Quote of the Week : Dec - 31 - 09

I was gonna try to keep these more comical and not so much inspirational, but in the spirit of the new year & everyone making resolutions that they won't keep, here's one that always motivates me.

"Whether you believe you can do something or not, you are right." - Henry Ford

Happy New Year to all ya'll.

Subway sketch

Shaga -Who?

I haven't drawn a lot of Shagaharamesh lately , so here's a quick sketch

Childhood Heroes Part 1 : Simon Williams, Wonderman

I am going to start posting sketches of my favorite heroes from when I was a kid/teenager. Not just comic book super heroes but anything like wrestlers, movie stars, cartoons, rockstars, ya know, all that shit.
I'll most likely be doing this about once a month, since I will just sketch a bunch of drawings of the chosen character over a few weeks.

To start it all off, I chose one of my all time favorite super heroes,

Simon Williams, AKA WONDERMAN.


My favorite comic book when I was in grade 5 was the Gerard Jones written, Jeff Johnson drawn, early 90's Wonderman series. Wonderman was a part-time WestCoast Avenger trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood. It was one part Peter Parker, one part Bruce Banner, one part Melrose Place combined to make one of the best comic book runs of the 90's. He was like Peter Parker but not as smart, like Superman but not as important. Many consider Simon Williams to be a 'B' character in the super hero world but he has always been an 'A' to me.

I'm not sure what's happening with him now in the Marvel universe. The last I seen he had some crazy glowing ionic power all around him but I'll take my Simon Williams with a black tank top and a big red 'W' anyday.

Quote of the Week : Dec - 18 - 09

I decided that since I only post an average of about 3 times a week, I don't want to have a third of my posts be a quote so I will be posting my favorite quotes every 2 weeks. I realize that I should not call it a 'Quote of the Week' now but it sounds a lot better than 'Bi-Weekly Quote' or 'Quote of the 2 week period', so it will remain the 'Quote of the Week' but be posted every 2 weeks. If you have a problem with that, I don't care.



The 'Quote of the Week' comes from the legendary John Wayne, who gets right to the point,

"Life is hard.

It's harder

if you're stupid." - John Wayne

UFC 107 - Recap

I finally got some picks right, going 8-3. my thoughts,

BJ Penn def. Diego Sanchez by TKO (cut), rd. 5 - BJ seems unstoppable at 155lbs. I hope this will help Joe Rogen & Mike Goldberg realize that technique beats a 'heavy pace' or 'heart'. Diego is one tough guy, even though his nose was broken, and his bottom lip hanging off he kept coming forward. He probably would've kept fighting even after his forehead was split wide open from BJ's headkick if they would have let him.

Frank Mir def. Cheick Kongo by KO (guillotine choke), rd. 1 - Mir obviously watched some tape on Kongo and saw that he drops both hands to his waist when you try to take him down & he used one of the oldest MMA moves, duck down, fake takedown, while throwing a big overhand and he caught Kongo right on the button which set up a guillotine that knocked Kongo out. If Mir keeps fighting like this he will make a good case for a third Lesnar fight. I don't understand why a guy like Kongo, with great striking but the poorest ground game in the division, doesn't just fight K-1 instead of MMA. I'd love to see how he matches up against Overeem, Badr Hari, or Schilt.

Kenny Florian def. Clay Guida by submission (rear-naked choke), rd. 2. - Kenny has improved once again after losing a titleshot. I think Kenny has solidified himself as the #2 guy in the division ( at least in the UFC). Look for the UFC to make a rematch of Florian and Sanchez & this time, I would think that Ken-Flo would be the favorite.

Jon Fitch def. Mike Pierce by decision - Pierce is gonna be a very good welterweight. He almost knocked out Fitch at the end of the third, and he is only gonna get better.

Stefan Struve def. Paul Buentello by decision - I thought this fight should've won 'Fight of the Night'. It was a great battle & I have a new found respect for Struve. With Struves genetic gifts, he already has a very solid Jiu Jitsu game, half decent striking, & he is only 21 years old.

Alan Belcher def. Wilson Gouveia by TKO(punches), rd. 1

Demarques Johnson def. Edgar Garcia by submission ( triangle choke) - Johnson was losing but he put together a great upkick into a triangle- choke to win $65 000 for 'Submission of the Night'.

Rousimar Palhares def. Lucio Linhares by Submission (Heel Hook), rd.2

Johny Hendricks def. Ricardo Funch by Decision (Unanimous), rd.3 - I'm looking forward to seeing more Johny Hendricks. He is developing nicely and will be a big deal in the welterweight division.

UFC 107 : Penn vs Sanchez - Picks

UFC 107 - Penn vs. Sanchez, December 12, 2009, FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.

Matchups:

UFC Lightweight Championship
B.J. Penn (No. 1 LW, No. 6 PFP) vs. Diego Sanchez - As much as I'd like to see Diego take the belt I gotta go with BJ. I don't think there is anyone at 155lbs that can beat BJ right now. Penn is better then Sanchez in every aspect of the game. Penn is not gonna stand in one spot and get hit with machine gun uppercuts like Guida did. I'm rooting for Diego to knock Penn out with a 'YES! cartwheel', but I have to pick PENN by TKO, rd.4.

Frank Mir (No. 4 HW) vs. Cheick Kongo - Mir should win this fight easy. Should. I am going with Kongo for the upset, though. I think Mir believes that he can hang with Kongo on the feet & I expect Kongo to hit him hard and accurate. This is Mir's fight to lose, if he fights smart he'll go to the ground ASAP but I don't think he really respects Kongo's ground and pound game. Whichever way this fight goes I don't expect it to gt out of the first round. Kongo, by TKO, rd. 1. Kenny Florian (No. 4 LW) vs. Clay Guida - Florian is an all-round better fighter but I can see the judges giving Guida the nod if he gets on top of Florian and stays there, regardless of whether he is doing more to win. Some people still argue that Guida won rd. 2 of his fight with Sanchez because he was on top, even though he didn't do anything but get elbowed in the face a million times. Florian by decision. Jon Fitch (No. 2 WW, No. 8 PFP) vs. Mike Pierce - Fitch by decision. It's nice to see Fitch back on the main card.

Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve - Struve has a huge length and reach advantage but I think Buentello's experienced striking and good takedown defense should get him the win. Buentello by TKO, rd. 3.

UNDERCARD


Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia - I wanted to go with Gouveia by TKO but the fact that Gouveia asked for a catch weight and he has poor cardio, leads me to believe he is gonna gas hard after the second round. Belcher TKO, rd. 3


Shane Nelson vs. Matt Wiman - Wiman should give Nelson his walking papers. Wiman by TKO, rd. 1 .


Johny Hendricks vs. Ricardo Funch - Hendricks by TKO. rd. 2.


Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares - Palhares by submission, rd. 1.

Damarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia - Garcia by TKO, rd. 1.


Kevin Burns vs. T.J. Grant - T.J. Grant by decision.

TUF 10 Finale - Recap & Thoughts

UFC - Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale

Roy Nelson defeats Brendan Schaub by KO (punch), rd.1 - I picked Schaub to win because throughout the season of the Ultimate Fighter Roy Nelson didn't look too impressive, especially compared to his Jeff Monson, Andrei Arlovski, and IFL fights. It looks like 'Big Country' took his time away from the TUF house to train seriously. His stand up looked much improved, as did his gas tank and overall game.

As I predicted, Schaub was able to get out from Nelson when the fight hit the ground. Schaub looked good. He needs work on his striking but I really feel that he is gonna fair very well in the heavyweight division. Schaub is training in the Greg Jackson camp and I truly believe that in the long term he will prove to be the best fighter to come out of this season.

Points to Roy Nelson for his walkout music. Weird Al's 'I'm Fat'. Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson defeats Houston Alexander by decision - This is not the fight anyone was expecting. Both of the bangers decided that this was the fight to show off their new skills & patience. Houston still lacks a good striking technique and while he stuck to his leg kick gameplan he didn't capitalize when it paid off in the third round and he let Kimbo slowly get back to his feet. I, as well as everyone else, was impressed with Kimbo's improved ground game. Slice will never be Jiu Jitsu ace but he was still able to dominate the more experienced Alexander on the mat, with only a few months of training at American Top Team. The most entertaining part of the fight was when the final bell sounded and both Kimbo and Houston bent over, hands on knees to catch their breath.

Matt Hamill defeats Jon Jones by DQ (illegal elbows), rd. 1 - Jones is officially my favorite fighter. I believe that he will eventually be the man to take Machida's belt. I was worried that Hamill might be too much, too fast for the young, north-eastern prospect.
Jones really laid a beating on Hamill. My favorite part of Jone's arsenal is the fake take-down set up for a spinning back elbow. Jones may have lost by a technicality but everyone, including Hamill, knows who really won that fight. What's next for Jones? I really don't know who Joe Silva and Dana White have planned for him but I think a fight with Rich Franklin would be good. Rich is the only other guy to handle Matt Hamill with ease. The UFC could market the fight as a co-headline and if Jones wins in impressive fashion a title shot would be imminent. On the other hand, Jones is still a young prospect that needs ring time. Maybe not Franklin just yet. Its still crazy to think that Jon Jone's first pro fight was in April of 2008.
Frank Edgar defats Matt Veach by submission (rear-naked choke), rd. 2 - Edgar put on another impressive performance against the undefeated Veach. Edgar showed why he is a top ranked lightweight by losing the first round and then coming back in the second, getting Veach's timing down, and dominating. Matt Mitrione defeats Marcus Jones by KO (punches), rd. 2 - Jones needs to learn basic striking skills. I haven't seen someone look so uncomfortable throwing punches since Canseco fought Hong Man Choi earlier this year. That, and Jones needs to work on his cardio. Bad. Jones should really consider not running at guys with his hands down.


John Howard defeats Dennis Hallman by KO (punches), rd. 3 - How can you not love when a guy is down all 3 rounds and gets a knock out with 5 seconds left. Fights like this make me love prize fighting.

James McSweeney defeats Darrill Schoonover by TKO (knees & punches), rd. 3 - McSweeney looked good, Schoonover looked terrible. Roy Nelson may be the one guy that can show up 50 lbs overweight and have success in the octagon. It doesn't work for 'Titties'. He's gonna have to come better prepared if he wants to fight in the UFC.

Mark Bocek defeats Joe Brammer by submission (rear-naked choke), rd. 1 - The ginger from Toronto looked solid. I think he's gonna have to fight tougher competition now.

Jon Madsen defeats Justin Wren by decision (split) - Nothing to say about these guys. They'll both be in the UFC, neither will be a contender.

Brian Stann defeats Rodney Wallace by decision (unanimous)

who's this guy?

I got a new scanner, & I just wanted to test it out.

TUF 10 Finale - Picks & Breakdown

I really lost interest in this season quickly. I don't think I watched a full episode after the Nelson/Kimbo fight. Most of these heavyweights are not UFC caliber fighters but I'm sure they will all be in the UFC anyway as fodder for the true heavyweights. From what I've seen, I think Nelson & Schaub are the only 2 that truly deserve to be in the UFC. Jones, Madsen, McSweeney & Wren showed a lot of potential and with full time training could be very good in the future. UFC , Ultimate Fighter 10 : Heavyweights Finale, December 5, 2009, Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas

Matchups:

“The Ultimate Fighter 10” Heavyweight Final
Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub - I thought from the announcement of this seasons lineup that Roy Nelson was going to win. I am not so sure now. Roy has looked better in his loses to Andrei Arlovski & Jeff Monson than he has at any point during this show. I don't think Nelson has been taking this seriously, but he should be taking Schaub seriously. I believe Schaub has the advantage over Nelson in the striking, & he was able to get out of a full mount underneath Marcus Jones, who is not only a giant but has great top position control. I'm going with Brendan Schaub to be this seasons Ultimate Fighter. TKO, Rd. 2.

Jon Jones vs. Matt Hamill - I am most excited about this fight. Easily the most competitive match up on the card. Jones has showed massive improvement in all 3 of his UFC fights & now that he's training with Greg Jackson I think he should pick apart Hammill on the feet. Both guys have a solid wrestling base so I think it'll be mainly a kickboxing affair. Hammill is durable so I'll take Jones by decision.

Frankie Edgar (No. 7 LW) vs. Matt Veach - Edgar is better than Veach in all aspects of MMA. Veach is tough and should be game. Edgar 30-27 decision.

Houston Alexander vs. Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson - The first guy who lands a big, clean shot will win. Alexander by TKO, Rd. 1.

Marcus Jones vs. Matt Mitrione -This fight should be over quick. Jones has really good Jiu Jitsu for a heavyweight, he still needs a lot of work on his striking & he has no gas tank. Mitrione is worse. Jones by sub., Rd. 1.

Justin Wren vs. Jon Madsen - I like what I've seen from both of these guys but i don't know enough about either so I literally flipped a coin. Wren by decision.


Darrill Schoonover vs. James McSweeney - I think McSquiggle is the better fighter. McSweeney by a long, boring, gassed-out decision.


Dennis Hallman vs. John Howard - The comic book match up of 'Superman' vs 'Doomsday', & it looks like 'Doomsday' is gonna run over Supes. Howard by decision.

Brian Stann vs. Rodney Wallace - Wallace by sub. , Rd 1.

Mark Bocek vs. Joe Brammer - Bocek by sub. , rd 1.

Quote of the Week : Dec - 04 - 09

One of my all time favorite quotes comes from everyones favorite psycho, Mr. Blonde Mr. Blonde: Listen kid, I'm not gonna bullshit you, all right? I don't give a good fuck what you know, or don't know, but I'm gonna torture you anyway, regardless. Not to get information. It's amusing, to me, to torture a cop. You can say anything you want cause I've heard it all before. All you can do is pray for a quick death, which you ain't gonna get.