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I watched it. Was too depressed to post as Carano is just so awesome, it really sucked to see her lose. It also sucked the way the ref stopped it at the last second. She was so close to surviving the round which was a key to her strategy, she had the advantage in terms of cardio and needed to survive the first two rounds, get through the third and looked to take over and win in the 4th and 5th. She almost made it out of the first round but she couldn't quite do it. Credit Cyborg for doing what she had to do. She brought a frantic pace that Gina's never had to deal with before and earned the victory completely. Just really sucks for Carano an Women's MMA as a whole. Fans aren't going to pay to watch Cyborg fight because there's nobody out there who can compete at her level and nobody wants to see a beautiful woman like Carano get beaten up by an amazon looking psycho. If Carano had have won she would have inspired more women all over north america to take up MMA and kept male viewers tuning in and loving every minute of it. Tough loss, but she did her best and was beaten by a better fighter.
How about Gegard Mousasi just tearing through Babalu!!! I'd love to see him fight Machida or Anderson Silva at 205.
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I don't think he's ready for Machida or Silva. Babalu is awesome and one of my favorites but beating Babalu, in my opinion, doesn't mean he's ready for them. That would mean Mousai is a top 5 fighter.
I am actually looking forward to seeing Cyborg fight whomever, cause she's so exciting to watch. Of course I prefer to see Gina fight. She's so sexy and exciting to watch as well. I was wondering how she would do against Cyborg on the ground as Cyborg is I believe a blackbelt in BJJ. Gina did great. But trying to weather the storm of the first 2 rounds was how I thought she would win, since Cyborg trains at Chute Boxe. Thats where Wanderlei Silva, Shogun and Ninja used to train and the training there is intense.
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I don't know that he's ready for Machida and Silva either but it's definatly a possibility. He didn't just beat Babalu, he destroyed him in like 2 minutes and made it look easy. Before that he beat Mark Hunt, Manhoef, Dennis Kang and Cyborg's husband, the male Cyborg Santos. Plus he just turned 24 this month and trains with Fedor which is going to make him keep getting better with every fight. I'd say he's probably top 5 at 205 right now. I would rank him behind Machida, Silva, Rampage and in the number 4 slot ahead of Rua and Evans. However even though I'd rank him behind those three guys right now, I definatly think he'd have a realistic chance to beating them and they're all fights I'd love to see. His next fight is scheduled to be against Sokoudjou in October over in Dream. I think he'll likely make short work of him as well.
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In my opinion, Moussassi is the best middleweight around who's name isn't Anderson Silva. I'd love to see him come to the UFC. Silva can't fuck around with Moussassi.
Even though most of the other guys in here are MMA fans, are there any boxing fans who're looking forward to the tripleheader this weekend on HBO? Juan Diaz takes on Paulie Malignaggi, Robert Guerrero challenges the South African Malcolm Klassen for the IBF Jr. Lightweight title, and young prospect Danny Jacobs takes a big step up against a quality, experienced fighter in Ishe Smith. I myself am picking Diaz by UD, Guerrero by late stoppage, and Jacobs by UD.
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I get less and less interested in boxing as time goes on, which sucks cause I used to be a huge boxing fan.
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Jardine Nogueria It was hard for me to pick between Couture and Nog, but I've been a huge fan of Nogueria since his Pride days, longer than I've been a fan of Couture. Plus Randy already got his chance at Lesnar. Nog will do better on the ground against Lesnar than anyone else in the UFC.
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UFC 102 August 29th, 2009 from the Garden Center in Portland, Oregon.
MAIN CARD Heavyweight Bout: Randy Couture v. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Main Event
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Keith Jardine v. Thiago Silva
Middleweight Bout: Chris Leben v. Jake Rosholt
Middleweight Bout: Nate Marquardt v. Demian Maia
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Brandon Vera v. Krzysztof Soszynski
PRELIMINARY CARD Heavyweight Bout: Gabriel Gonzaga v. Chris Tuchscherer
Middleweight Bout: Wilson Gouveia v. James Irvin
Middleweight Bout: Nick Catone v. Mark Munoz
Lightweight Bout: Matt Veach v. Evan Dunham
Heavyweight Bout: Justin McCully v. Mike Russo
Heavyweight Bout: Tim Hague v. Todd Duffee
I'm having a hard time getting excited for this one. I may look for an online link for it and not even order this one as 103 is stacked, 104 and 105 not so much and then 106 will be awesome with the announcement that Lesnar will defend the title again Shane Carwin. Saturday's UFC could be a very good show, but with all that's been going on in MMA lately and the huge headliners in action the past couple of shows, this card sort of seems irrelevant in my opinion. That being said there are some interesting matchups with the potential to provide some great fights.
Couture vs. Nogueira is an awesome matchup between two of the greatest heavyweights of all time, but it's outdated by a couple of years at this point as both guys looked to have left their primes behind based on their last efforts. Especially Nogueira. 1-5 years ago I would have picked Nogueira in this fight, but after the beating he took against Mir, I think all the wars he's been in may have finally caught up with him. I think Couture will keep this fight standing as best he can, and if it goes to the ground Randy will likely end up on top. Big Nog will be active from the bottom, but Randy's pretty good at avoiding submissions. In a 3 rounder I think he'll avoid the submissions and get the better of the standup to win the fight by decision. It's still a great matchup to see Couture and Big Nog go at it, but even the winner will probably only sneak into the top 5 of the depth chart behind Brock, Carwin & Vasquez into a position somewhere around Mir/CroCop. A couple of years ago this would have been one of the biggest fights that could be put together in MMA and in a 5 rounder for the title at that time I would have picked Nogeuira by a 4th or 5th round submission. Now it's not nearly as big a deal as it would have been a year or two ago and in this weekend's three round battle of the legends I'm picking Couture by decision.
Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva could be an explosive fight and feature a great knockout but I hate both fighters, especially Jardine, so I really don't care about the fight. Hopefully Silva will knock him out, but again, even the winner of the fight isn't going anywhere in the light heavyweight division with Machida, Anderson Silva, Rampage, Shogun, Rashad, with possibly even Jon Jones and returning Tito Ortiz more likely to get a title shot ahead of the winner of the co main event on the card, rendering the fight almost meaningless in my opinion.
Maia vs. Maquardt is probably the most meaningful fight on the card and it should be a great battle in a classic clash of styles. I'll be pulling for Nate, but I have a feeling Maia will find a way to submit him. Even this fight is not as big as it was only a few weeks ago when the winner was supposed to get the next shot against Anderson Silva at 185. Now Dan Henderson is getting that shot, which is the best move the UFC could make in sorting out that title picture but it doesn't do this ppv any favors by knocking down the significance of the most significant fight on the card. I want to see this fight, but I want to see Hendo vs. Silva and Vitor vs. Silva and W.Silva vs. Silva or any combination of those fighters against each other more than the winner of this fight take on Anderson.
Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt could steal the show. Leben's fights are always explosive and entertaining. Great undercard fight, but once again, a meaningless fight as neither guy is going anywhere. They should put on a good show none the less. Hopefully Leben will knock him out.
Brandon Vera v. Krzysztof Soszynski doesn't interest me. Vera's last half a dozen fights or so have been horrible and I really have no interest in seeing him fight anymore. He does have alot of potential but it seems to be passing him by, maybe he'll have a great performance, score a nice victory and get his shit together but if his past few fights are any indication, the fight will probably suck and Vera will end up losing in a disappointing fight.
Wilson Gouveia v. James Irvin has the makings of a great fight, in my opinion that should be on the main card instead of Vera. I'd like to see this fight, but it's quite possible I could buy the ppv and not get to see it which is shitty. I'd think I'd rather see Gabriel Gonzaga v. Chris Tuchscherer on the main card than Vera's fight as well, hell I'd rather see Justin McCully v. Mike Russo than Vera. Lots of potentially excellent fights, but they really don't mean all that much. I might get the ppv but I might settle for a stream of this one. The card is really not that bad in terms of the quality of the matchups but the significance of those matchups is what is sorely lacking.
In other MMA news, Strikeforce has announced Fedor's first fight will be against Brett Rogers, likely in Novemeber. That's probably the toughest opponent outside of Barnett and the UFC that's out there because Rogers has the punchers chance against anyone. I'm surprised they didn't fast track Fedor to a title shot against Overeem and then feed him Rogers in what would be a fairly legit title defence. I'm excited to see this fight because it's always a treat to watch Fedor fight and Rogers has insane punching power so Emelianenko will have to be careful and make sure he doesn't get caught. I expect he'll take him down and tap him out rather quickly in the first round but anytime Fedor steps into the ring it's an event in itself so I'm looking forward to that.
Mic- I didn't see any of the boxing matches last weekend, but I've been reading that Paulie was robbed. I talked to a couple of people who said it was a great fight and a very close fight and that Diaz probably earned a very tight decision like 115-113 type close and it seems like a bigger robbery because one of the judges scored it a Diaz landslide which was way off the mark. Alot of the articles I read on it though seem to think Malignaggi won the fight. What did you think of the outcome? I see you predicted a Diaz Unamious decision which is what happened, but do you think it was the right call?
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Malignaggi didn't get robbed, but it was definitely a fight that could have gone both ways. Most people do believe Paulie won though, but robbed? Nah. The problem was with the other two judges that scored it. 116-112 was bad, there is no way Juan more than 7 rounds (all close too), but the biggest travesty was the Texas judge who scored it 118-110 for Diaz. Absolutely unacceptable, and the guy deserves to have his judging license pulled for something so ridiculous.
I myself prefer aggression and harder punching than perhaps more punches landed, particularly when Paulie is mostly landing insignificant stuff that Juan was walking through. To me, it looked like Juan was dictating the pace of the fight, but I had it very close, a draw actually.
They ought to rematch in a neutral venue, but Juan is a big ticket-seller down in Texas, so I really don't expect a rematch if there are bigger money fights to make. This wasn't even a lightweight fight. He wants to rematch Marquez, but I don't think Marquez will fight him in Texas again.
Anyway, Fedor/Rogers is a good fight. Rogers has all the tools to give Fedor a very tough fight, but in the end, Fedor's fought bigger, more experienced, and more skilled fighters before. It's a letdown from that Barnett fight, but it's still a very good fight. If Fedor wins, he'll beat Overeem much easier than he did Rogers.
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What a great event UFC 102 turned out to be. Big knockouts all around, a great submission of the night and an epic heavyweight main event.
Beauty of a shot from Thiago Silva to turn out Jardine's lights and Maquardt knocked out Maia with basically one shot in what was a shocker. I thought that'd be the best and most competitive fight on the card and it was over with the first punch Marquardt threw. It was a hell of a shot though and a great win for Nate to put him back into number 1 contender discussions for a fight with Anderson Silva. If Hendo gets the shot, which I think he should and Vitor Belfort beats Franklin, Marquardt vs. Vitor for the next number 1 contender would be a great fight.
Speaking of quick knockouts, Todd Duffee a new guy I'd never seen fight before exploded onto the scene and set a UFC record for the fastest knockout ever by ending Tim Hauge's night in 7 seconds.
Chris Leben's getting worse. When he first came into the UFC off the show he was not only an exciting knockout artist, he was a pretty solid fighter. Good wrestler, good takedown defence, increadable chin, solid power. He trained with Quest but didn't get any better. His standup is a mess and gets wilder with each fight. He's still got knockout power and he's still got a great chin but his punches are wilder and more unpolished with every outing. This Jake Rosholt kid took him down with ease, avoided any trouble in the standup and tapped him out like nobody's business with an awesome choke that Leben refused to tap to. Instead he went to sleep and did the funky chicken as Rosholt picked up a big win.
Brandon Vera beat Soszynski quite easily. Wasn't a bad fight really, but it was the least exciting one on the card. Vera didn't do anything spectacular but he did win each round and controlled from start to finish to pick up the unanimous decision.
The Wilson Gouveia-James Irvin was off because Irvin had to pull out, so it was replaced with Aaron Simpson who beat Ed Herman by TKO in the second round. Simpson had a great first round and was controlling the fight, he scored a takedown right at the end of the first round and Herman blew his knee out. He came out for the second round like a gamer, but he was done, he tried to throw a kick but his bad knee couldn't support it. Simpson caught his leg and tagged him with a shot as Herman crumpled to the canvas in pain and the ref mercifully called the contest.
Evan Dunham beat Marcus Aurelio by split decision in a great fight that could have gone either way but I believe Dunham deserved the decision he was awarded. That was a great fight. Gabriel Gonzaga apparently knocked out Chris Tuchscherer after catching him with a boot in the nuts, Tuchscherer decided to continue and shortly after the fight resumbed Gonzaga got him with a head kick and then pounded him out till the ref stopped it. I didn't see that fight but apprently it was pretty violent.
As for the main event, Big Nog and Couture; What a fucking war they waged!!! Those two guys turned back the clock and put on a hell of a display. The only thing that could have made that fight better is if it had have been a 5 rounder. Nog probably won all 3 rounds but Randy was right in all of em, especially the first two and they were very close rounds. The difference was that Big Nog looked like his old self in terms of his chin and indestructability when Randy was able to hit him with some big shots so he was never really in trouble at any point while Couture was in series danger several times from submission attempts, the darth in the first, the arm triangle in the second and when Minotaro had his back in the third. He was also rocked and knocked down a couple of times from punches both in the first and third rounds but like the amazing warrior he is he battled through everything Nig Nog threw at him and finished each round strongly and in control, unfortanatly for him it just wasn't enough. That was a classic fight between two of the classiest and most awesome and honorable warriors to ever compete in mixed martial arts.
It wasn't at all a case of two washed up warriors engaging in a battle that only showed shadows of their former selves as I feared it might have been. Instead it was a highly competitive and extremely exciting MMA clinic between two of the best heavyweights in the UFC. I picked Couture going into the fight, but mentioned I would have picked Big Nog in a couple of years ago when I thought it would have been more of a prime vs. prime scenario...well Nog looked to have reclaimed his prime last night as he was tagged with some big shots and they didn't even faze him, which allowed for him to do the most telling damage in the standup as well as get the fight to the ground and use his submissions effectively to seize control, score points and very nearly end the fight. Against most guys not named Randy Couture he probably would have won that fight by submission in the first round. Great fight between two awesome fighters, and two awesome guys. Props to Couture for a hell of an effort and congrats to Nogueira on a hard fought, well earned victory in a performance that makes me believe he's back, relevant and perhaps the biggest threat in the UFC's heavyweight division to Brock Lesnar.
First though I'd like to see him fight Frank Mir again. I was shocked, saddened and really just friggin shocked the way Mir beat Nog in their fight and after seeing it I thought, "Oh no, those wars have finally caught up to him, he's done" But if it was a staff infection all along, then he may not have lost anything at all. Even still, in there against Lesnar he doesn't necessairly have to have lost anything to be beaten. Lesnar is an even bigger, stronger and while not necessairly more talented or more technical a striker, he's certianly a more vicious and powerful striker than even the best guys Nogueira's faced. Big Nog survived wars against Fedor and beat alot of hard hitters and great fighters like Barnett, Cro-Cop, Herring, Silvia, Hendo, Kharitonov, Goodridge, Ricco Rodriguez, Bob Sapp and Sammy Schilt so there's no reason to believe he can't survive against Lesnar, and with Brock's seemingly only weakness the submission game, in a 5 round fight there's pleanty of time for Nogueira to find a submission and pull it off. It'll be tough because Lesnar's probably hits even harder than anyone on that impressive list and he's such a good wrestler and so big and strong he may be able to control and resist any kind of submission attempts and just ground and pound Nogueira either into a stoppage or a unanimous decision. Brock's never been in a guard like Nogueira's though and if Mir tapped him out, so too could Nogueira.
What makes it a unique and interesting matchup and gives Big Nog a good chance is that it's a clash of styles that presents problems for Brock. Against Carwin and Vasquez, even though these guys are big, strong, awesome and explosive, I think Lesnar will have the advantage because he's bigger, stronger, more explosive and more awesome. He does the things they do well better than them, and although they'll push him, if he brings his A game he should be able to beat them. Against Nogueira it's two polor opposite styles clashing. If Brock can control him like he was able to control Mir he'll be able to pound on him, probably stop him, but if not win the decision without much difficulty. Big Nog at his best though can take a beating better than Mir, will probably be in better condition than Mir, bring just as good or better a submissions than Mir and perhaps most importantly, have a bigger heart than Mir which could allow him to survive until an opening presents itself and he can score a submission. The fight will be won by whoever is able to impose their will, I think I'd still be leaning towards Lesnar but after last night's performance I am back on the Nogueira bandwagon and think he has a very good chance of beating Brock. First though I'd like to see him rematch Mir and prove that what happened to him in the last fight was a one off, bad night.
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Nogueria left his prime years ago? I don't think so. I knew Mir didn't beat the Nogueria I've loved for so many years and the recent injury and sickness explained it. I was very surprised he didn't finish Couture when he had those submissions in. He's got to be the #1 in submissions yet I was glad Couture was able to keep from getting submitted. Glad the fight ended in a decision cause I didn't want to see Couture knocked out again or submitted for the first time in the UFC.
Overall, I thought this event was well worth watching. How about that K.O. by Marquart? Beautiful! I'm guessing his next fight will be a rematch with Silva. Who else does he have to beat to get a rematch? Henderson?
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I think Hendo's getting Anderson Silva. If Vitor Belfort beats Franklin at 103, Nate'll probably have to fight Belfort and the winner will get the winner of Henderson-Silva II.
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Figured that would be kind of early for a title shot, if Belfort wins, which I hope he does. I still feel sad about what happened to his sister. I think Franklin might be a gatekeeper, kind of like Liddell was. You beat Liddell, you get a title shot.
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Vitor returns to the UFC tonight. Very excited to watch him go up against Franklin. I love both fighters but have to pick Franklin by decision.
Really hope Koscheck gets KTFO. Really don't like him. Going to pick Trigg to win by decision.
Crocop. Another favorite of mine. I want to see that left head kick destroy the heavyweight division like it used to.
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I'm pumped for the return of the Phenom as well. Franklin could win a decision as Belfort will often blow his load in the first couple of rounds. If Franklin can make it go the distance he could win the fight by decision but I think Belfort will knock him out in the first or early in the second round.
I'm a big CroCop fan as well so I'm picking him and rooting for him. Alot of people are saying he's done and that this Junior dos Santos kid is the real deal and that he's going to knock CroCop out. I think Junior's actually the favorite on the vagas odds. I think if CropCop's focused and in shape he can land the big head kick and get back on track with a big win. I dunno if it'll happen but I sure hope it does. I'm picking CroCop by knockout.
I do think Trigg is pretty much done at this point in his career. I hate Koscheck too and wouldn't mind seeing Trigg win a decision but I think Koscheck will outwrestle him, out cardio him and control most of the fight to win a decision.
Kampmann should beat Daley because he's more well rounded and just as good a striker, but this could be a shocker because Daley's got a solid chin and hits very, very hard. Kampmann would be wise to take him down and tap him out, but I don't think he will, he's an explosive striker himself and more technically sound in his striking than Daley so he should be able to beat him in a standup war but in doing that he'll run the risk of getting tagged. I think Kampmann will win by stoppage but Daley's definatly not a bad upset pick.
Tyson Griffin's fighting Hermes Franca in another bout that should be a barn burner. This one'll probably go the distance and be exciting from start to finish and could go either way. I'm going to pick Griffin by decision.
The prelims are supposed to be live on Spike too so we'll get to see em. I'd pick Cole Miller over Efrain Escudero, Jim Miller over Steve Lopez, Rob Emerson vs. Rafael dos Anjos and Drew McFedries over Tomasz Drwal as in those fights, I've seen the guys I've picked and never heard of their opponents. Also scheduled is Rafello Oliveria vs. Nik Lentz, Brian Foster vs. Rick Story, Jason Brilz vs. Elliot Marshall & Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Igor Pokrajac none of whom I've ever heard of.
Some great fights Wednesday night on Fight Night Live, and then the first episode of the show was pretty good as well. Rampage is a hoot and I can't wait to see Kimbo in action. None of the guys look all that great so he might have a chance of winning the show or at least getting a couple of wins before being sent packing. Roy Nelson and Wes Sims are really the only two guys I would rate higher than him at this point and I'd never put money on Wes Sims over anyone. That Madsen kid hammered Wagner who had no takedown defence whatsoever and ended up with a nasty ass gash for his efforts. Madsen wasn't even any good at ground and pound or that fight never would have made it out of the first round, it's just that Wagner was completely lost on his back. I think Kimbo would have smashed either one of those guys. I think Rampage will try and match him up with a football player with little to no experience which should allow Kimbo to score a highlight reel knockout but once he has to fight an established guy like say Nelson, he could be in serious trouble and will probably get knocked out. I'd love to see him put a beating on Sims before all is said and done. I wasn't a Kimbo fan prior to him arriving in the UFC but he seems like a very humble, quite, and decent dude just doing his best to earn a place on the big show. I hope he does ok for himself. I also think we're in for some huge entertainment with the banter between Rashad and Jackson.
There's no question Rashad is the smarter of the two, he's got the better coaching staff and I think he's a far better coach himself than Jackson is. However Rampage is a halarious fucking guy and I think he's a better fighter than Evans which should make for some great TV. Rampage is all about the buzz and exposure of the show. That's why he picked Kimbo right off the bat. That clip of him tearing down the door next week and getting in people's faces is another example of how he's in it for himself moreso than the guys on his team, but I'm fine with that. It's going to be funny to see Rashad out coach him and rub it in his face because it'll make Rampage lose his mind and do some wild, funny and crazy things and feed into the rage and focus he'll need to tear Rashad apart when they fight. I can't wait to see Jackson kick the ever living shit out of Evans when they finally get to do battle. Like Rampage said, There's definatly gonna be some Black on Black Crime!
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