UFC 114: Rampage vs Rashad

It's been a long time coming for this one.


Much has been said about the upcoming Rampage vs Rashad fight. Whether the animosity is legitimate or simply a marketing tool for an influx of pay-per-view buys to boost a card without a title fight...who cares?! So long as somebody ends up on the floor.

Let's just give it a quick look and some predictions.



Quinton Jackson vs Rashad Evans
Both good wrestlers, heavy handed and not very kind to one another. I expected Rashad to pick his shots from the outside, throwing leg kicks until Rampage moves in and lands a series of nasty hooks.

Prediction: Rampage via TKO, Round 2.

Michael Bisping vs Dan Miller
A big step up in competition for Miller in this one. I expect Bisping to use his striking to assault Miller. When Miller gets the takedown, look out for Bisping's jiu jitsu to be put on display. More importantly, look for Miller's defense.

Prediction: Jim Miller via Unanimous Decision

Todd Duffee vs Mike Russow
Russow is a tough wrestler, who may be able to put Duffee on his back. Duffee is 260 pounds of athletic muscle and holds a 7 second KO in his last outing. he doesn't want you to buy into his surrounding hype just yet. Why don't you wait until after this performance to hype him up?

Prediction: Todd Duffee via TKO, Round 1.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueria vs Jason Brilz
Do I have to say much? To say Lil Nog is talented is a gross understatement. Watch his fight with Shogun from PRIDE. Incredible.

Prediction: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via TKO, Round 1.

Diego Sanchez vs John Hathaway

Sanchez is a gamer. At first, I was not a fan. And I am still hesitant to back him fully, but he's got a gas tank and the heart of a lion. Hathaway has a big reach advantage and better use it if he wants to survive. I doubt he will.

Prediction: Diego Sanchez via Unanimous Decision.

Amir Sadollah vs Dong Hyun Kim

TUF winner, Sadollah hasn't exactly been thrown to the wolves just yet. His Muay Thai looks great but I think he better not rely too heavily on the thai clinch or he'll get tossed on his head by "The Stun Gun." After intial doubt, I'm going with the Korean.

Prediction: Dong Hyun Kim via Unanimous Decision.

Efrain Escudero vs Dan Lauzon

These guys have a history, however, the main story has been Dan's beef with his brother Joe Lauzon, a fellow UFC lightweight. Joe thinks Dan doesn't take camp seriously for the entire duration. Well, he better have for this one because Efrain "Hencho en Mexico" Escudero is bad.

Prediction: Efrain Escudero via TKO, Round 2.


Could be an excellent pay-per-view this weekend. And if it's not make sure to DVR DREAM 14 airing Saturday morning at 3:00 AM on HD Net.

Technique on Display - "The Handler" Applies a Kimura

A beautiful display of skill and technique here by Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle at last Thursday's Bellator.

Watch Hornbuckle attack the arm and wait patiently for a moment to explode. He uses his right leg to turn his body out to the correct angle. He stops Steve Carl from escaping with the right leg and clamps down on his head with the left leg and hooks Carl's right arm with his left foot. All while simultaneously using his legs for leverage to free Carl's left arm.

As Carl rolls, Dan stays with him, continuing to drive the Kimura up and taking top position. Now in the mount, with Carl trapped and his arm isolated, Hornbuckle is free to apply fight ending pressure.

With the win, Hornbuckle sets himself up for a welterweight final against Olympian, Ben Askren. Winner to fight Eddie Alvarez for the welterweight title.

THE RUN DOWN

Well, after being out of commission for a short while I ought to catch up on what happened.

Alistair Overeem just ran right through the challenger, Brett Rogers. I'm not sure how Strikeforce gets the nerve to offer him a title shot after being trounced by Fedor. Overeem however, silenced his critics by assaulting "Grim" with leg kicks and strong ground and pound, all while passing his drug tests with flying colors.

Overeem is now set up to fight the winner of the June Fedor/Werdum showdown. The Fedor/Overeem heavy weight title fight would be great. I think Overeem is the most well-equipped to beat "The Last Emperor" but that still doesn't make him the favorite.

In other Strikeforce: St. Louis news, Andre Arlovksi looked slow and tired against Antonio "Big Foot" Silva. Not a great outing from "The Pitbull" but a nice win to put on the resume for Silva.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza soundly dispatched Joey Villasenor by Unanimous Decision using dominant takedowns and position wrestling to lock up the victory.

Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante raised a few eyebrows with a devastating knockout of Antwain Britt. "Feijao" remained calm until he tagged Britt with a right hook and followed with a powerful left jab. A nice combination against the fence and Britt was left unconscious against the cage.

Another X-Team member, Vitor "Shaolin" Riberio had victory snatched from his hands, losing a controversial split decision to Lyle Beerbrohm. While I don't necessarily agree with the way MMA is scored, it isn't out of the question that Beerbrohm's wrestling gave him the win. Riberio and his camp plan to appeal the loss.

Roger Gracie made quick work of an aging Monster, Kevin Randleman. Randleman didn't have a chance in this one, as Gracie peppered him with long, straight punches on the outside. The finish came by Rear Choke in the first round. By the time Gracie let go of the choke, Randleman had gone out.

Joe Soto, Dan Hornbuckle both looked fantastic in their last outings with Bellator. Soto stopped a game Diego Saraiva in the first round via TKO. Soto landed a hard elbow in the final minute that opened a large cut on Saravia's forehead, which brought the fight to an end.

Dan Hornbuckle showed excellent technique locking up a kimura from the guard and transitioning to the mount while still holding the arm lock. Submission of the year candidacy may be a little early but the Hornbuckle/Askren final will surely be entertaining.

SHINE fights had the plug pulled on their third event, thanks in part to Don King. Ricardo Mayorga, who was under contract with King, was set to face Din Thomas, but when King took matters to court, the entire event was shut down. Mere hours before show time all fights were off - that's just about as bad as it gets for SHINE.

Matt Lindland returned to his winning ways in Strikeforce: Challengers with a solid performance over Kevin Casey. Lindland survived a rough first round and put the pressure on in rounds two and three before the stoppage.

Roxanne Modaferri and Tara LaRosa turned up the heat in Moosin with a very exciting three-rounder. LaRosa had beaten Modeferri a few years back but Modaferri was the better fighter this night. Check out all three rounds at the UG.

And last but not least, Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia made a "triumphant" return by defeating four-time World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski. Not much to say on this one - it was reminiscent of the early PRIDE match ups.

Lots of great fights coming up this week. Stay tuned.

Bits and Pieces

What an interesting night. Here's a run down of all the happenings.

-KIMBO was cut after a beatdown from Matt Mitrione. He has not seemed to put any work into mount escapes. Mitrione dominated him from start to finish.

-PAUL DALEY has been kicked out of the UFC and Dana White vows to never let him back in.

-JOE DOERKSEN came out with a great performance on short notice beating the colorful Tom Lawlor in Round 2.

-MAURICIO SHOGUN RUA completely put an end to the debate of whether or not he should have won the first title fight. He hurt Machida early and pounded away until he saw the former champion was out. Shogun very respectfully left Machida alone after he went out.

A side note on Paul Daley - While controversey is entertaining there comes a point when a fight can go too far. Daley striking Koscheck well after the bell is down right dispicable. The Strikeforce: Nashville brawl was bad and this is too. Dana White is maknig the absolute right call on this one, banishing Daley from ever returning to the Octagon, no matter if he becomes the best 170 lb fighter in the world.

Call it damage control, or whatever you'd like, but Dana did the right thing. He has the ability to cut a talent like Daley for something like that and he should. Scott Coker can't cut three of Strikeforce's champions who participated in the brawl in Nashville, but that's because his roster is slim.

What a strange night of fights. Just as I thought the card was slowing down, BANG, shocking behavior from a sore-loser and a dominant performance from the rightful champion. Thankfully, the newly crowned champion's performance was a positive exclamation point on the night which could have been tainted. Here's some results.

Alan Belcher def. Patrick Cote via Rear Choke. Round 2.

-Belcher was throwing tons of left kicks all over. Belcher hits Cote in the groin and Mario Yamasaki does well to intervene before Belcher attacked again.
-Cote looked like he had a kimura from half guard but Belcher did well to escape.
-Round 2 more of the same from Belcher. In a scramble against the cage, Belcher picks Cote up and slams him face down on the mat. Transitions to the back and locks up the Mata Leon.

Matt Mitrione def. Kimbo Slice via TKO. Round 2.

-Matt outclasses Kimbo. Leg kicks were the recipe to success. Mitrione worked hard for a triangle in Round 1 but couldn't get it.
-Round 2 Mitrione lands more leg kicks. Kimbo is wobbling. Matt tries for an anaconda, can't get it. Moves to mount and hammers away until Dan Mirigliotta steps in to wave it off. Solid performance from Mitrione. He was all smiles from the time he walked out to the cage.

Jeremy Stephens def. Sam Stout via Unanimous Decision.

-Stephens power seemed to stifle Stout's usually technically sound striking. Stephens rocked the Canadian a few times.
-Round 2 Stout attacks Stephen's lead leg with low kick and they're effective. Stout lands a nice body shot and shrugs off a takedown attempt.
-Round 3 was back and forth. Stout attacked the legs effectively. Stephens looked to be hurt from a leg kick but Stout gave up on that attack. He rushed in but couldn't finish Stephens who gets a takedown.
-Good performance from both fighters in this one.

Joe Doerksen def. Tom Lawlor via Rear Choke. Round 2.

-Lawlor dropped Doerksen with a left hook, he pops up and is hit with a right-left for his effort. Tom is teeing off, slips and finishes the round on the mat.
-Round 2, Doerksen lands a left kick-left punch combination. Another left kick, and Lawlor grabs the leg to take him down.
-Immediately, Doerksen takes the back with one hook and ends the fight with the choke.

Marcus Davis def. Jonathan Goulet via TKO. Round 2.

-Solid wrestling from Goulet. Davis tries a guillotine but can't finish it. More good takedowns from Goulet.
-Round 2, Davis lands on Goulet. Jonathan gets back to his feet and Davis puts the hands on him dropping him with a left hook.

Josh Koscheck def. Paul Daley via Unanimous Decision.

-All Koscheck in this one. He looked afraid to stand in the pocket, but I don't blame him. Takedowns galore. Not much action from Koscheck except a few short blows.
-Round 2 was more of the same. Takedown and control. Good transitions but no finishing attempts.
-Round 3 same. The last three and a half minutes were on the mat. Koscheck said something he said, "wasn't too polite." After the bell Daley pushes his way past Dan Mirigoliotta and hits Koscheck with a left hook, opening a cut around Koscheck's eye. (More on this later.)

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Lyoto Machida via TKO. Round 1.

-Leg kick from Shogun, Machida lands a right hand. Machida get s trip takedown, Shogun sweeps and stands.
-Shogun presses Machida to the fence and gets hit with a right hand. He flurries and hurts Machida with a right of his own.
-Shogun lands a not-so-flush right hand to the temple, dropping Machida. He pounces and fires away until he sees Machida is out. Very respectful and dominant performance from Shogun.

Great main event.

BELLATOR 17 RESULTS

In the the semi-finals of the lightweight tournament, Pat Curran and Toby Imada both moved on with great performances. In a non-title super-fight between Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez, and UFC veteran, Josh Neer, the champ showed a beautiful display of skill in securing the victory. Here are some quick results:

Pat Curran def. Roger Huerta via Unanimous Decision

-A great performance from Curran. In Round 1 he picked shots on Huerta, wary of getting into a brawl. Nice leg kicks and body kicks from the underdog.

-In Round 2 the pace picked up. Huerta got his chance to brawl but couldn't take it to Curran, who was landing nice foot jabs to the head and body.

-Round 3 Huerta let it all hang out, but his attack didn't reach Curran. The counter-striking put an exclamation on a great performance from Curran.

Toby Imada def. Carey Vanier via Armbar. Round 3.

-Imada demonstrated great grappling skill most of the fight. Look confident, he landed a nice uppercut to close out Round 1.

-Beautiful boxing on display from Imada in Round 2 and unorthodox combinations gave him the edge.

-Round 3 was a grappling clinic. The end came via attempted kneebar, to rear choke, to finishing armbar.

Eddie Alvarez def. Josh Neer via Rear Choke. Round 2.

-Powerful takedowns, good ground control and heavy shots from the mount softened up Neer in Round 1.

-Eddie repeated the plan from Round 1 perfectly in Round 2. When Neer got slow in a scramble, Alvarez jumped on his back and locked up a deal-closing Rear Choke.

Another quality night of fights from BELLATOR. The winner of Imada/Curran gets a shot at Alvarez - should be good.

Dana White and His Epidemic

Dana White is a no-nonsense type of guy. He is outspoken and blunt to put it lightly. And he has consistently made it clear that he is in the fight game, and that this business is not for the feint of heart.

A myriad of expletive ladened quotes from the UFC President exist. Like the time he asked the contestants on the Spike reality show the rhetorical question of if they wanted "to be a f***ing fighter?!" Or the after being challenged by Affliction CEO, Tom Atencio to a fight when White proclaimed, "If I were him, I'd want to fight me too, I'm the guy killing all of his hopes and dreams." Regarding Affliction, White later said, "What they need to starting worrying about is nobody wants to wear their goofy f****** clothes anymore...The fad is over and they better start saving as much of that t-shirt money as they can.” (For what it's worth, he was right.)

Well once again the UFC President has spoken his mind and the wordage is a little off-putting. But nonetheless inspirational from a management perspective.

“We're trying to get these television deals in all these countries, major TV deals exposing the fans to it, then you bring a live event to those places...Then the virus spreads and people start training at it, trying to make a living at it, eventually becoming professional athletes. That's what we're going to do over the next 10 years."

This statement comes on the heels of a "cybersquatting" suit filed by Zuffa, where they are attempting to have the domain name "TheUltimateFighter.com" transfered to the Zuffa brand, insisting that they have been using the name since 2003 and because the owner does not use the domain name.

I have a feeling that Zuffa will be able to get the domain name transfered over. Lots of money and pull in Nevada make it easy to get the wheels in motion.

UFC 113 Preview

This Saturday boasts one of the most anticipated rematches of the year when Lyoto "The Dragon" machida takes on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua live in Quebec. Let's have a look at the main card.

Lyoto Machida (16-0) vs Mauricio Rua (18-4)

The first fight could have gone either way. The bout was scored for the champion, Machida, and many fight fans thought "Shogun" had been robbed. Just like the first fight, this fight represents the best opponent to find a hole in Machida's game. Shogun's calculated attack showed the world that Machida is not as untouchable as we once thought, but it wasn't enough to sway the judges opinions.

I expect a similar fight on Saturday. Both fighters have the utmost respect for one another and understand that this bout must be thought out, or else. As much as I like Machida - for his respectful demeanor, his technical acumen and his ability to seemlessly blend "traditional" karate into his style, I'm going to have to pick "Shogun." I think his confidence for this fight will play a huge role. I expect an aggressive game plan, keeping the pressure on Machida with all eight points.

Prediction: Mauricio Rua via Split Decision.

Josh Koscheck (16-4) vs Paul Daley (23-8-2)

I like Paul Daley. There's something about brash fighters who can back it up. His striking is first class. Daley has shown some considerable skill in his first few UFC outings, including a TKO victory over Martin Kampmann (stopped early, but the end was in sight) and cold-clocking Dustin Hazlett (for whatever that's worth). I just don't think Kos is going to let himself go out like that.

Lest we forget, Koscheck came into the UFC as a dominant wrestler. With his only losses being a last-ditch Rear Choke against Drew Fickett, a decision loss to Kingpin Georges St. Pierre, a decision to Thiago Alves and a February '09 KO at the hands of Paulo Thiago - Koscheck has done fairly well for himself. His wins are over better competition and he is more well rounded than "Semtex." He proved his submission skills with a rear choke win over the giant 170 lb. Anthony Johnson (a dangerous striker also) and his stand up is just as dangerous.

Prediction: Koscheck by Rear Choke. Round 2.

Kimbo Slice (4-1) vs Matt Mitrione (1-0):

Slice was originally enlisted by EliteXC to carry the promotion to the top. And Seth Petruzelli destroyed any hope of that when he took the fight on a few hours notice. (For Shame.) But Slice has bounced back, starting from the mailroom and working his way up. A win over Mitrione would be nice, but a loss would hurt him badly. Coming off that Houston Alexander fight, everyone is expecting a better performance.

Mitrione is no slouch. He knocked out Marcus Jones in his fight bout at the Ultimate Fighter 10 finale. A win over Slice is a nice resume addition but nothing to shoot him up the rankings. I'm going with Mitrione on this one. Kimbo's beard will probably have something to do with the outcome.

Prediction: Matt Mitrione by TKO. Round 3.

Sam Stout (16-5-1) vs Jeremy Stephens (17-5):

Sam Stout has some potent hands and likes to put them to work. He's at 4-4 in the UFC and needs to impress someone on Saturday. He'll be in his home country so maybe he can find a finish deep down for his fans. Stephens has heavy hands also and at an even 4-4 in the UFC also, he needs this win to stay relevant. (And employed by Dana White & Co.)

Stout is dangerous but hasn't finished an opponent in nearly three years. (He's never finished an opponent in the UFC) While that well and good for getting a Fight of the Night bonus, it's a dangerous game to play...leaving the fight in the hands of the judges. I predict a bloody mess that goes the distance with Stout staying on the outside picking apart Stephens, while looking worse-for-the-wear.

Prediction: Sam Stout by Unanimous Decision.

Patrick Cote (13-5) vs Alan Belcher (15-6):

Another native Canadian, Cote's last fight was a shot against Anderson Silva. And he made it into Round 3 (first UFC opponent to do so), only to blow out his ACL in an uneventful finish. Belcher is talented all over (hence the nickname - "The Talent") He is coming off a TKO victory over Wilson Gouveia after dropping a decision to Akiyama.

Cote has not fought in almost a year and a half. He made some comments about taking on Silva again, but really...who cares? He needs to get that fire back in him with a win over Belcher. Unfortunately, I don't think it will happen.

Prediction: Alan Belcher by Triangle Choke. Round 2.

That's all for now.