Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Tim Sylvia Prediction and Analysis

To read my full article on the Frank Mir vs Brock Lesnar fight CLICK HERE.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Tim Sylvia
If you've watched Pride for a long time like I have then this fight is one I've wanted to see for a long time. The styles couldn't be any more different, legendary Jiu-Jitsu vs size and strength. Big Tim is predicting a knockout, but this is Nogueira we're talkin about, the guy's chin is the stuff of legend. I don't care that Heath Herring caught him with a high kick, the fact is that he recovered and won that fight. I also think Nogueira's boxing is better than Sylvia, more technically sound and more speed also. Obviously Tim has the power advantage, I think this will be a close fight but ultimately I like Nogueira to win a decision.
Prediction-Nogueira by Decision

I will finish picking the rest of the card tommorow.

Frank Mir Will Stop Brock Lesnar in the First Round

Now thats a prediction! Well I believe 100% that it will happen, either by submission or TKO. I just don't believe Lesnar can come in to the UFC with 1 professional MMA fight and beat a seasoned veteran like Frank Mir. Mir seems refocused on fighting and this would be not just a huge win for him, but a huge win for the MMA world. You really think that any MMA fighter is rooting for Lesnar.

This situation reminds me of Sean Gannon, the former cop who was known for being the only guy to beat Kimbo Slice, I'm sure everyone has seen that video. So he got into MMA and won his first fight and was given a fight in the UFC. At UFC 55 he took on Brandon Lee Hinkle, not the greatest fighter in the world and a guy also making his UFC debut. Hinkle was a true Mixed Martial Artist though with 18 pro fights under his belt compared to Gannon's 1. Gannon got absolutely demolished in a fight some considered was allowed to go too long because the UFC wanted to show people you don't just come into this sport and think you're tougher than these guys. Now obviously this situation is different, Lesnar is a world class wrestler and that can take you pretty far in this sport against lesser competition. Here are some questions that need to be asked.

How is Lesnar's Chin? Of course we have no idea.
How is Lesnar's Sub defense? No Clue.
Its not likely, but what if Lesnar is on his back, can he defend anything? Again we don't know. You can train and train these things and I'm sure Lesnar does, but training is not fighting in the octagon with a Jiu-Jitsu black belt and a true Mixed Martial Artist. Sorry pro wrestling fans I think Mir exposes the obvious weaknesses of one Mr. Brock Lesnar. Of course my predictions usually suck, so what do I know?

I'll take on the rest of the card tommorow.

Video: Tito Ortiz Talks UFC Treatment of Fighters

This video is of the birthday bash at the Cathouse for Tito. He talks about the UFC and how they treat fighters. And you have Mike Tyson talking about god knows what and Kendall Grove dropping some big news. At the end of the video you have Jenna dancing in lingerie, which is not as great as it once was.

Report- UFC Deal with Takanori Gomi Falls Through

This is a according to fiveouncesofpain.com, here's the meat of the article.

A potential deal between Takanori Gomi and the UFC has fallen through, FiveOuncesOfPain.com (www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com) has learned.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com first became aware of the story when a source close to Frankie Edgar revealed that the lightweight contender had been offered and accepted a potential bout vs. Gomi. The fight fell through after the UFC was unable to secure a contract with PRIDE’s final reigning lightweight champion.

Read the Full Article HERE

Well, if its true that really sucks, Gomi vs Edgar would have been a great fight.

UFC in Talks with Takanori Gomi, Kid Yamamoto and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai

This is some great news, could you imagine the 155 pound division in the UFC if the UFC gets these deals done and Kid were to move up to 155 also. This comes at the end of a story on the confirmation of Yushin Okami vs Evan Tanner at mmaweekly.com, here is the meat of the article.

Tanner last fought more than one-and-a-half years ago at UFC 59 where he defeated Justin Levens by triangle choke. He won the middleweight championship at UFC 51, defeating David Terrell by TKO. His reign didn’t last long though, as he lost the belt to Rich Franklin four months later.

The 36-year-old fighter out of Amarillo, Texas has long been considered a nomad, never staying with one fight camp for very long. Tanner has spent time training with teams such as Team Quest and Chute Boxe USA, but is currently training at Hard Knocks Muay Thai in Las Vegas. He has also recently traveled to Utah to train with Josh Burkman, who fights in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Jan. 23 against Mike Swick.

Rogan also stated that the UFC has been talking with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and Takanori Gomi amongst others, but as far as he is aware nothing is solid with any of them.

Read the Whole Story HERE

Bas Rutten on Best Damn Sports Show Video- Talks About Almost Fighting Chicago Bears Linebacker Brian Urlacher

This is an oldie but a goodie. Apparently Bas was at a charity event playing the drums on a stage. He jumped off the stage and accidently stomped right on Brian Urlacher's toes. Urlacher's my favorite NFL star as I am a huge Bears fan. Urlacher apperently challenged Rytten to a fight, bad idea, but let Bas tell you the story himself about halfway through this interview.

Urlacher Story starts at 3:39

Bas Rutten on Best Damn Sports Show
Uploaded by mma-tv

Cage Rage to Air on Showtime

As I was watching ShoXC last night and enjoying the fights, it was announced that the U.K. based Cage Rage would be airing on Showtime. The event on March 8 will feature Ken Shamrock vs Robert Berry, Cage Rage 25, no other bouts were announced, but click HERE to see how the card is taking shape. Why am I so giddy about this? Because Cage Rage is one of my favorite promotions, and they always put on a good show. This gives U.S. fans a means to watch the organization, other than the internet telecasts on proelite.com.

7 Things You Don't Want to See in MMA in 2008

I got this idea from a sherdog forum post. Of course there are many things we need to see, but there are many things that we don't need to have any part of.

7. Horrible Judges Decisions- Seriously do we need another Hamill/Bisping, judges need to be people who are obsessed with watching fights. They need to be fans of the sport and not just people who are doing a job.

6. More Fighters being Suspended for Steroids, HGH, etc.- I've said it before and I'll say it again steroids is the ultimate form of cheating in any physical sport. If you take PED(Performence Enhancing Drugs) your already doubting your ability to win a fight.

5. Smaller Organizations Go Under- I love the UFC, but I also love Cage Rage, M1 Global, WEC, Elite XC, HDNet Fights, K1 etc.. Some of the best MMA fights you will ever see will come out of the smaller orgs. Maybe the best fight I saw of 2007 was Marius Zaromskis vs Ross Mason at Cage Rage 22, track it down and watch it you will not be dissapointed.

4. Great Pride Fighters not Fighting- Where is Takanori Gomi? One of the best most exciting fighters in history isn't fighting anywhere. How about Mark Hunt, one of my personal favorite heavyweights, he should be fighting the best in the world. Get these guys in the ring, cage, my backyard or wherever and let them scrap.

3. Wanderlei Silva, Crocop and Mauricio Shogun Rua Losing- Three of the most exciting fighters in history, I hope they can turn it around for every MMA fans sake. Whether its the rule changes, the cage or whatever these extremely entertaining fighters need to figure it out because if they keep losing we might not see the dream matches we all hope for.

2. Chuck Liddell Fighting Rampage Again for the Title- I'm sorry but when you beat a guy so decisively 2 times in a row, that guy should'nt get a third crack at it. Same goes for Rich Franklin vs Anderson Silva, there's no point in it. So if Liddell and Franklin land a haymaker in the third fight, does that mean that they're better fighters? Don't think so, we already know who the better fighter is.

1. Fedor Fighting Cans- How in the world does Aleksander get to fight Josh Barnett before Fedor does? This is the best fighter I've ever seen, he should be fighting fighters who actually have a chance at beating him. We don't need to see him fight Semmy Schilt or Bob Sapp, which are some of the new rumors going around, because we all know what the outcome will be. Hopefully the Randy Couture fight will take place this year.

UFC 81 Teleconference Coverage

411mania.com covered the UFC 81 Teleconference here are the first ten notes from the conference.

●Dana White is not in on the conference call for UFC 81.

●Brock was asked about his mental toughness heading into his first bout in the UFC. He responded that he hopes so and he's looking forward to the challenge. He said the extended layoff between bouts has also allowed him to absorb as much as he possibly could.

●Brock was asked whether he'd be offended if he were the more experienced fighter (like Frank Mir) for fighting this inexperienced guy. Brock said Frank is a smart enough guy to know that Brock should be taken as a threat and Dana wouldn't have signed him had Dana not thought he could do well.

●Brock said everyone forgets he was an amateur wrestler for 18 years competing at a high level and both Frank and himself have a lot to lose in this. He said hopefully this was the start of the road toward becoming the UFC heavyweight champ.

●Brock's been training in MMA for about two years now and when asked about whether or not he picked up anything from his first fight, he said competition is in his blood. Wherever it takes place it doesn't matter. He said he will be very comfortable in the Octagon.

●Brock said the stand-up game and the ground game are something he's been paying particular attention to because he knows how important it is to be well-rounded.

●Frank Mir was asked about there being any pressure on him fighting the "pro wrestler." Mir said there was no pressure and cited Lesnar amateur wrestling experience. He said had he not decided to go wrestling Lesnar would probably be in MMA. Mir said if he beats Lesnar he should be in the conversation for the title because of all the publicity this bout is receiving.

●Frank said he's been 100% for a while now since the accident. He said he was 100% even back during his loss to Brandon Vera. Frank said he's been cleared physically by the doctor for a while now.

●Frank talked about the need to keep moving in this fight because of Brock's strength.

●Craig Borsari, UFC's Senior Vice President of Operations and Production, is on the call for Dana White.

Read all the notes, there's alot, by clicking here

If the audio becomes available I will post it here.

New ESPN Video- Randy Couture on ESPN's First Take

Randy takes on a number of issues in this new video from espn.com

Aleksander Emelianenko Expects to Fight Sought After Free Agent Josh Barnett

This news first came down on Aleksander's official M-1 Global website at alex.mixfight.ru. The alleged fight would take place in Chicago at an unnanounced M-1 Global event. MMAJunkie.com has all the details, here is a snippet from their story.

Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3), a highly ranked heavyweight (and the younger brother of famed fighter Fedor Emelianenko), will next fight April 11 for the upstart M-1 Global organization, and the Russian expects his opponent to be Josh Barnett (20-5).

Read All the Juicy Details here.

My Take- This makes absolutely no sense to me what so ever. Why would you bring in one of the most sought after and talented Heavyweight fighters in the world and not have an immediate match with Fedor? I mean a fight with Aleks is intriguing and I will be watching but why the fight that everyone wants to see is not first on the M1 Global agenda is an absolute mystery to me.

UFC Ultimate Fight Night 12 Quick Results

Quick Results for UFN 12.

Matt Wiman def. Justin Buchholz via Submission (rear naked choke) at 2:56 of Round 1

Corey Hill def. Joe Veres via TKO (strikes) at 0:37 of Round 2.

Jeremy Stephens def. Cole Miller via TKO (strikes) at 4:44 of Round 2.

Gray Maynard def. Dennis Siver via Unanimous Decision after 3 Rounds.

Kurt Pellegrino def. Alberto Crane via TKO (strikes) at 1:55 of Round 2.

Nathan Diaz def. Alvin Robinson via Submission (triangle choke) at 3:39 of Round 1.

Thiago Tavares def. Michihiro Omigawa via Unanimous Decision after 3 Rounds.

Patrick Cote def. Drew McFedries via TKO (strikes) at 1:44 of Round 1.

Mike Swick def. Josh Burkman via Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29) after 3 Rounds.

Clay "The Carpenter" Guida to Return to Action on April 2 at UFC Fight Night 13

Anytime there is Clay Guida news I will be covering it. Guida is always entertaining win or lose and one of my favorite fighters. Guida is set to face Samy Schiavo, a fighter I personally don't know much about except that it will be his UFC debut and he comes from Cage Rage with 10-4 record.

For more in-depth info about the news CLICK HERE

New Fedor Emelianenko Video Interview

Sherdog caught up with the M-1 Global Heavyweight.

Fedor is confident that a fight with Randy Couture will take place soon.

Big John McCarthy has Some Harsh Words for Dana White and UFC

Interesting, in an audio interview over at bloodyelbow.com here is some of what he said.

He said he doesn’t care if Dana White is unhappy with him working for the pro-Randy Couture FightNetwork. McCarthy predicts Couture will win his battle against UFC and be freed from his contract come July.
Big John doesn’t like UFC’s direction with pay-per-views saying UFC 80 should be on free TV.

Listen to the Full Audio Here

Tito Ortiz vs Lyoto Machida Confirmed, Ortiz to Leave UFC After Bout

According to Loretta Hunt over at thefightnetwork.com another popular UFC fighter is speaking out against the promotion. Tito Ortiz also confirmed a May fight with UFC light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida. This news comes from an interview Ortiz did with Sirius Fight Network radio on Monday. Here is the meat of the article.

“They don’t want the fighters to get as big as a 'Tyson' or a 'De La Hoya' or one of those types because all of a sudden, they’ll be expecting to see a lot more payment,” said Ortiz. “The UFC makes about 99 percent of the money, and the rest goes to the fighters. That one percent ain't nothing compared to what they make on merchandising, on pay-per-view, and everything else they make around the world.”

Ortiz is not the only marquee fighter to take Zuffa to task. UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture resigned from the organization on Oct. 11, citing compensation and poor treatment within the company as his main motivations. Couture walked away from his title, two contracted fights and a separate employment contract for commentating and promotional duties. Zuffa filed suit with Couture last Monday for breach of his employment contract.

A polarizing former UFC light heavyweight champion, Ortiz confirmed he will face Lyoto Machida (12-0) at a UFC event on Saturday, May 24 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will satisfy the final fight of his UFC contract.

Expecting a rematch with “The Ultimate Fighter 2” winner Rashad Evans, Ortiz (15-5-1) said he begrudgingly accepted the bout with the Japanese-Brazilian fighter who toppled PRIDE sensation Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou with a second-round submission at UFC 79 “Nemesis” on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.

“I was expecting a bigger fight. I think the fans were expecting a bigger fight,” said Ortiz. “I got pressed into it, and all of a sudden, it’s all over the Internet that Tito Ortiz won’t fight Machida. I’m just looking to get my final fight over with the UFC.”

Read the Full Article HERE.

10 Things Learned From UFC 80

10 things I learned from watching UFC 80.

10. Kendall Grove may have been a little overrated.

9. The new UFC ring girl is ridiculously hot, I was watching UFC 80 with a girl and she was infatuated with how hot she was.

8. There is no point in me making predictions anymore, but I'll still do it anyway, so I can gloat the one time I do get them all right.

7. A perfectly placed elbow can change any fight in favor of the one throwing it, even though the 2 fights that had elbow cuts were already in favor of those fighters(Penn and Paul Kelly) it certainly helped their cause even more.

6. Did Gabriel Gonzaga just gas or was he overhyped? I say a little bit of both.

5. Fabricio Werdum's defense on the bottom is excellent and his standup is underrated.

4. Marcus Davis has a chance to rise in the welterweight division, but as long as Georges St. Pierre is in front of him he is gonna have a problem getting a title shot.

3. If BJ Penn is in shape like he was at UFC 80 he is in the top 3 pound for pound fighters in the world.

2. Joe Stevenson has alot of heart and has alot of potential, but this was just the wrong fight at the wrong time for him to make a big impression.

1. I don't care who is fighting, when their are 6 knockouts on a UFC pay per view it was worth the money and we got to see all the undercard fights except Sam Stout vs Per Eklund which I heard wasn't very entertaining anyway.

Official UFC 80 Bonuses Revealed

UFC 80 was a good show I thought, picking the Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night must of been extremely easy. Paul Kelly vs Paul Taylor easily wins the fight of the night($35,000 to both fighters) being the only televised bout to go the distance and the undercard fight that went the distance was Sam Stout vs Per Eklund which was largely uneventful. Paul Kelly vs Paul Taylor could've won fight of the night honors on alot of cards though, there was some wicked exchanges standing and the ground action was good also.

Submission of the Night($35,000) or should I say "Only Submission of the Night" went to BJ Penn for his rear naked choke of Joe Stevenson in the card's main event. Penn completely dominated his opponent and submitted the bloody mess that was Stevenson at 4:02 of the second round.

Picking knockout of the night($35,000) had to be a tough decision as 6 fights were ended via TKO/KO. UFC chose Wilson Gouveia's comeback knockout of Jason Lambert. Gouveia was getting dominated dominated by Lambert in the first round and then at 37 seconds of the secnd round Gouveia landed a beautiful left hook that sent Lambert to the canvas.

Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture Staredown During Commercial Shoot

This was shot for Affliction, I thought everyone might enjoy this. Its not exactly a "Staredown" but still, it seems this fight will take place at some point.

UFC 80 Reaction

Well my predictions for UFC 80 were pretty bad as usual with the exceptions being Penn, Davis, Sakara, Stout and Hardonk. Good for Werdum he impressed me alot as did the newcomer Paul Kelly in a terrific fight against Paul Taylor. Penn dominated Stevenson and after the bout saying "Sean Sherk is Dead" is classic, then Sherk came in and got booed. The first 3 televised bouts were all over pretty quickly and all in KO fashion. So we got too see all the undercard fights except the Sam Stout fight. All in all a very solid pay per view I thought. Can't wait to see Penn fight Sherk.

BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson Pre-Fight Video Interviews

Thanks to those who are willing to make me a banner, my email is mmafighters@inbox.com

UFC 80: Rapid Fire Predictions and Analysis

UFC 80 is this Saturday, here is what I think will go down. Of course you can analyze all the match-ups and try to find the angles, but when it comes to fighting predictions can be crushed by one good punch. Anyways I'm still gonna pick the fights just for the hell of it.

BJ Penn vs Joe Stevenson
I just see no way that Stevenson can win this fight, of course like I said before anything can happen, but this is as safe a bet as there is. After watching the Countdown show it seems that Penn is totally focused and in serious shape. Two things that have been a problem in some of his past fights. With Penn focused and in shape it would be hard for any fighter in the world to beat him. While Stevenson is solid he's just not on the level of "The Prodigy".
Prediction- BJ Penn by Any Way He Chooses

Gabriel Gonzaga vs Fabricio Werdum
This is a tough fight to pick, both fighters are world class in Jiu-Jitsu, but Gonzaga has that X-factor, which is ending the fight with one strike, although the first time they fought Werdum beat Gonzaga up pretty good and Werdum is no slouch when it come to striking. Gonzaga has improved tremendously and ultimately I think that Gonzaga's strength will win this fight. Werdum is a very small heavyweight and I think the size and strength will be too much, but this will be an entertaining fight to watch for sure.
Prediction- Gonzaga by Stoppage

Marcus Davis vs Jess Liaudin
I'm calling it right now this will be the "Fight of the Night" mark my words. Marcus Davis is on the verge of being a star I think. He has all the tools to rise in the division. Liaudin has won his last five fights in impressive fashion, but I think his streak will end at UFC 80.
Prediction- Marcus Davis by Stoppage

Rounding out the scheduled televised bouts, I like Jason Lambert to beat Wilson Gouveia and Kendall Grove to beat Jorge Rivera(which is another candidate for Fight of the Night I think).

There are also 3 fights on the undercard that have the potential to be great fights.
I like Alessio Sakara to get back on track against James Lee.
I Like Sam "Hands of Stone Stout over Per Eklund.
I like Paul Taylor over Paul Kelly and to round it out I Antoni Hardonk over Colin Robinson.

I'm telling you those undercard fights are gonna be exciting especially the Sam Stout fight. Even though this isn't the greatest card, its gonna be entertaining.

UFC Strikes U.K. TV Deal in Time for UFC 80

Fans of the UFC that are from the United Kingdom can rejoice, that is if they have Setanta Sports which seems to be a subscription service of some kind. Any fans of my blogs that are from the UK please feel free to chime in about this. Is it like the NFL Network? Is it like HBO or Showtime? Please let us know in the comments section. Here is an excerpt from the article over at mmanews.com.

Setanta is an international sports broadcaster with operations in Great Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg, the United States, Canada and Australia. It owns and operates premium sports television channels that are made available on a subscription basis. Setanta has over three million subscribers.

Setanta stated in its own announcement on Thursday that it had struck a multi-year deal with the UFC “to make its Setanta Sports 1 channel the exclusive home for all of the UFC’s big U.K. and U.S. fights, plus all other UFC programming in Britain and Ireland.”

The deal includes Saturday’s UFC 80 and insures that “Setanta subscribers in 2008 will be able to see at least four U.K. live events and after July, all other U.S. live events.” According to Setanta, other U.K. events are planned for March, June and September of 2008. Also included in the offerings is the newest UFC television series “Wired.”

The UFC programming on Setanta, including the live events, is available to Setanta Sports subscribers only, it is not provided on a pay-per-view basis. Setanta currently states its subscription price at £9.99 per month.

Read the Full Article HERE

Road to UFC 80 1 and 2 Videos from Raw Vegas

Raw Vegas takes us inside the mentality and training of Joe Stevenson as he prepares for his upcoming fight with BJ Penn.

Joe Stevenson is a really good guy, but I just don't see him winning this fight.

Zuffa Sueing Randy Couture

Adam Hill over at the Las Vegas Journal Review is reporting that UFC owners Zuffa are filing lawsuit against Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture. Here's an excerpt.

Lawyers for Zuffa, LLC, the UFC's parent company, on Monday filed suit in Clark County District Court, alleging chiefly that Couture's comments about the UFC and its senior management caused the business irreparable damage and that he is in breach of the contract he signed with the company in December 2006.

Read the Rest HERE

Well everybody saw this coming a mile away, not exactly a big suprise.