10. Kurt Pellegrino is never in a boring fight, you gotta love "Batman" he gives it his all every time out. Anytime he fights, no matter the opponent, its worth tuning in.
9. I thought the judges called the Dong Hyun Kim vs Matt Brown the right way. It was close, but I thought Kim won rounds 1 and 3.
8. Rousimar Palhares' jiu-jitsu is surely world class, you could sense the danger for Henderson every time it went to the ground, it reminded me of Nogueira's early Pride fights, except Nogueira always found a way to lock in the submission. Palhares still has to learn the "Mixed" in Mixed Martial Arts. Some are complaining that he actually won the fight, are you kidding me, how can you win a fight if all you're doing is going for takedown after takedown with most being stuffed by Hendo?
7. Dan Henderson had a game plan and stuck to it completely. A classic example of a great wrestler using his skills in reverse.
6. Nate Marquardt suprised me alot. I was really high on Kampmann winning this fight to the point that I put some money on him. I would love to see Marquardt get a rematch with Anderson Silva, but I would still pick against him.
5. Matt Hamill was disappointing. I really thought he would make this a great fight with Franklin, but he had a bad game plan and he gassed.
4. Rich Franklin looked as good as ever and he immediately becomes a top 5 light heavyweight in my opinion. If Anderson stays at Middleweight now, he has a real chance to make some noise in the division. Somewhere Bas Rutten was watching this fight and screaming at the television in joy after that brutal Liver kick by "Ace".
3. Rashad Evans will fight Forrest Griffin in December for the title, its been all but confirmed by Dana White and company and he will win the title against Forrest. Before this fight I re watched Evans' last 2 fights against Bisping and Ortiz and you could tell he had some heavy hands, but it was the speed that was too much for the Iceman.
2. Chuck Liddell needs a new approach to fighting. His hands low, chin too high approach is catching up to him. I just don't understand why he went into this fight thinking it was a boxing match or something. I mean the guy has lethal legs and he didn't even try any kind of kick. A new camp and a new mindset and Chuck will be just fine.
1. Lyoto Machida will be your light heavyweight champion in 2009. If he gets a shot at Rashad or Forrest he will win decisively.
21 comments:
Like the post, still not sure about Lyoto though? Don't know if he could handle someone really aggressive, or someone with nasty takedowns though, lucky for him there isn't really that many great wrestlers at 205, except Quinton. Vandy, Quinton, maybe even a game Houston Alexander might overwhelm Lyoto.
Boo to Machida, hes just not exciting to watch... Rashad vs Forest will be a good fight. Forest has too much heart not to win against Evans though... Close fight, but I'm going for Forest to win.
I've always wanted to see the Rich Franklin vs Nate Marquardt match up, but i guess that's not happening anytime soon.
More realistically now i'd like to see a Rich Franklin vs Lyoto Machida in a rematch.
I agree about Chuck. Chuck has some really great ground skills and kicking, and he didn't use either. He could have caught Rashad totally off guard.
Or, all he needed to do was keep his damn hands up and he wouldn't have got knocked the fuck out.
I agree with everything you said, except that Rashad will beat Forrest. I don't see Forrest getting caught with a punch like Chuck did or eating a high kick like Gannon did, or giving up mount like Lambert did. He's too defensive and well-rounded, and his leg kicks may take away Rashad's base for his shots by the 2nd and 3rd rounds.
Machida will absolutely be champ and I can't wait for it.
Machida? I can see that. The guy's a rubics cube.
I think Forrest will hand Rashad his first lost and Machida will take the title from Forrest, sounds crazy, but thats my gut feeling.
Hey, you didnt comment on Lesnar vs Randy. I think Randy will win by decision, he'll control the whole fight. Now, if Lesnar gets Randy on the ground in the first round, it'll probably be a short night for Randy.
I agree completely that Liddell has to change his game plan. "If it aint broke don't fix it" mentality is whoppin his ass. His game has been broken for the last two years in my opinion. They have him figured out...yet he isn't trying to change...
whattt why would you want to see machida champion... hes the most boring fighter ever... they should put anderson against him just to knock him off track for the title....and forest take rashad no problem...the way he cuts angles and his defense rashads got ntohing
So, picture this...Evans takes the title and then fights Machida. For five rounds they run away from one another. Who wins? Not the fans, not the UFC, not anyone. Both these guys are BORING.
I've ordered every UFC PPV for the past few years, but I am likely to skip PPV for Evans and/or Machida title fights, unless there's some other great fights on the card.
It's interesting, you watch some of Liddell's early MMA fights, and that dude was an MMA fighter. Then he gets invincible in his own mind and thinks he's immune from the laws of nature and can be a one-dimensional fighter in the most competitive, modern MMA organization in the world.
I like Chuck, but I really thought he learned his lesson with Jardine and was going to mix it up with wrestling and kicking. I'm not sure he can muster the will now to make the required radical changes.
na rich aint top 5
ill give you people that would beat him (not in any order)
Griffin
Rampage
Machida
Evans
Shogun
Hendo
Thiago
Small Nog
Sokoudjou
that makes him 10 at least
na rich aint top 5
ill give you people that would beat him (not in any order)
Griffin
Rampage
Machida
Evans
Shogun
Hendo
Thiago
Small Nog
Sokoudjou
that makes him 10 at least
i forgot to add both silva's to the list as well
which takes him out of top 10
There's no way Rich is top 5 yet. Beating Hamil doesn't prove a lot, considering Hamil lost to Bisping. Eventually when he gets his weight back he'll find his way in there, but he has to beat someone in the mix before he's considered top 5.
And yes to Lyoto. A guy that focused and centered has my money every time. However I think the man to beat him is Forrest, who is almost as crafty, will defend well on the ground, and will defend well on his feet. Rashad won't beat Forrest I don't think. Other than one lethal punch Rashad seems very beatable.
Yeeah to Machida. That man is the bomb. Always focused, super quick, a genius on the ground. I just love fighters who break the mold and overwhelm dudes. Plus he's so small he could be a middleweight EASILY, and yet he still threw Ortiz around. Compare his Ortiz fight with Rashads, and tell me Machida won't demolish Rashad.
thaigo tavares always puts on a great show**
i agree with what you said but i hope you're wrong about Lyoto Machida because i feel like turning when his fights come on...they are painfully boring!
rich franklin top 5? are you fucking insane?
Dont sleep on Anderson Silva at 205
Lyoto Machida not aggressive enough?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAtdcORoRCs
First to say it after UFC 98: Excellent call, Mr. Pauley! Welcome to the Machida era!
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