Since UFC 92 in December I have been making picks with friends but really haven't had any venue to talk about them. I would like to keep a record, mainly for myself, so I will be giving a quick breakdown of future MMA events & I think I will recap how I did in my picks and my thoughts post-fight. Believe me when I say thast I do realize I will be talking mainly to myself.
Also, if you could care less for MMA but have been enjoying this blog, don't worry, I will keep up my usual posts of sketches, & comic book/movie thing I do.
I figure that with the amount of quality MMA from major promoters in the month of August, now is as good a time as any to start.
Even though the Affliction : Trilogy , Fedor Emelianenko vs Josh Barnett was cancelled due to Barnetts positive steroid test, August 2009 is still slated to be one of the best months for MMA ever.
I am happy to see that the Gergard Mousasi vs Renato 'Babalu' Sobral fight has been picked up by Strikeforce & added to their Aug15th card & is now for Babalu's Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight title.
It is also good to see that Vitor Belfort, Ben Rothwell, Chase Gormely, Javier Vasquez, L.C. Davis, Dan Lauzon, Mark Hominick, & Deividas Taurosevicius have been picked up by Zuffa & will be fighting in either the UFC or WEC shortly.
I am going to start my picks with this weekends action of UFC 101 (Sat) in Philadelphia, & WEC 42 (Sun) in Las Vegas, followed by a rundown of the big MMA cards over the next few months.
SATURDAY
8/8/2009 UFC 101 Declaration, Wachovia Center,Philadelphia, Pa.
UFC Lightweight Championship B.J. Penn (No. 1 LW, No. 8 PFP) vs. Kenny Florian (No. 7 LW) -
UFC Lightweight Championship B.J. Penn (No. 1 LW, No. 8 PFP) vs. Kenny Florian (No. 7 LW) -
Even though Ken Flo is a huge underdog & B. J. Penn is the best in the world at 155lbs. , I am picking Florian for the win & new Lightweight Champ.
I don't believe that B.J. is going to take Kenny seriously & I know that Florian will be better than he ever has been. Florian gets better every time out & coming off of his UFC 91 dismantling of Joe Stevenson, look for Kenny to bring that Dellagrotte-karate & once again, show the world what a sore loser B.J. can be.
Florian by Decision.
Anderson Silva (No. 1 MW, No. 1 PFP) vs. Forrest Griffin (No. 4 LHW)
I am taking Silva in this fight. Everyone loves Forrest & I am sure Joe Rogan will remind us that he has more heart than anyone in the UFC. The problem is 'heart' is not better than technique & while Forrest has skills if he can't put away Rashad Evans I don't see him beating the #1 'pound-for-pound' fighter in the world. Silva is not as invincible as everyone makes him out to be & Forrest is going to come in a lot bigger than Anderson, so maybe he can bully Silva around the Octagon. I wouldn't be surprised if Griffin pulls off a win but then again, I wouldn't put money on him. I just hope we get to see a great fight.
Silva TKO round 2.
This is a tough fight to call because we haven't got to see Sadollah in the octagon fight real talent, & coming off 2 different injuries Amir may have some real 'ring-rust'. All that aside, I still believe the Ultimate Fighter 7 winner will be able to pull of a win against a tough Johny Hendricks.
Sadollah by Sub. rd 3.
Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida
Grove's weak chin shouldn't be a problem against Jiu Jitsu ace Almeida, but I am still taking Almeida to win & 'Da Spyder' can continue to be the middleweight gate-keeper.....if he doesn't get cut.
Almeida by gullotine choke, Rd.2
I'll take Neer because he's got a bit more experience & also because his nickname is 'the Dentist'.
Neer by Decision.
I picked Riley to win in March at UFC 96 in Ohio & I still believe he would've if Nelson didn't pick up a win from the worst stoppage I have ever seen. Nelson is just another one of these Ultimate Fighter 8 fungi that continue to pop up on UFC cards taking the place of deserving fighters, all because they jizzed & pissed in each others food on that garbage reality show.
Riley TKO, Rd 1.
I like McCrory. His striking & Jiu Jitsu is getting better each time out. Howard is a solid welterweight with great wrestling skills but I can see Tamdan's grappling skills finishing the fight.
McCrory by Sub, Rd. 1
Thales Leites (No. 7 MW) vs. Alessio Sakara
Leites should win easy. Sakara really hasn't shown that he should still be in the UFC.
Leites sub Rd. 1
I don't know much about either guy. It's American Top Team vs Arizona Combat Sports.
my gut says, ACS.
Riddle by Decision.
A last minute replacement for Rob Emerson, Roop is another Ultimate Fighter 8 fungus that shouldn't be in the UFC.
Sotiropoulos by sub. Rd. 1
I'll take the Miletich guy over the ATT guy. I don't have anything against ATT, I swear.
Lennox TKO Rd.3
SUNDAY
8/9/2009 WEC 42 Torres vs. Bowles, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino,Las Vegas 
Bantamweight Championship Miguel Torres (No. 1 BW, No. 5 PFP) vs. Brian Bowles (No. 3 BW)
Bantamweight Championship Miguel Torres (No. 1 BW, No. 5 PFP) vs. Brian Bowles (No. 3 BW)
Bowles is good. Torres is amazing. Miguel is riding something like a 16 or 17 fight win streak. I hope this fight is as good as Torres/Mizugaki, but I can't pick against Miguel, he's too smart of a fighter.
Torres by Decision.
Joseph Benavidez (No. 5 BW) vs. Dominick Cruz
This is a great fight! Both guys have shown that they are top level 135lb'ers, & the winner is probably up for a title shot.
I'm really torn on this pick but I'm going to side with Benavidez because his training partner/mentor Urijah Faber is the only one to beat Cruz, & Joseph has a very Urijah-ish style.
Benavidez by Decision. tough pick.
Lamas by Decision.
Takeya Mizugaki (No. 4 BW) vs. Jeff Curran
Curran is a really tough opponent but I really like what Mizugaki brought to the table on short notice against the Champ Miguel Torres in April. I think Mizugaki will work his way back to another title shot, & unfortunately Curran will have lost 4 in a row. I am very excited to see Mizugaki in action.
Mizugaki by Decision.
Leonard Garcia (No. 3 FW) vs. Jameel Massouh
Garcia should get back into the swing of things, after coming off a tought loss to Champ Mike Brown, in March.
Garcia TKO Rd. 1
Both are great fighters & even though Davis is tough as hell, I see Vasquez's superior Jiu Jitsu making the difference in this fight.
Vasquez by sub, Rd 3.
Paixao by Decision.
Hicks by TKO, Rd. 2
I'm a little confused because I thought that Zuffa dissolved it's welterweight division into the UFC. Unless these usual welterweights are dropping to 155lbs.
I'll take Ed ' 9mm' Ratcliff by Rd. 1 TKO because he's from Und1sputed Team Hurricane Awesome
I'll take Yahay to spoil Hosman's WEC debut.
Yahya by sub. Rd. 1
Again, I'll pick against ATT & say that Nunes continues his undefeated streak.
Nunes by TKO, Rd 3.
We'll see how I do in these 22 fights. I am super excited for this weekends action!
This is a list of upcoming cards from now until October. It's good to be an MMA fan right now.
AUG
AUG
8/15/2009 Strikeforce Carano vs. Cyborg, HP Pavilio,San Jose, Calif.
8/28/2009 M-1 Breakthrough, LA Convention Center,Los Angeles
8/29/2009 UFC 102 Couture vs. Nogueira, Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Ore
SEPT
9/2/2009 WEC 43, Cerrone vs. Henderson - Interim Lightweight Championship, Covelli Centre,Youngstown, Ohio
9/16/2009 UFC Fight Night 19, Cox Convention Center,Oklahoma City
9/2/2009 WEC 43, Cerrone vs. Henderson - Interim Lightweight Championship, Covelli Centre,Youngstown, Ohio
9/16/2009 UFC Fight Night 19, Cox Convention Center,Oklahoma City
9/19/2009 UFC 103 Franklin vs. Belfort, American Airlines Center,Dallas
OCT
10/6/2009 Dream 11 Featherweight GP 09 Final, Yokohama,Japan
10/24/2009 UFC 104 Machida vs. Rua, Staples Center,Los Angeles
No comments:
Post a Comment