matyushenko. Not even 2 minutes into the round, Jones takes Matyushenko to the mat, moves into position for a crucifix, and starts raining at least a dozen clean elbows to the head before the ref intervenes.

Analysis: Vladimir Matyushenko is no pushover, yet Jones won finished him easily, almost too easily. If anyone has any doubts left about Bones, it's probably along the lines of what would happen when he's not winning a fight so effortlessly? At this point I'm sure his next fight will be someone much higher up the rankings, and I'm excited to see how Jones performs in that test. Really, the only disappointment that could be said of this fight, was that Jones finished the fight too early and we didn't get to see as much of his crazy striking. 

Jon Jones Victory by 1st Round TKO

Total Prediction Record for UFC Live On Versus 2 : 1 - 3