ESPN Video – Images of the 20th Century

Probably the single greatest sports video I have seen, literally brought goosebumps to my skin watching it, check it out.

Big Fight Weekend – Boxing: Pacquiao/Cotto and MMA: UFC 105

This is a huge weekend if your a fan of combat sports, like I am. On Saturday night, both boxing and the UFC will be hosting mega fights, and I for one cannot wait. In Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, two of boxing’s pound for pound best fighters go at it as the Filipino Manny Pacquiao takes on the Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto. Also, on Saturday in Manchester, England, UFC 105 takes place. As usual, UFC has loaded the card, but in this blog post I will only focus on the 3 main event fights which are Randy Couture vs Brandon Vera, Mike Swick vs Dan Hardy, and Michael Bisping vs Denis Kang. I’ll start with a preview and my prediction for the boxing fight, then move onto the UFC fights.

Pacquiao vs. Cotto

Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto is a dream fight. I, being half Filipino, am obviously rooting for the Pacman, but I know that Cotto is no joke. A lot of uneducated Filipino fight fans don’t really know who Miguel Cotto is. This man is a straight up killer and has only one loss on his record which looking back on is very controversial. Cotto is the naturally bigger fighter as this bout will be for his 147 lb title. This fight is definitely a size versus speed match-up with Cotto being the big fighter, while Pacquiao will look to utilize his speed. Cotto has very good technical boxing ability, displayed in his fight against Mosely. Pacquiao has been on a tear in his last 2 fights, but looking back on those fights, he took on an over-the-hill, dehydrated De La Hoya, and a fighter in Ricky Hatton who wasn’t really that good. Cotto will be the best he’s ever faced.

So who wins? I know that Pacquiao has looked dominant as of late, but he does have a tendency to get reckless with his punching and he definitely does not like getting hit by these bigger fighters. Cotto has a tendency to take punishment in all his fights and I believe this will be his undoing in this one. I see Pacquiao using his superior speed to blitz Cotto early and often. Cotto has a tough chin, but I see Pacquiao finishing this one off in the 10th. Prediction: Manny Pacquiao 10th Round TKO

Couture vs. Vera

The UFC counters the boxing main event, with a main event of its own featuring a legend in Randy Couture and another Filipino fighter in Brandon Vera. Couture moves down in weight for this fight to 205 lbs. He has looked pretty good in both his fights, albeit losses, but I have noticed that his chin is diminishing. He can’t take shots like he could before. Vera looked unimpressive in his last win. He has been a very frustrating fighter to watch, as I know the potential he has, but he seems to like to play it safe in his bouts. Couture will make him fight in this one, as he loves to push the pace. For some reason, I have a sneaky suspicion we will see Vera’s best performance of his career in this one. Couture’s chin will be his undoing once again in this one. I see this fight as Vera’s breakout performance. Prediction: Brandon Vera 2nd Round TKO

Swick vs. Hardy

Mike Swick and Dan Hardy face off in a bout that should determine the next contender to GSP’s Welterweight Title. Honestly, I think Swick is a boring fighter and a little over hyped. Unfortunately, I think Hardy is a little more over hyped. I think Hardy is in over his head in this bout. Swick seems to have the faster hands and the better overall game. I think Swick rides out a decision in this one, repeatedly catching Hardy with punches and mixing in takedowns. Prediction: Mike Swick Unanimous Decision

Bisping vs. Kang

Michael Bisping looks to bounce back from a devastating loss against Pride Veteran Denis Kang. This could finally be the fight where Denis Kang breaks out into the mainstream. Kang is a very talented veteran of the game with all the tools. Bisping is getting no gimme in this one. Bisping will look to push the pace on Kang. Kang will most likely mix strikes and then pound Bisping on the mat. A couple questions arise when thinking about this fight? How does the knockout loss affect Bisping? And which Kang will show up in this fight? The world beater or the underachiever? I think with Bisping being in his hometown, and Kang’s tendency to not show up in big fights means a close Bisping victory. Prediction: Michael Bisping Split Decision

UFC 104 Post-Fight Reaction

Quick Results from UFC 104:

• Lyoto Machida defeats Mauricio Rua-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Cain Velasquez defeats Ben Rothwell-2nd Round TKO (Punches)
• Gleison Tibau defeats Josh Neer-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Joe Stevenson defeats Spencer Fisher-2nd Round Submission (Elbows)
• Anthony Johnson defeats Yoshiyuki Yoshida-1st Round TKO (Punches)
• Ryan Bader defeats Eric Schafer-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Pat Barry defeats Antoni Hardonk-2nd Round TKO (Punches)
• Chael Sonnen defeats Yushin Okami-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Jorge Rivera defeats Rob Kimmons-3rd Round TKO (Punches)
• Kyle Kingsbury defeats Razak Al-Hassan-3rd Round Decision (Split)
• Stefan Struve defeats Chase Gormley-1st Round Submission (Triangle Choke)

I wasn’t able to catch the fights on Spike TV, so this review will only consist of the fights shown on the live pay-per-view broadcast. Overall, a pretty solid night of fights with some controversy in the last 2 main event fights which I will discuss later. I correctly predicted 9 out of the 11 fight results which means I’m awesome. Sorry for getting this out so late once again. Check out Jason Chan’s blog for more coverage.

Light Heavyweight Title – Machida/Rua

Very, very impressed by Shogun Rua in this fight. I was very surprised to see how well he did against Machida. I totally had him winning this fight and it’s a damn shame the judges couldn’t see that. I totally underestimated Shogun’s striking skills in the fight, and he put on the performance of his life against Machida. He was lighting up Machida with body and leg kicks as Machida would try to circle to his left. Shogun had a very smart strategy in that he didn’t really try to punch Machida in the head, as Machida keeps his head very far back. He went after Machida’s body and legs with well-timed counter kicks. Definitely had Shogun winning this fight. It was a close a fight though, and Machida did have his moments with well-timed knees and some decent kicks and punches of his own. The fact is though, Shogun had the harder strikes and landed just as much, if not more than Machida. Machida was the guy with red ribs, legs, and the cut on his face. The UFC has already announced an immediate rematch between the two, which is the right call. I’m sad that Shogun is going to have to perform a perfect fight again to win a title he should have already won. I am excited to see the rematch and to see the adjustments in both men’s games as this first fight was extremely technical and cerebral, which is not surprising in a typical Machida fight, but very surprising in a Shogun fight.

Velasquez/Rothwell Fight

This was Cain Velasquez’s breakout performance. Complete domination by Velasquez in this fight as he repeatedly took Rothwell down over and over and blasted him with punches as he got up. The crowd really reacted to Velasquez like a star in this fight. The only downside was that the fight was prematurely ended. Rothwell should have been given a chance to continue, as he was displaying heart and was not at all finished. The finish came when Rothwell was eating shots to his unprotected face as he was standing up. The fact that Rothwell was standing up as the referee stepped in is just terrible refereeing on Mazzagatti’s (sp?) part. Maz really is a terrible ref. Rothwell really had nothing for Velasquez in the fight and he was suppose to be Velasquez’s toughest opponent. Looking around the rumor mill, it seems as if Velasquez’s next fight will be in the main event against Nogueira at UFC 108 in January. That should be a terrific fight. Rothwell probably gets bumped down to the prelims as he really didn’t show much in this co-main event fight.

Neer/Tibau Fight

Not much to say in this one. Tibau took Neer down over and over, but never really hurt him. Neer would find his way back to his feet and Tibau would slam him down again. Tibau is a pretty boring fighter as he looks to positionally dominate people on the ground and can’t submit high level guys. It looks like one more loss for Neer and he will probably be booted from the UFC. I’d like to see Tibau face Sean Sherk in his next fight, especially since they were originally suppose to fight at this event.

Okami/Sonnen Fight

The UFC has to be thrilled about this result as Sonnen put on the fight of his life in beating down Okami to a unanimous decision victory. The UFC has always thought of Okami as a boring fighter and I’m sure they’re glad to see him lose. In retrospect, Sonnen was the perfect type of fighter to beat Okami, as Okami relys on being a superior, stronger wrestler than his opponents that likes to ground and pound from the top. That didn’t work against Sonnen, as he took the fight to Okami and didn’t let him dictate the pace of the fight. I’d like to see Sonnen get a top contender in his next fight as he was really impressive. Okami probably gets stuck on the prelims in a loser leaves town type of match.

Stevenson/Fisher Fight

Stevenson did what he should have done. He exploited Fisher’s weaknesses in wrestling and on his back and pounded him out with elbows for a victory. Ever since Stevenson has started training with Greg Jackson’s camp in New Mexico, he has fought a lot smarter and looked a lot better. This is probably Stevenson’s most impressive victory, as Fisher is a tough fighter to finish and yet Stevenson made him tap from elbows. Fisher will probably be nothing more than a gatekeeper in the UFC if he doesn’t improve his wrestling quick. I’d like to see Stevenson against Frankie Edgar or Sean Sherk in his next fight.

Johnson/Yoshida Fight

The fight went how I thought it would. Johnson is a really bad match-up for a guy like Yoshida, as he has great wrestling, size and is more athletic. It didn’t help that Johnson came in way over weight for this fight and because of that looked huge next to Yoshida. Johnson lit up Yoshida on the feet and didn’t let him touch him or even come close. Yoshida really needs to work on his striking to set up the clinch and Judo toss if he ever wants to be successful against the top notch wrestlers in the UFC. Johnson gets Josh Koscheck in his next fight at UFC 106 in November which should be an outstanding fight between two of the more athletic guys in the UFC.

IMX – Beautiful You Are

Old school IMX song. Loved it back then, still love it. Check it.

“I’m at FACT” Music Video

Philippine Student Association had its annual FACT (Filipino Americans Coming Together) Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. this weekend and I was lucky enough to be apart of the amazing parody of “I’m on a Boat” for the Variety Show introduction video. Check it out. I’m the dude that gets left out of FACT. Props to everyone involved in making this.

Credits:

Shot by Oliver Peng, assisted by Alex Roy.
Edited by Oliver Peng, assisted by Christopher Sotelo
Directed by Christopher Sotelo.
Song produced by Peter Catanus.
Lyrics by Christopher Sotelo.
Starring Marah Sotelo, Justin Capadocia, Christopher Sotelo
Featuring Special guest: Tony Krzyzak

UFC 104: Preview and Predictions

Once again I’d like to start off by apologizing for not updating this more often. From now until probably the end of the school year, I’ll be updating sparingly and mostly about UFC or other sports stuff. Once again for this event on Saturday, October 24 in Los Angeles, I am using the bloodyelbow.com rankings system for each fighter. This is a pretty decent card with a lot of good match-ups for the hardcore fans. Also, Spike will be showing some of the prelims live at 8 pm central time so if you wanna catch a taste of what is to come later that night, check that out. Now onto my predictions for each fight.

Main Card

Light Heavyweight Title: #1 Lyoto Machida (15-0 Overall, 7-0 in UFC) vs. #4 Mauricio Rua (18-3 Overall, 2-1 in UFC)

The Karate Master, UFC Light Heavyweight Champ and undefeated, Lyoto The Dragon Machida takes on former Pride Grand Prix Champ, Mauricio Shogun Rua. Machida is the most elusive fighter in the UFC today and is quite accurate with his striking. His non-traditional karate stance style combined with elements of sumo and BJJ have made him a tough cookie to crack. That man is almost impossible to hit and no one has been able to figure out how to beat him. Can Rua do it? I’m not so sure. Rua is a balls to the wall type of fighter with a pretty good Muay Thai background mixed with Capoeira and a black belt in BJJ. This type of style plays right into Machida’s hands as he is naturally a counter fighter. Thiago Silva is very similar in style to Rua and he got his ass embarassed by Machida. I think for Rua to have any chance in this fight he has to get Machida in the clinch and unleash those devastating knees and then try to get him to the ground to utilize his black belt in BJJ. Machida simply has to continue what he’s doing to beat Rua. I see this fight going a little while as Rua plays it safe, but eventually Machida will figure out his timing and make him look silly on the feet en route to a TKO victory. Prediction: Lyoto Machida 3rd Round TKO

Heavyweight Bout: #11 Cain Velasquez (6-0 Overall, 3-0 in UFC) vs. #19 Ben Rothwell (30-6 Overall, UFC Debut)

Fast rising prospect Cain Velasquez takes on heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell who is finally getting a chance on the big stage. Velasquez had a lot of hype surrounding him up until the Cheick Kongo fight back at UFC 99. Although Velasquez dominated Kongo, he was rocked in each round and showed little head movement or striking on the feet. Velasquez was able to show tremendous heart to take down Kongo while he was rocked, but this could be the first sign of a chink in the armor. Rothwell hopes to expose this flaw as he is a huge heavyweight who will likely have 30 lbs on Velasquez during fight time, and he loves to bang it out on the feet. A win here for Velasquez moves him into the title picture, while if Rothwell wins, then he makes a huge splash into the UFC Heavyweight Division. Rothwell will hope to keep this on the feet and scramble back up if he gets taken down to land a huge bomb on Velasquez’s chin. Velasquez should probably look to take down Big Ben and just out work him like he did against Kongo. Rothwell will be the biggest test, literally, to date for Velasquez, but I think Velasquez will out work Rothwell, taking him down repeatedly en route to a decision victory. Prediction: Cain Velasquez Unanimous Decision

Lightweight Bout: Gleison Tibau (29-6 Overall, 5-4 in UFC) vs. Josh Neer (25-8-1 Overall, 4-5 in UFC)

Neer is a tough, scrappy fighter, while Tibau is a big lightweight who loves to control his opponents on the ground with his superior BJJ. In my opinion, this fight plays out similarly to the Pellegrino/Neer fight back at UFC 101. Tibau will continuely take down Neer and work his ground and pound from the top. Neer won’t be able to get off his back and it will cost him once again. Prediction: Gleison Tibau Unanimous Decision

Lightweight Bout: #20 Joe Stevenson (35-10 Overall, 7-4 in UFC) vs. #21 Spencer Fisher (24-4 Overall,  8-3 in UFC)

Very simple fight here as it is your classic grappler vs striker match up. Stevenson will look to take down Fisher and pound him out on the ground, while Fisher will want to keep it on the feet and slug it out. Fisher’s achilles heel is his wrestling and that is what Stevenson excels at. Look for Stevenson to repeatedly expose this flaw in Fisher’s game for another decision victory. Prediction: Joe Stevenson Unanimous Decision

Welterweight Bout: Anthony Johnson (7-2 Overall, 4-2 in UFC) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3 Overall, 2-1 in UFC)

I’m actually very pumped for this fight as it is between two rising prospects in the UFC Welterweight Division. Anthony Johnson is a kid you need to watch out for. Athletically he has it all, and has delivered some of the more devastating knockouts in UFC history. Don’t sleep on Yoshida though, as he has sick Judo skills. Unfortunately for Yoshida, we have already seen him matched up against a similar fighter to Johnson in Josh Koscheck, and he got put to sleep. If Johnson can stay away from the clinch and being tossed on his head, I see this fight playing out the same way as the Koscheck/Yoshida, a devastating knockout with Yoshida on the receiving end. Prediction: Anthony Johnson 1st Round KO

Preliminary Card

Light Heavyweight Bout: Ryan Bader (10-0 Overall, 2-0 in UFC) vs. Eric Schafer (13-3-2 Overall, 3-2 in UFC)

This is one of two fights that will be featured on the live Spike TV broadcast before the PPV starts. Ultimate Fighter Season 8 winner Ryan Bader takes on UFC Vet Eric Schafer. Schafer’s one and only game is to get you down on the ground and work his BJJ. He’s not as good on the bottom as he is on top. Let’s face it, the UFC is trying to build up Bader here as he is very outstanding prospect. I see Bader keeping this fight on the feet and knocking out Schafer. Prediction: Ryan Bader 2nd Round TKO

Heavyweight Bout: Antoni Hardonk (8-5 Overall, 4-3 in UFC) vs. Pat Barry (4-1 Overall, 1-1 in UFC)

This is the other fight that is being advertised for Spike TV. This has fireworks written all over it as two of the better kickboxers in the UFC collide. If Hardonk is smart, he will take Barry down to the ground and submit him. That is the safe bet, but I’m gonna go with Hardonk letting his ego take over and trying to outstrike Barry on the feet. I see Barry getting the win here as he outstrikes Hardonk. Prediction: Pat Barry 1st Round TKO

Middleweight Bout: #4 Yushin Okami (24-4 Overall, 7-1 in UFC) vs. #10 Chael Sonnen (24-10-1 Overall, 2-3 in UFC)

This is a fight that should be shown on tv as it features two top ten middleweights, but Okami has been labeled as boring fighter, hence the undercard status. Sonnen is world class wrestler, but Okami is the great neutralizer. He is able stuff most middleweight’s gameplans and make them fight his fight. I see this happening once again as Okami wins another boring decision. Prediction: Yushin Okami Unanimous Decision

Middleweight Bout: Jorge Rivera (16-7 Overall, 5-5 in UFC) vs. Rob Kimmons (22-4 Overall, 2-1 in UFC)

Tough fight to predict here as Rivera is the old veteran who still has fight, but Kimmons should be able to take this to the ground and submit him. Prediction: Rob Kimmons 2nd Round Submission – Guillotine Choke

Light Heavyweight Bout: Kyle Kingsbury (7-2 1 NC Overall, 0-1 in UFC) vs. Razak Al-Hassan (7-1 Overall, 0-1 in UFC)

Neither of these guys impressed in their debuts. Kingsbury showed more in his fight though than Al-Hassan, who nearly got his arm broken. Kingsbury should get the W here. Prediction: Kyle Kingsbury 3rd Round TKO

Heavyweight Bout: Stefan Struve (21-3 Overall, 1-1 in UFC) vs. Chase Gormley (6-0 Overall, UFC Debut)

I was high on Struve as a heavyweight prospect, but he hasn’t shown the ability to use his long reach well in fights. He’s mostly a submission guy, while I have to admit I don’t know much about Gormley. Because of that, I’ll go with the safe pick. Prediction: Stefan Struve 1st Round Submission – Triangle Choke

WEC 43: Cerrone vs Henderson Post-Fight Reaction

I didn’t watch the full event tonight on Versus because I was at a wedding, but I figured I would right away give my thoughts on the main event between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson for the WEC Interim Lightweight Title. Maybe I’ll update with more thoughts on the other fights, but I had to post what I thought about this fight. Simply put, it is a legit fight of the year candidate. If you missed this fight, I’m sure Versus will be repeating this event over and over, so if you’re a MMA fight, you have to check it out. 5 rounds of back and forth action between two exciting, up and coming, 155 pounders. Ben Henderson was awarded the extremely close, 48-47 unanimous decision victory on the judges score cards win the Interim Title. Apparently the judges gave Henderson rounds 1-3 and gave Cerrone rounds 4 and 5. In my opinion, Cerrone won the fight with the deciding round being the 1st in which Cerrone had 3 near submission attempts before Henderson got out and did some ground and pound to finish out the round. I felt Cerrone almost had the fight won 3 times in that round, so he should have been awarded the round.

Despite this, it was still an amazing, amazing fight. Henderson’s body must be made of rubber because this guy was in a ton of tight, deep submissions that any other person would have tapped to and he got out. The announcers counted 5 submissions that he should have tapped to, yet didn’t and escaped. Henderson really impressed me with his calmness under pressure and his really effective ground and pound. The way he was able stand up in Cerrone’s guard and pound both his body and head really nullified Cerrone’s active guard for a couple rounds. It seemed like Cerrone was to0 content to stay on his back for the first couple rounds and finally woke up in round 4 and 5 to fight off Henderson’s takedowns and land some very effective strikes. In the 5th Cerrone had Henderson in a couple oma plata shoulder locks and I swear I thought Henderson’s shoulder was gonna pop. Unfortunately for Cerrone, it was not enough in the judges’ minds and Henderson got the win. Henderson now gets the WEC Lightweight Champ, Jamie Varner in December. That should be a really good fight. I really wanted to see Cerrone rematch Varner because of all the bad blood between them, but that fight will have to wait. If I were the WEC, I’d wait out the Henderson-Varner fight and if Varner loses I’d match him and Cerrone up right away because the bad blood between them makes for a huge money fight. Either way with Varner, Henderson, and Cerrone in the WEC Lightweight Division, things just got a whole lot more interesting and exciting.

UFC 103 Post-Fight Reaction

UFC 103 Results:

• Vitor Belfort defeats Rich Franklin-1st Round TKO (Punches)
• Junior Dos Santos defeats Mirko Cro Cop-3rd Round Submission (Punch)
• Paul Daley defeats Martin Kampmann-1st Round TKO (Punches)
• Josh Koscheck defeats Frank Trigg-1st Round TKO (Punches)
• Tyson Griffin defeats Hermes Franca-2nd Round TKO (Punches)
• Efrain Escudero defeats Cole Miller-1st Round TKO (Punches)
• Tomasz Drwal defeats Drew McFedries-2nd Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
• Jim Miller defeats Steve Lopez-2nd Round TKO (Shoulder Injury)
• Nik Lentz defeats Rafaello Oliveira-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Rick Story defeats Brian Foster-2nd Round Submission (Arm Triangle Choke)
• Eliot Marshall defeats Jason Brilz-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Vladimir Matyushenko defeats Igor Pokrajac-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Rafael Dos Anjos defeats Rob Emerson-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)

I’d like to apologize for not only not getting this out sooner, but also not even giving a preview or predictions for this event. I was all set to write my preview and then college started kicking my ass. Overall, a solid night of fights. All the fights shown on TV ended in finishes, so that was good. This was the first event to feature some of the preliminary fights on Spike live and free which was good. There were some technical difficulties during the Spike broadcast that were quite annoying and surprising, but you can’t complain too much about free fights. I’ll give my quick thoughts on every fight that was advertised and shown to us on TV. I’ll be skipping a few fights as honestly I just wasn’t paying attention enough to some of them to give a real valid opinion on them.

Belfort/Franklin Fight

Many will be proclaiming that the Old Vitor is back after this 1st round KO of Rich Franklin, but this isn’t the Old Vitor, it’s a New Vitor. Goldberg was talking about watching out for the Vitor Blitz in the early going of the fight, but I knew that wouldn’t happen (Goldberg tends to talk of his ass sometimes). Belfort has become a much more patient counter-fighter who uses his quick hands when he finds openings in his opponents striking. Also, Belfort’s stance was very Machida-esqe with a wide base, hands low, and head straight back. It worked though as Belfort was able to counter Franklin effectively and knock him down with a left right behind the ear before finishing him on the ground. This New Vitor will pose a stiff threat to anyone in the UFC Middleweight Division. Dana White was already talking about giving him a title shot against Anderson Silva, and that is definitely a fight I’d like to see. I believe that would be highly technical bout and Belfort poses real threats to Anderson. As for Franklin, he has been the UFC’s MVP this year, stepping up and taking fights against tough opponents at different weights to fill UFC main events. Franklin has always struggled against southpaws who were superior strikers to him and this was no different. I hope to see Franklin settle in at 205 and fight some quality opponents instead of bouncing around different weights.

Cro Cop/Dos Santos Fight

I found this fight to be entertaining yet saddening. It was entertaining stand-up battle between two top strikers in the UFC Heavyweight Division, but it was saddening to see Cro Cop as a shell of his former self. It was clear in this fight that Cro Cop is near the end of his rope. He looked slow, cautious, and had no set-ups to his patented left high kick. Dos Santos was able to beat him to the punch multiple times, muscle him around, and then made him quit by the end of the 3rd round with knees and a punch to the eye. Dos Santos really showed a lot in this fight and proved he belongs in the upper echelon of the division. This wasn’t a quit knockout, yet Dos Santos showed superior conditioning and explosiveness throughout the fight. His boxing is dynamic with the way he is able to quickly leap into range and fire off punches. I’d match Dos Santos up with the winner of Velasquez/Rothwell fight next month. Cro Cop has come out after the fight and said he is thinking about retirement because he has lost his fire. It’s sad to see that Cro Cop in the UFC hasn’t been same one we have come to know and love in Pride. He has clearly lost a step. I don’t wanna see him get beat up any more. He should retire. If he doesn’t retire and has one more fight left in him in the UFC, I’d love to see his face off with Randy Couture.

Kampmann/Daley Fight

Although I didn’t predict fights for this event, I saw this coming. Daley has devastating knockout power and stand-up skill. Kampmann thinks his stand-up is better than it really is. Kampmann gets hit way too often and shows poor head movement. He let his ego get in the way of taking this fight to the ground and took way too many shots. His single leg attempts were piss poor and he got over and over again by Daley’s left hook. The stoppage was legit as Kampmann seemed to be out on his feet. Daley gets a huge win here and vaults right into the mix of the UFC Welterweight Division. His ground game is still a weakness and I think it will be exposed by the better wrestlers in the division. I’d like to see Daley face off against Swick next. Kampmann moves down a few notches.

Koscheck/Trigg Fight

Not much to this fight. Koscheck knocks out Trigg standing. Trigg looked a lot bigger than Koscheck, but wasn’t as fast or as good with his hands. Good, solid win for Koscheck. I do believe that he’s probably one of the only legitimate threats to St-Pierre in the division. Trigg probably moves down to the undercard after this one and if he loses his next fight, he will be cut from the UFC.

Griffin/Franca Fight

Griffin finally gets the monkey off his back and gets a finish over a top guy in the UFC. He knocks out an out of shape Franca in the 2nd round. First round was kinda boring as both guys seemed to be in a glorified sparring match, but then Griffin was able to use his more technical, refined striking to knock down Franca and finish him with strikes on the ground. This is the worst Franca has looked in the UFC. He looked fat and out of shape. I’d match Griffin up with the winner of Florian/Guida. Franca probably moves to the undercard.

UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Guillard Post-Fight Reaction

Fight Night Results:

• Nate Diaz defeats Melvin Gullard-2nd Round Submission (Guillotine Choke)
• Gray Maynard defeats Roger Huerta-3rd Round Decision (Split)
• Carlos Condit defeats Jake Ellenberger-3rd Round Decision (Split)
• Nate Quarry defeats Tim Credeur-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Brian Stann defeats Steve Cantwell-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Mike Pyle defeats Chris Wilson-3rd Round Submission (Guillotine Choke)
• CB Dollaway defeats Jay Silva-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Jeremy Stephens defeats Justin Buchholz-1st Round TKO (Doctor Stoppage)
• Mike Pierce defeats Brock Larson-3rd Round Decision (Unanimous)
• Ryan Jensen defeats Steve Steinbeiss-1st Round Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke)
• Sam Stout vs Phillipe Nover did not fight due to Nover having a seizure backstage

This is coming out late, so I’ll make this short. Great night of fights once again. All the fights were pretty entertaining and had good amounts of action. Hope Nover is alright as he apparently had a seizure backstage before his fight. UFC says he’s fine. Hope all is well with him as he had a lot of potential. To recap I correctly picked 6 out of the 10 fights which means I’m the shit. Now onto my thoughts..

Diaz/Guillard Fight

I really thought Guillard had turned the corner and was becoming a better, patient fighter. In the early going he drops Diaz on the first exchange and then throughout the fight he was tagging Diaz, throwing him around, and calmly getting up off the ground when Diaz would take him down. Then he does what amounts to one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a fight. He fakes like he is hurt, backs up against the cage and wings a punch from his hip. Then he goes for a takedown and gives Nate Diaz his neck to be submitted by a guillotine choke. Pure stupidity right there. Until Guillard becomes a more well-rounded fighter and actually embraces learning some jiu-jitsu, he’s done as amounting to anything in the UFC Lightweight Division. As far as Diaz, he did display some nice wrestling trips taking down Guillard a few times, but this win really means nothing to me since Guillard pretty much gift-wrapped for him. I still feel Diaz will struggle against better wrestlers that can hold him down and stay out of subs.

Maynard/Huerta Fight

Entertaining bout here where a whole bunch of skills were displayed. I was secretly rooting for Huerta b/c I’ve seen Maynard fight live and he bored the shit out of me. Huerta clearly won the first round and was sharp defending takedowns and outstriking Maynard in the exhanges. It was clear in the 2nd round that Maynard had figured out Huerta’s timing and was beating him to the punch. Maynard also used his wrestling well in the 3rd and sealed the deal with that kimura attempt. I don’t know how Huerta didn’t tap as that shoulder looked ready to burst out of socket. Nasty submission there. Maynard did display more well-rounded skills in this fight and should be ready for a top contender. Huerta moves on to an acting career in B-movie roles until he decides he wants to fight again.

Condit/Ellenberger Fight

Another entertaining bout here. Condit was clearly rocked twice in the 1st round, but some how managed to survive. He was then able to outwork Ellenberger the next two rounds on the feet and especially on the ground. Ellenberger was definitely impressive fighting the way he did on short notice and clearly gave Condit a tough fight, his conditioning failed him in the end. Condit didn’t steamroll Ellenberger like I expected, but he was still impressive in showing heart and displaying good ground technique mounting Ellenberger a few times. The UFC will keep Ellenberger around as he was entertaining. I think a Condit vs Lytle match would be entertaining as they were originally suppose to fight on this card.

Quarry/Credeur Fight

Very entertaining bout. I was surprised Credeur was able to rock Quarry like that in the first round. Quarry was just eating punches and not firing back. He also looked very slow in the first round. Credeur’s undoing in the next 2 rounds was the fact that Quarry decided to counter Credeur wild striking with punches of his own and Credeur leaves his head straight up when he does striking allowing for easy counters. Great heart displayed by both men though. Really entertaining fight that you should try to catch if you haven’t already seen it.

Final Thoughts

Great night of fights and a good lead-in for TUF 10 featuring Kimbo Slice. My quick thoughts are that Rampage is a terrible coach picking only guys with size. Rashad’s team is stacked with talent. Really stupid match-making on Rampage’s part to pair Abe Wagner, a guy with no wrestling or ground, against Jon Madsen, a national champion wrestler. Rampage was a terrible coach on season 7 and he’s look to be worse this season. Oh and I predict Kimbo wins his first fight then gets smoked in next one.

UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Guillard Preview & Predictions

I’m going to try to make these predictions and the preview short and sweet as this isn’t a huge card. Fight Night cards, if you don’t already know, are usually free on Spike TV and showcase fighters that may not be big names, but can really fight. The UFC likes to put on free cards just to give back to the fans who shell out their dough every month for a big UFC pay-per-view. This should be a good night of fights and will lead-in to the highly anticipated 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Once again I’m using the bloodyelbow.com rankings system in this preview. So here we go.

Main Card:

Lightweight Bout: #25 Nate Diaz (10-4 Overall, 5-2 in UFC) vs. Melvin Guillard (41-8-3 1 NC Overall, 5-3 in UFC)

In a very odd main event, Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner Nate Diaz takes on Ultimate Fighter Season 2 Alum, Melvin Guillard. I say this is an odd main event as Diaz is on a 2 fight losing streak while Guillard hasn’t even been featured on a main card in almost 2 years. This should be an interesting fight though between two young, cocky fighters. If Nate Diaz can get this fight to the ground, he should be able submit Guillard who has shown the ground game to be his huge weakness. But does Diaz have the wrestling ability to take it to the ground against a guy with good takedown defense like Guillard? Both guys do like to stand and bang and that should be make for some fireworks in this one. I think Diaz is going to have to hurt Guillard on the feet if he wants to get him down to the mat. I think Guillard has his coming out party in this one as he shrugs off Diaz’s takedowns and lights him up on the feet. Prediction: Melvin Guillard Unanimous Decision

Lightweight Bout: #7 Gray Maynard (8-0 1 NC Overall, 5-0 1 NC in UFC) vs. #24 Roger Huerta (22-2-1 1 NC Overall, 6-1 in UFC)

This fight probably would have been the main event if it wasn’t for Huerta leaving after this fight to pursue a career in acting. The UFC isn’t giving Huerta any gifts here with Maynard who’s bully nickname is appropriate as he is a huge lightweight with dominant wrestling. Huerta hasn’t fought in over a year and was a UFC poster boy until he ran his mouth about money and then got dominated by Kenny Florian. Huerta isn’t great in any one area, but gets by on his heart and determination. Unfortunately for Huerta, the formula to beat him is already out as it was displayed by Clay Guida before he got caught with a knee on a lazy shot attempt. Maynard won’t make that same mistake as he will take Huerta down at will and ground and pound him. Prediction: Gray Maynard Unanimous Decision

Welterweight Bout: #9 Carlos Condit (23-5 Overall, 0-1 in UFC) vs. Jake Ellenberger (21-4 Overall, UFC Debut)

Former WEC Welterweight Champ, Carlos Condit, looks to rebound after his last loss against UFC newcomer Jake Ellenberger. Condit does everything except wrestle better than Ellenberger. Ellenberger wants to knock out Condit and that should be his undoing as Condit lights him up on the feet en route to a TKO victory. Prediction: Carlos Condit 2nd Round TKO

Middleweight Bout: Nate Quarry (17-3 Overall, 6-2 in UFC) vs. Tim Credeur (13-4 Overall, 3-0 in UFC)

Easy fight for me to predict here. Credeur has pretty good jiu-jitsu but prefers to stand and bang. He usually leaves his head straight up in exchanges and it will cost him here against the superior striker in Nate Quarry. I expect a brutal knockout from Quarry. Prediction: Nate Quarry 1st Round KO

Preliminary Card:

Light Heayvweight Bout: #25 Steve Cantwell (7-2 Overall, 1-1 in UFC) vs. Brian Stann (6-2 Overall, 0-1 in UFC)

This is a rubber match as each fighter has won and lost one against one another. Stann hasn’t improved that much while Cantwell looks like a pretty good young prospect. Cantwell uses his more dynamic striking en route to another victory. Prediction: Steve Cantwell 1st Round TKO

Welterweight Bout: Chris Wilson (14-5 1 NC Overall, 1-2 in UFC) vs. Mike Pyle (17-6-1 Overall, 0-1 in UFC)

Tough fight for me to predict between two journeymen fighters. I think Wilson will be able to stuff Pyle’s takedowns and outstrike him on the feet. Prediction: Chris Wilson Unanimous Decision

Middleweight Bout: CB Dollaway (9-3 Overall, 2-2 in UFC) vs. Jay Silva (5-1 Overall, UFC Debut)

Dollaway should be able to takedown Silva at will and pound him out. Prediction: CB Dollaway 2nd Round TKO

Lightweight Bout: Sam Stout (15-5-1 Overall, 3-4 in UFC) vs. Phillipe Nover (6-2-1 Overall, 0-2 in UFC)

This should be a highly entertaining slugfest. I really want Nover to win as he is Filipino, but he’s going to have a tough time outstriking the superior striker on paper in Sam Stout. As much as it pains me to say this, I think Stout is going to win. Prediction: Sam Stout Unanimous Decision

Lightweight Bout: Jeremy Stephens (16-5 Overall, 3-4 in UFC) vs. Justin Buchholz (9-3 Overall, 1-2 in UFC)

Another entertaining lightweight scrap in this one. Stephens and Buchholz are both entertaining fighters, but I believe Stephens is the better one. Prediction: Jeremy Stephens 1st Round KO

Welterweight Bout: #14 Brock Larson (27-2 Overall, 3-1 in UFC) vs. Mike Pierce (9-2 Overall, UFC Debut)

Two strong wrestlers square off in this one. I’m not sure why Larson hasn’t been featured yet on a UFC main card as he is a top welterweight. I think Larson gets another W in this one as he is the more well rounded fighter. Prediction: Brock Larson 2nd Round Submission – Rear Naked Choke

Middleweight Bout: Ryan Jensen (14-5 Overall, 0-3 in UFC) vs. Steve Steinbeiss (4-2 Overall, UFC Debut)

Honestly don’t know who to pick in this one. Loser of this fight probably gets cut from the UFC. Jensen is talented and I think he’s due for a win in the UFC. Prediction: Ryan Jensen 3rd Round TKO