Anderson Silva AND UFC Fans Lost

Anderson Silva lost to Chris Weidman by TKO in the 2nd Round at UFC 162.  Congrats to Weidman, who took advantage of Silva spending the majority of the fight taunting him with his hands down by his waist or resting on his hips.  It cost him.  In his 11th title defense, Anderson Silva finally lost in the UFC.

But perhaps the bigger loser?  The fans.  

For years now we have wanted to see the super-fight between Silva and [Welterweight Champ] Georges St. Pierre...(scroll down to hear my interview with GSP on one of the worst phones of all-time) and if that wasn't going to happen (lots of feet dragging here, "after the Shields fight, well after the Diaz fight, Condit, etc, etc), there was another super-fight rumor emerging and that was Silva vs. [Light-Heavyweight Champ] Jon Jones.  And now?

Silva's loss takes a ton of luster out of either potential dream match up.  You wait too long in this sport, and even the unbeatable lose.  It's a shame.  Silva should have fought GSP last year AND set up a fight with Jones.  The Weidmans (and in the case of GSP, Hendricks, will always be there.)

You remember how badly fight fans wanted Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell?  They ultimately fought, and it was a solid bout, but what if it was 5 years sooner?  We'll never know.  

We had a chance to see history with either Silva mega fight.  We lost that last night.  

Inside The Cage with Georges St. Pierre

Keefe had a chance to talk with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre prior to UFC 162. His phone sucked, but there was still some good stuff in there.

UFC Title Fights

Announcement day in the UFC, clearly up some of the title fight questions.  Here is what we know now...

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION

Champ Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustaffson - UFC 165, September 21, Toronto


HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION

Champ Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos - UFC 166, October 19, Houston


WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION

Champ Georges St. Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks - UFC 167, November 16, Las Vegas


Other match ups that have been set.

MIDDLEWEIGHT: Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman (UFC 162, July 6)

LIGHTWEIGHT: Benson Henderson vs. T.J. Grant (UFC 164, August 31)

FEATHERWEIGHT: Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis (UFC 163, August 3)

FLYWEIGHT: Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga (UFC on Fox 8, July 27)

UFC Title Picture By Division

There are 7 divisions in the UFC. The biggest of them all took center stage last Saturday night for the promotions network television debut. Junior Dos Santos defeated Cain Velasquez to become the newest champ in the UFC. What is next for JDS and the rest of the champs? Here is a divisional breakdown of the best-of-the-best.

HEAVYWEIGHT:
Champion: Junior Dos Santos

How: Defeated Cain Velasquez, November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox

What's Next? Faces the winner of Brock Lesnar - Alistair Overeem, which is set for December 30, 2011 at UFC 141. It will be Dos Santos' first title defense.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT:
Champion: Jon Jones

How: Defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, March 19, 2011 at UFC 128. Defended title against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, September 24, 2011 at UFC 135.

What's Next? Was set to face Rashad Evans but injuries to Evans have postponed the match up twice, he will now square off against former champ Lyoto Machida, December 10, 2011 at UFC 140.

MIDDLEWEIGHT:
Champion: Anderson Silva

How: Defeated Rich Franklin, October 14, 2006 at UFC 64. Defended title a record 9 times with wins over:
Nate Marquart (UFC 73)
Rich Franklin (UFC 77)
Dan Henderson (UFC 82)
Patrick Cote (UFC 90)
Thales Leites (UFC 97)
Demian Maia (UFC 112)
Chael Sonnen (UFC 117)
Vitor Belfort (UFC 126)
Yushin Okami (UFC 134)

What's Next? Rematch with Chael Sonnen, date TBA.

WELTERWEIGHT:
Champion: Georges St. Pierre

How: (On current run) Defeated Matt Hughes, December 29, 2007 at UFC 79 for Interim Title, defeated Matt Serra, April 19, 2008, to become undisputed champ. Defended title 6 times with wins over:
Jon Fitch (UFC 87)
B.J. Penn (UFC 94)
Thiago Alves (UFC 100)
Dan Hardy (UFC 111)
Josh Koscheck (UFC 124)
Jake Shields (UFC 129)

What's Next: Nick Diaz, February 4, 2012 at UFC 143. (GSP was set to face Diaz at UFC 137, before Diaz was replaced by Carlos Condit because of failure to meet pre-fight responsibilities. GSP was then off the card due to injury.)

LIGHTWEIGHT:
Champion: Frankie Edgar

How: Defeated B.J. Penn, April 10, 2010 at UFC 112. Defended title against B.J. Penn, August 28, 2010 at UFC 118, kept title after a draw with Gray Maynard at UFC 125, and then defeated Maynard at UFC 136.

What's Next: Ben Henderson, February 26, 2012 at UFC 144.

FEATHERWEIGHT:
Champion: Jose Aldo

How: (WEC Title became UFC Title) Defeated Mike Brown, November 18, 2009 at WEC 44. Defended belt 4 times:
Urjiah Faber (WEC 48)
Manny Gamburyan (WEC 51)
Mark Hominick (UFC 129)
Kenny Florian (UFC 136)

What's Next: Chad Mendes, January 14, 2012 at UFC 142.

BANTAMWEIGHT:
Champion: Dominick Cruz

How: (WEC Title became UFC Title) Defeated Brian Bowles, March 6, 2010 at WEC 47. Defended belt 4 times:
Joseph Benavidez (WEC 50)
Scott Jorgensen (WEC 53)
Urijah Faber (UFC 132)
Demetrious Johnson (UFC on Versus 6)

What's Next: TBA likely winner of Faber vs. Bowles which is set for this Saturday at UFC 139.

-Keefe

UFC 137 Results

MAIN CARD:
Nick Diaz def. B.J. Penn via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
Cheick Kongo def. Matt Mitrione via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-28, 29-28)
Roy Nelson def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:30
Scott Jorgensen def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Hatsu Hioki def. George Roop via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

UNDER CARD:
Donald Cerrone def. Dennis Siver via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 2:22
Bart Palaszewski def. Tyson Griffin via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 2:45
Brandon Vera def. Eliot Marshall via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ramsey Nijem def. Danny Downes via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-27)
Francis Carmont def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Clifford Starks def. Dustin Jacoby via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Perhaps the biggest news of the night (besides B.J. Penn saying he is done) is that Dana White announced that Nick Diaz will face Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre on Super Bowl Weekend as Carlos Condit has agreed to step aside, allowing the angry GSP to fight Diaz.

After his fight Diaz said that he doesn't believe St. Pierre is hurt and that he is afraid to fight anyone right now... apparently this upset GSP and he will now take on Diaz for the belt a few months from now...

GSP Wins, Couture KO'd at UFC 129

Georges St. Pierre defended his Welterweight title with a 5-round unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields. The fight stayed on the feet for almost the entire 25 minutes. Shields hit GSP with what looked like a knuckle to his open left eye, St. Pierre said he could not see out of it. Not completely dominate, but there was no doubt when the horn sounded that GSP was the winner. After the fight he was noncommittal about moving up to middleweight and fighting Anderson Silva.

Couture done like that? Randy "The Natural" Couture said prior to the fight with Lyoto Machida, that he would retire. The 47 year old former champion was knocked out in the 1st round by something out of The Karate Kid. Machida landed a devastating kick to the face that sent Captain America to the ground. That was it... or will he be back?

Jose Aldo (boring) Vladimir Matyushenko (20 seconds TKO punches), and Ben Henderson (decision) were all winners on the night's main card.

-Keefe

UFC 127 Preview and Picks

As you may have heard Keefe and I discuss on Wednesday's podcast, the UFC is down under (cliche, I know) and The Sports Brief has its preview and picks for you for tomorrow's PPV card. The main event features the resurgent BJ Penn, back at welterweight for the second consecutive fight against a guy who will never be the division's champion as long as Georges St. Pierre has a pulse. Actually, neither guy will be champion as long as GSP is alive.


In terms of the matchup, I have to think the advantage goes to Penn. Fitch has excellent wrestling, and all great wrestlers have traditionally given Penn trouble if they can get him down, particularly guys who are bigger and stronger than him. Case in point: GSP. Frankie Edgar used his superior wrestling skills to taken down Penn, but was unable to sustain any GnP because of the lack in size differential. Here, Fitch is likely the bigger, stronger guy. But I'm not sure his wrestling will be quick enough and elite enough to take down the flexible, well balanced Penn.


For that reason, I think Penn manages to keep it on the feet enough to score well and outpoint the rugged Fitch. The only problem? No one will be interested in either guy challenging GSP again, certainly until he defeats Jake Shields (presumably) and fights UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Nonetheless, this should be an entertaining scrap between two elite fighters at 170lbs.


In the co-main event, Michael Bisping continues his campaign for what has been an elusive title shot in the UFC. Every time we've felt he's one or two fights away, he's folded. He did against Rashad Evans in a fight that not only sent Evans on an ascent to an eventual title victory, but also sent Bisping down to 185lbs. Then against Dan Henderson, he was KO'd in embarrassing fashion at UFC 100, ignoring his corners plea to NOT move to his left and avoid the big right hand. Here, he finds himself up against another guy with a big right hand: Jorge Rivera.


Rivera is experiencing new life in the twilight of his career, having 4 of his last 5 fights, including consecutive KO's over Rob Kimmons and former title challenger Nate Quarry. He packs a punch, and will test the chin of Bisping in this fight. I stated on the podcast with Keefe the other night that this fight reminds of the Bisping-Leben matchup. Bisping will look to circle, stay on the outside and win with volume punching while trying to avoid the stalking style of a Rivera/Leben type fighter. If Rivera can dial up Bisping's chin, there's no doubt he can win this fight. But Bisping is an active fighter, and if he's able to pin down his emotions, he could have the type of game plan that can frustrate Rivera. And that's the rub: Rivera has found his inner Tito Ortiz, mocking and poking fun at Bisping, ribbing him with good humor and constantly agitating him to the point that Bisping has brought a lot of emotion and trash talking to the press conference and weigh-in. It will be interesting to see if he's able to overcome that, or if Rivera has implanted himself in Bisping's head, much to his advantage.


The third biggest fight on the card is a middleweight tilt that could have a legitimate impact on the state of the 155lb division. George Sotiropolous is on a tear, undefeated in the UFC and winner of 8 straight. He's coming off an impressive submission win over Joe Lauzon, and fighting in his home country will undoubtedly have the crowd on his side. Siver, on the other hand, has gone 6-1 since starting his UFC career 1-3. And the only loss in his last 7 fights was, in my opinion, a disputable decision loss to Ross Pearson. He's an agressive, powerful kickboxer with some of the best striking in the division. Both fighters bring excellent submission attacks into this fight, although Sotiropoulos may have the advantage on the ground. And that will most likely be a place of comfort for him; staying on the feet could lead to an unplanned nap in the center of the Octagon.


Here are the picks for the PPV portion of tomorrow night's card from Besse and Keefe at The Sports Brief:


Penn vs. Fitch

Besse: Penn via decision
Keefe: Penn via decision

Bisping vs. Rivera

Besse: Bisping via decision
Keefe: Rivera via KO in the 2nd

Sotiropoulos vs. Siver

Besse: Sotiropoulos via submission in the 2nd
Keefe: Siver via submission in the 3rd

Lytle vs. Ebersole

Besse: Lytle via (T)KO in the 2nd
Keefe: Lytle via KO in the 1st

Noke via Camozzi

Besse: Noke via (T)KO in the 3rd
Keefe: Noke via decision

So there you have it. I know my picks vary a bit from what I stated on the podcast, but that'll happen. I'm picking with my brain, not my heart. In other words, as much as I'd like to see Bisping and Sotiropoulos get KTFO'd, I don't think it's going to happen, nor would I bet on it.

Be sure to check back with The Sports Brief for a post-fight recap and see how we did with our picks. Enjoy the fights!

-Bess

UFC 124 Tomorrow Night

UFC 124 takes place in Montreal, Canada on Saturday night. The main event is a re-match as Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre puts his title on the line against Josh Koscheck. These two 170 pound fighters were the latest coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.

GSP always sells PPV's and is one of the very best draws in all of MMA. But this is as close to a boxing card as I have seen from the UFC in a long time. When I say boxing card, I mean there is one fight you want to watch and you spend all your money on just the one match. Case in point, I could not find a UFC 124 poster advertising the event that even mentions a second bout on the card. Pretty surprising. Usually they have pictures of the co-main event and even the third bout, but at the very least the names of the fighters are featured. Not this time.

The co-main event is Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve. Weak. I am interested in another fight on this card, it's a welterweight match between former #1 contender Thiago Alves and Dorchester's own John "Doomsday" Howard. Alves always struggles to make weight, so this is a huge fight for him, they're both coming off losses as well. I'll be pulling for Howard.

As underwhelming as this card looks on paper, it is often the events you are not thrilled with going in that provide the most exciting fights. So we shall see.

Predictions: I don't see GSP losing, but can he finish Kos? I say another decision for St. Pierre. I really like Howard, but if Alves is in shape, Thiago will be too tough.

-Keefe

Besse's UFC 111 Preview and Predictions

It's been a while since I posted a thorough preview and in-depth predictions for a UFC event. I don't know if any of you will even read it or take stock in what I say, but I don't care. It's my blog (half of it, anyway).

Tonight is a pretty major PPV event for Zuffa and UFC. First and foremost is the return of GSP since his five round molestation of Thiago Alves. You'll remember that GSP injured a muscle in the groin area in the third round, yet continued to abuse and dominate the ATT standout in every phase of the game, particularly taking him down repeatedly and walking out of the Octagon that night with the Welterweight title and Alves' soul and dignity in hand.

His challenger is Dan Hardy, an outspoken, entertaining brawler from the UK who brings heavy hands and excellent boxing technique, but a paltry resume that has many fighters and fans alike questioning the validity of his title shot. He's a huge underdog, but UFC had the right idea utilizing its "UFC Primetime" series, a blueprint of HBO's highly acclaimed "24/7" program to hype the fight. It's worked, as Hardy has displayed he is taking this seriously and has seized the opportunity to not only hype the fight appropriately and skillfully, but add his own twist that intrigued many a fan: training with the last man to beat GSP in Matt Serra, a disciple of Renzo Gracie, who by the way assisted GSP in his training.

In addition, we have a heavyweight attraction with two of the premiere big men in the world going at it. Due to Brock Lesnar's battle with diverticulitis, UFC made the Frank Mir-Shane Carwin co-main event a five round bout for the interim Heavyweight title. Since Mir's loss to Lesnar at UFC 100, he has put on well over 20 pounds of muscle and bulked up so that he has to cut weight to make the limit. He's done this in working with former World's Strongest Man competitor Mark Philippi at the Philippi Sports Institute. The Olympic style lifting has done wonders for me, he appeared bigger, stronger and faster in his quick dismantling of Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 back in December 2009. He beat Kongo to the punch, landing a crippling left hand that left Kongo dazed on the mat. Mir quickly pursued his down opponent, ripping off several strikes before locking in a brutal guillotine that eventually left Kongo limp and unconscious on the Octagon floor for several minutes. It was beautiful display of technique across many phases of mixed martial arts, a true sign that Mir is on the right track.

For Carwin, he returns after a one year layoff since Gabriel Gonzaga ran into his meat truck of a hand and got flatlined in the process. Carwin brings an interesting skillset with his massive size, decorated wrestling background and heavy, heavy hands. Mir has dubbed Carwin a better version of Lesnar, and while it may be too early to make that claim, tonight will be a great test and excellent barometer for the engineer from Colorado. He's 11-0 with 11 stoppages, all in the first round, all within the first three minutes of the fight. His wrestling, striking and crippling ground and pound speak for itself. And in his fight against Gonzaga, he showed his ability to absorb some heavy strikes, weather a storm, get up off his back against a high level grappler and finish a fight in an instant...all in the same fight. The test will be how he fares defensively both on his feet and on the ground against a guy like Mir, a two-time UFC champion with a more complete skillset striking and grappling.

The third attraction was supposed to be a rematch of Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves until a CAT scan revealed an irregularity in Alves' brain. Let's hope he's okay and it's not career ending. Ben Saunders has stepped up to replace Alves, and this will be an incredible opportunity for the young fighter who brings devastating knees and muay thai into the bout with the former Purdue wrestling standout.

A solid card top to bottom with two amazing fights at the top of the list. Now onto the predictions:

Georges St. Pierre v. Dan Hardy
UFC Welterweight Title Bout

Let's face it: St. Pierre may be the best fighter, pound for pound on the planet. His game has evolved to the point that he is fully competent and highly skilled in all phases. He brings a diverse striking skillset of punches and kicks that display his unbelievable athleticism. And if he gets uncomfortable on his feet against a dangerous striker? He can go to his wrestling, which may be as good as anyone's in mma. No one can stop his takedowns, and once he gets you down, even the best grapplers in the world are unable to neutralize his superb positioning, strength and conditioning to get back to their feet. He can submit from the top or finish you with strikes. And his penchant for dominating opponents over five full rounds means his cardio is top notch. The guy is a stud.

In Hardy, we have a man who is as dangerous a striker as you'll see in mma. His hands are fast, powerful and accurate, his boxing an aesthetically pleasing mix of technique and pure violence. If he puts his hands on you, it could mark the beginning of the end, if he hasn't already knocked you out cold (ask Rory Markham). But while he's displayed a competent ground game and takedown defense against the likes of Marcus Davis and Mike Swick, it doesn't simulate the high level wrestling that GSP is bringing to tonight's fight. And therein lies the rub. Hardy worked with the aforementioned Serra on his guard, positioning and overall grappling to prepare for GSP's ground attack. While Serra is the last man to beat GSP, he did it on his feet. And the last time Serra went to the ground with GSP, he was seen tapping out to the knees to the body. So I don't think that will have much of a difference in tonight's fight.

Prediction: Hardy may create some harrowing moments early in the fight. But this will resemble GSP's last several fights. Some diverse, technical boxing early on, working the jab and welcoming his opponent to get comfortable on his feet before dropping levels and securing a takedown, which is where it will stay until the end of the round. You can't tell me Hardy is any bigger or stronger than Alves, so I don't see him doing much better in terms of getting back to his feet. The only wildcard is Hardy has nothing to lose here, a potential upset hero looking to shock the world; it's the kind of fight you almost wish Gus Johnson was commentating for. But it won't happen. GSP is focused on establishing his legacy as the greatest welterweight ever, and he will continue that process with an absolute clinic tonight.

St. Pierre wins via (T)KO stoppage due to strikes in the 2nd round

Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
Interim UFC Heavyweight Title Bout

This will be a tremendous test for both men, and the winner will be handsomely rewarded with the opportunity to unify the titles with Lesnar this summer. There will be a couple interesting dynamics to follow in this fight. First will be the striking aspect: how does Mir's fluid movement and diverse combinations work against Carwin's questionable defense and can Carwin land that big shot on the button and put Mir out cold? And on the ground: if Carwin lands in Mir's guard, can his power and ground and pound overshadow any improvements, if any, that Mir has made in defending from his back, or can Mir land a submission to end the fight?

Prediction: Both men will have their moments in this fight, and I don't think we'll question that either is still at the top of the heap when all is said and done. Mir has a more diverse artillery on his feet, and the strength and weight gain, without the expense of his speed and athleticism, have done wonders. Carwin brings serious power and wrestling to this fight, but I think Mir's technique and experience, as well as his motivation to fight Lesnar for a third time, will prevail. But I won't be upset if Carwin wins, he's a likeable guy that I'd enjoy watching fight Lesnar.

Mir wins via submission (d'Arce choke) in the 2nd round

Jon Fitch vs. Ben Saunders

A dangerous fight for both men. For Fitch, taking on an opponent like Saunders on short notice is brutal. He's hungry, has nothing to lose and will throw everything but the kitchen sink at him in an effort to win the fight. For Saunders, he takes on a guy who many feel is the #2 or #3 welterweight in the UFC right now. A man whose only loss in the organization was to the guy fighting in the main event tonight.

Prediction: Everyone knows where this fight is going...to the ground. Fitch will take Saunders down early and often to avoid any danger on his feet. He was training for Alves, another accomplished striker, but someone who inflicts damage with his hands and feet, not in the clinch with his knees. With that type of attack in question and unknown to Fitch, it's best to eliminate the grey area and get where he is comfortable and in control, in the guard effectively working his ground and pound. Saunders should be applauded for stepping in and taking this fight, but he won't be good enough to thwart Fitch's superior wrestling.

Fitch wins via unanimous decision

Kurt Pellegrino vs. Fabricio Camoes
Pellegrino via unanimous decision

Jim Miller vs. Mark Bocek
Miller via (T)KO stoppage in the 3rd round

Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham
Diaz via submission (guillotine choke) in the 2nd round

Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown
Almeida via submission (kimura) in the 1st round

Rodney Wallace vs. Jared Hamman
Hamman via (T)KO due to strikes in the 2nd round

Rousimar Palhares vs. Tomasz Drwal
Drwal via KO (punch) in the 1st round

Matthew Riddle vs. Greg Soto
Soto via submission (rear naked choke) in the 2nd round

There you have it. I'll check back in tomorrow with the results and see how I did. Enjoy the fights.

-Bess

MMA March Madness

The month of March is synonymous with college basketball, and that is fine, they earned it. (Let’s ignore the fact that the Final 4 is actually played in April.) But this year the world of Mixed Martial Arts is making a push for center stage. The WEC put on a card last weekend, and we still have three UFC events, yes three, as well as one from DREAM.

With only one of the next four MMA events being a pay-per-view, this is as good a time as any for non-fight fans to get involved. Here is a Cliff’s Notes version of what to watch this month.

On Sunday, March 21st, the UFC makes its Versus debut with the aptly named UFC on Versus 1. Unless you have DirecTV you will be able to watch these fights in the comfort of your own home. Four main-card bouts are scheduled for the televised portion of the card, and they are all worth watching.

Dorchester’s own John “Doomsday” Howard battles Daniel Roberts, who is filling in for the injured Anthony Johnson. Howard is a perfect 3-0 in his UFC career and looking to climb up the welterweight ladder.

Two solid heavyweight match-ups will lead into the main event. Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello and Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabe Gonzaga. All four of these guys are Top 15 heavyweights in the world, a loss for any one of them would significantly hurt their title chances.

UFC on Versus 1 concludes with a light heavyweight showdown between Jon Jones and Brandon Vera. Jones is coming off his first “loss” of his career. He was DQ’d for illegal downward strikes in a bout with Matt Hamill. Jones was absolutely dominating the fight, something even Hamill admitted to afterwards. So it is safe to say Jones is going to come out with a lot to prove, and he faces the toughest opponent of his career in Vera. “The Truth” is a former heavyweight who has been in the cage with some of the best the sport has to offer including Frank Mir, Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum, Keith Jardine, and most recently UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

Just one night following UFC on Versus 1 it’s DREAM 13 from Japan on March 22nd. (This is where DirecTV subscribers get one back, as the main card airs on HDNet.) One of the best pound for pound fighters in the world headlines the card. Joachim Hansen, a top lightweight, drops down to featherweight to square off with Bibiano Fernandez for the organization’s featherweight championship.

The UFC holds their lone PPV event on March 27th in Newark, New Jersey at UFC 111. If you like welterweights this is the card for you. The title is on the line between the nearly indestructible Georges St. Pierre and surprising contender Dan Hardy. Since being upset by Matt Serra, GSP has ripped of 6 impressive wins against the very best the UFC has to offer.

Two of those six wins cames against Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves who will have their re-match on the main-card. Fitch won the previous bout via TKO in the 2nd round all the way back in June of 2006. The winner of this fight puts themselves in great shape for another title shot vs. the either St. Pierre or Hardy.

The interim heavyweight title is also up for grabs at UFC 111. With the injury/illness to Brock Lesnar, the heavyweight title picture was put on hold. Lesnar was scheduled to fight Shane Carwin, before he was forced out of action. Frank Mir got a win over Kongo back in December, and it just made since to put these two in the cage. So the co-headliner will feature an incredible heavyweight match up for the interim title between Carwin and Mir.

The month comes to a close with UFC Fight Night 21 on March 31st. The main-card will be live on Spike TV. There is some good local flavor at Fight Night 21. Jorge Rivera, born in Milford, MA, takes on tough middleweight Nate Quarry, both fighters were featured on different seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.

In the main event Kenny Florian, born in Westwood, MA, and former Boston College soccer player, faces Takanori Gomi, in Gomi’s UFC debut. Ken-Flo has fought twice for the lightweight title, falling short both times, once to Sean Sherk and once to B.J. Penn. Those are his only 2 losses in his past 12 UFC fights. Gomi had been regarded as the top lightweight in the world while fighting in PRIDE. Gomi then lost back-to-back fights, he is now looking to get back to the top, of what has become a very strong lightweight division in the UFC.

Yes that is four fight cards in a 10-day span.

-Keefe

(This article can also be found at http://www.985thesportshub.com/ where there will soon be lots of MMA coverage, including podcasts, blogs from a team of writers, rankings, schedules, and more.)

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (8/17/09)

It's time now for another edition of The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings. A few major cards have already taken place this month, including UFC 101 and Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborgs, that have shaken up the Top 10s. One major change is Gegard Mousasi, who defeated Babablu in just 60 seconds time over the weekend in first fight in the US. He is now the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champ, therefore he is out of the middleweight rankings.

The king of the middleweights, Anderson Silva, shows up in the LHW rankings as well after his distruction of Forrest Griffin at UFC 101. Also you will see the return of our Pound 4 Pound Rankings. Take a look at them all and let the debate begin.

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Josh Barnett
4. Frank Mir
5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
6. Randy Couture
7. Alistair Overeem
8. Shane Carwin
9. Cain Velasquez
10. Brett Rogers

Chiek Kongo, Andrei Arlovski, Gabriel Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos


Light Heavyweight:

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Rashad Evans
4. Anderson Silva
5. Forrest Griffin
6. Gegard Mousasi
7. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
8. Luiz Cane
9. Babalu Sobral
10. Rich Franklin

Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva, Chuck Liddell, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Jon Jones


Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Yushin Okami
4. Vitor Belfort
5. Robbie Lawler
6. Nathan Marquardt
7. Demian Maia
8. Jorge Santiago
9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
10. Cung Le

Michael Bisping, Thales Leites, Ricardo Almeida, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Chris Leben, Ronaldo Souza

We know Cung Le hasn't fought in 20 years (March of 2008 to be exact), but we heard he's coming back to action. Plus someone had to replace Mousasi on the Top 10 and we couldn't find anyone truly deserving.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jake Shields
3. Jon Fitch
4. Thiago Alves
5. Martin Kampmann
6. Josh Koscheck
7. Mike Swick
8. Matt Hughes
9. Paulo Thiago
10. Marius Zaromskis

Jay Hieron Nick Thompson, Dan Hardy, Karo Parisyan, Matt Serra, Carlos Condit, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Frank Trigg

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alverez
4. Joachim Hansen
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri
6. Kenny Florian
7. Gray Maynard
8. Frankie Edgar
9. Diego Sanchez
10. Gilbert Melendez

JZ Cavalcante, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitaoka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson, Takanori Gomi, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta

Pound 4 Pound

1. Anderson Silva
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Georges St. Pierre
4. BJ Penn
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Mike Brown
7. Quinton Jackson
8. Brian Bowles
9. Gegard Mousasi
10. Brock Lesnar

-The Sports Brief

UFC 100 Results

Undercard:

Shannon Gugerty defeated Matt Grice via Submission(Guillotine Choke) at 2:26 in the 1stRound
Tom Lawlor defeated CB Dollaway via Submission(Guillotine Choke) at :55 in the 1stRound
Dong Hyun Kim defeated TJ Grant via Unanimous Decision (30-26, All Three judges)
Jon Jones defeated Jake O’Brien via Submission(Guillotine Choke) at 2:43 in the 2ndRound
Jim Miller defeated Mac Danzig via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mark Coleman defeated Stephan Bonnar via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Main Card:

Yoshihiro Akiyama defeated Alan Belcher via Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) in UFC debut
Dan Henderson defeated Michael Bisping via Knockout at 3:20 in the 2ndRound, one of the best knockouts I have ever seen.
Georges St-Pierre defeated Thiago Alves via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45) to remain UFC Welterweight Champion
Brock Lesnar defeated Frank Mir via TKO(Strikes) at 1:58 in the 2ndRound to remain UFC Heavyweight Champion
Jon Fitch defeated Paulo Thiago via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a live bout that followed the main event.

-Keefe

Besse's UFC 100 picks

Well, folks, UFC 100 is finally upon us. Just over 12 hours from now Mike Goldberg will open the show and then we'll here his patented line, "and I'm joined as always by my partner Joe Rogan." We're being treated to an absolutely stacked card, and we can only hope that some of these fights on the main card will end early so we can get a look at some of the preliminary fights. I'm not going to give a thorough, fully detailed breakdown of each fight, but I'll pick my winners below and offer a brief synopsis of my thought process on why I'm making that pick. Without further ado, let's get to it:

Brock Lesnar v. Frank Mir - UFC Heavyweight Championship

My pick: Frank Mir by 3rd round submission
If you watched the weigh-in yesterday, Mir looks to be in fantastic shape, the best of this point in his career. Since his most recent comeback, he's a more cerebral, calculated and dedicated fighter than he's ever been, and tonight will be his moment in the spotlight. Utilizing his improved footwork, I look for Mir to pick his spots on his feet and wear down and frustrate Lesnar. By the third round, Lesnar's gas tank will begin to depleet and Mir will take full advantage, pulling guard and submitting Brock to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Georges St. Pierre v. Thiago Alves - UFC Welterweight Championship

My pick: St. Pierre by 4th round (T)KO

Alves will give St. Pierre all he can handle early on, but it just simply won't be enough. St. Pierre is the champion for a reason, and he'll do all he can to avoid getting chopped down by the vicious leg kicks of Alves. It will be close after two rounds, but St. Pierre's impressive cardio will come into play, and he'll start to mount a charge in the third round. There, I look for him to press Alves against the cage, wear down his opponent, and set up a fantastic finish in the fourth. He'll score a takedown and work his way to a convincing ground and pound victory, leaving us all wondering if his next move is to middleweight to take on Anderson Silva in a superfight.

Dan Henderson v. Michael Bisping

My pick: Henderson by decision

Bisping is a talented middleweight and will one day challenge for the title. Heck, he may even win it. But it won't happen going through Henderson, not at this point in his career. Hendo knows what he has to do to get another shot at Silva, and he knows what he'll have to do to beat Silva, as well. Throw a few bombs and set up a take down, and stick to his bread and butter ground and pound. That's what he'll do tonight. Bisping may be the quicker, more technical striker, but he reminds me a lot of Joe Calzaghe. Not to compare the two by any means, but within the context of MMA and UFC, that's what I see: a guy with fast hands whose damage comes merely by accumulation of punches, not power. He won't hurt Henderson, but Henderson will hurt him. A few bombs will put Bisping on shaky legs, and Henderson will start landing some takedowns. He'll grind his way to a decision win.

Jon Fitch v. Paulo Thiago

My pick: Fitch by 2nd round (T)KO

Thiago scored a flash knockout over Josh Koscheck and had been getting dominated prior to it. Perhaps it was Koschecks fault for trying to replicate his hellacious KO victory over Yoshiyuki Yoshida last December. Nonetheless, let's not crown Thiago just yet. Fitch is at the top of the sport in his division and he won't make the same mistake as his training partner at AKA. He'll wear down Thiago in the first and pound his way to victory in the second. Overall, a dominant showing by the former title challenger and a fall back to Earth for the promising prospect, who may be in over his head on this one...in fact, I thought he was against Koscheck, but that's what happens with 4oz. gloves. Anything can happen.

Yoshihiro Akiyama v. Alan Belcher

My pick: Akiyama by 1st round submission

Sure, Belcher spoiled the debut of middleweight superstar Denis Kang. But it was a guillotine chock off a takedown attempt. That happens and doesn't necessarily speak to a phenomenal jiu-jitsu game or a dominant performance. I look at it as a guy taking advantage of another man's mistake. Akiyama won't do the same thing. This guy is the real deal, and he should steamroll right through Belcher with a first round submission. Look for Akiyama to be clamoring for a title shot in early to mid 2010.

Preliminary Bouts:

Mark Coleman (15-9) vs. Stephan Bonnar (13-5)
Bonnar by 3rd round (T)KO
You have to respect everything Coleman has done for the sport and the fact that he's still competing at his age. But the guy has never adjusted to the fact that his gas tank is the size of a walnut. Plus there are rumors circulating that the former heavyweight had a lot of trouble with this cut. This fight should get Bonnar back on track, as he'll avoid an early flurry from Coleman and take it to deeper waters. Watch Coleman's tank run on "E" in the latter half of the fight as Bonnar begins to pick him apart and finish him on their feet.

Mac Danzig (21-6-1) vs. Jim Miller (13-2)
Danzig by 2nd round (T)KO
Everyone is picking Danzig to lose to Miller; everyone is also extremely high on Miller. So am I. But I'm going with a minor upset here. Danzig is a talented fighter, but he needs a win here to stay in the UFC. Miller has a promising, long career ahead of him within this organization. Danzig is motivated, and has the skillset to compete with a lot of talented lightweights. He'll utilize his wrestling and avoid a slew of submission attempts from Miller before working to side control and eventually the mount. GnP win for Mac.

Jon Jones (8-0) vs. Jake O'Brien (11-2)
Jones by spectacular death
Watch Jones masterfully pick apart O'Brien before turning the lights off with an early KO in the second round. It will be a contender for KO of the Night.

Dong-Hyun Kim (11-0-1) vs. T.J. Grant (14-2)
Grant by 2nd round submission
That blemish on Kim's record is a NC against Karo Parysian, a fight which he lost but had overturned after Parysian tested positive for god knows what. Certainly wasn't steroids, look at the guy. Grant is a submission guy, and a talented one at that. He'll work the fight to the ground and eventually lock one in.

C.B. Dollaway (11-2) vs. Tom Lawlor (6-2)
Dollaway by 1st round steamroll submission
Jesus, I'd stand a better chance against Dollaway. Good for Lawlor dropping weight, and he's a great personality and entertaining guy. But this is a showcase fight for Dollaway before they have him take the leap to the next tier of talented fighters in the middleweight division. Lawlor won't stop anything in this fight, most certainly not a takedown and submission quickly in the first.

Matt Grice (9-2) vs. Shannon Gugerty (11-3)
Gugerty by 3rd round submission
This could be your Fight of the Night. Grice can bang, and he got caught in his last fight against Veach and had trouble recovering. But up until that point, he'd been outclassing Veach on his feet. The decision was a disputable one, and you know he'll bring it tonight. But Gugerty has excellent submissions, and I trust has learned a lot from his submission loss to perennial contender Spencer Fisher at UFC 90. These guys will go to war for 2.5 rounds before Gugerty lands on the mat with Matt (like that?) and locks in a fight ending submission.

So there you have it. An excellent card throughout, hopefully we'll get to see some of these preliminaries.

Also, you'll notice on the sidebar that we've posted a link to my Twitter page. My Twitter name is @tbesse29. Keefe may be joining soon, as well, but for now, I'd love to have anyone and everyone following me on Twitter. Tonight I'll be tweeting during the fights, posting results, thoughts on the action and possibly even scoring rounds as they happen. Feel free to check it out, follow me and enjoy the action from your phone, especially if you can't watch the fights anywhere tonight but want updates. And I welcome any and all comments and thoughts on the action as we follow it tonight. Enjoy.

-Bess

The Sports Brief’s MMA Rankings (6/15/09)

It’s been a while since we updated these, so a lot has changed in the last several months. With several UFC cards in the books, as well as Strikeforce, Dream, Sengoku and Bellator putting on fights, there’s been a lot to process. But UFC 100 looms in the next month, so what better time than now to release our latest rankings.

One disclaimer is the ongoing issue in ranking fighters that are competing in multiple weight classes. The most notable are the likes of Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva, Gegard Mousasi, Rich Franklin, and Dan Henderson. While Silva, Franklin and Henderson seem to be settled, or settling, into new homes, Diaz and Mousasi, among others, are impossible to nail down at this time.

That being said, they’ve been included in multiple weight classes. For example, Mousasi has only had one fight outside of 185, so he’s still ranked 3rd there but also received an honorable mention in the 205lb weight class. The guy steamrolled his opponent in the super heavyweight tourney put on by Dream, and he’s taking on Sokoudjou in his next fight. Diaz, however, has fought at a catchweight in his last two contests. Who knows what class he falls into at this point, so you’ll see him as an honorable mention in both welterweight and middleweight. He could most likely be ranked in the top-10 of both, but he hasn’t exactly fought in either weight class recently either. We’ll have to wait and see where he settles, if he settles at all. I’m willing to bet he could give two middle fingers to our rankings, or anyone’s rankings for that matter. The guy just wants to fight you (yeah, you).

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianeko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Frank Mir
4. Josh Barnett
5. Antonia Rodrigo Nogueira
6. Randy Couture
7. Alistair Overeem
8. Shane Carwin
9. Cain Velasquez
10. Brett Rogers

Honorable Mention: Andrei Arlovski, Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos, Roy Nelson

This division will get another considerable shake up in the coming months, as our top-6 heavyweights will all be in action. It’ll almost resemble a tournament of sorts, with #1 v. #4, #2 v. #3, and #5 v. #6 in a consolation match of legendary former champions. Big movers are Carin, Velasquez and Rogers, all whom entered the top-10 with respective wins over top-10 opponents. Rogers may have been the most surprising with his blitz of former top-3 heavyweight Arlovski, who has dropped out after back-to-back KO losses.

By the way, am I the only person wondering and dying to know if Kimbo has already fought during the taping of TUF 10? Can’t help but be jacked up for that upcoming season.

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida
2. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
3. Rashad Evans
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
6. Renato “Babalu” Sobral
7. Luis Arthur Cane
8. Rich Franklin
9. Keith Jardine
10. Thiago Silva

Honorable Mentions: Gegard Mousasi, Chuck Liddell, Brandon Vera, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jon Jones

Please note that while Wanderlei Silva is arguably still a top-10 205 fighter in the world, he’s gone from these rankings as he makes the transition to the middleweight division. More on that in a bit. Franklin, meanwhile, enters the fray after an incredible battle with “The Axe Murderer”. Nice to see “Ace” pull that one out. With a big frame, incredible strength and technical, well rounded, skills, Franklin will make for a lot of interesting fights at light heavyweight. And he could make a little run at the title while he’s at it. Anyone interested in a rematch between he and Machida, who handed him his first career loss, down the road?

Speaking of Machida, there’s no question he’s the top guy; it’s been a long time coming, and he has the potential to run this division for a long time. Interesting that Jackson chose to bypass a title shot to settle the score with Evans, who is fresh off an embarrassing KO loss in his first title defense. That will make for great TV. “Shogun” is the beneficiary, but you have to wonder how much of a challenge he’ll pose to Machida. Liddell drops out as he ponders retirement. He could probably still beat Tito, though.

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Gegard Mousasi
4. Yushin Okami
5. Vitor Belfort
6. Robbie Lawler
7. Michael Bisping
8. Nate Marquardt
9. Demian Maia
10. Jorge Santiago

Honorable Mention: Cung Le, Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza

Cung Le is still inactive. Anderson Silva fought (and tooled with) a bum. Robbie Lawler just lost to a welterweight (albeit a good one) by 1st round submission. For a division that is slowly growing in talent, there are still many questions to be answered. To start, Silva’s next fight is at 205 against Forrest Griffin. He’ll most likely retreat back to defend his title after Hendo and Bisping go at it. Okami, meanwhile, is the great question mark in that division, particularly from a UFC perspective. He’s the last man to beat Silva (on a DQ), and has more or less earned his stripes, winning every fight aside from a decision loss to former champ Franklin. Marquardt and Maia are knocking on the door, and a fight between those two would make for a great battle.

Meanwhile, Affliction will pit Belfort against Santiago on its next card. Santiago was a second choice after Mousasi declined to return to 185. Instead, he’s fighting in the super heavyweight tourney over in Japan, and he’s winning. What a psycho. Plus on the same Affliction card he takes on Top 10 LHW Babalu. We can keep him here for now, but if it may not be long before he’s entering another top 10. And Wanderlei still looms as he prepares to enter the middleweight division. His fight against Franklin could have gone his way, but it was a classic, and he showed that while he still takes abuse, he’s as a game a fighter as there is today. He’ll pose a threat to anyone in that division, including his newfound rival in “The Spider” (not to be confused with “Da Spyder”).

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jake Shields
3. Thiago Alves
4. Jon Fitch
5. Paulo Thiago
6. Martin Kampmann
7. Josh Koscheck
8. Mike Swick
9. Matt Hughes
10. Carlos Condit

Honorable Mention: Nick Diaz, Dan Hardy, Marcus Davis, Matt Serra, Nick Thompson, Jay Hieron, Karo Parysian, Frank Trigg

St. Pierre is clearly the best welterweight in the world, but after watching Shield steamroll Lawler with his ground game, you have to wonder if he could pose similar problems to such a diverse, phenomenal athlete in GSP. We’ll probably never find out though. Alves, meanwhile, takes a stab at the gold at UFC 100.

As long as GSP doesn’t get “Serra’d” again, he should come out on top; it won’t be easy though. Thiago is still undefeated after knocking Koscheck’s block off, and if he takes out Fitch, we’ll have ourselves a legitimate contender. And Swick enters fresh off his relatively easy win over pseudo contender Ben Saunders; that was a mismatch from the start, and as Jake Rossen of Sherdog.com wrote over the weekend, you have to feel bad for Saunders, he was rushed by Dana White & Co. A couple guys to watch out for are Hardy and Trigg. “The Outlaw” is on the cusp after his ballsy win over “The Irish Hand Grenade”. He’s got pop in his hands and is tough as balls. Trigg, meanwhile, returns against Koscheck at UFC 101. Kampmann is in the mix, but he ducked a fight against TJ Grant on this weekend’s TUF Finale card. What a pussy, take the fight.

Lightweight

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alvarez
4. Kenny Florian
5. Joachim Hansen
6. Satoru Kitaoka
7. Tatsuya Kawijiri
8. Gray Maynard
9. Frankie Edgar
10. Diego Sanchez

Honorable Mention: JZ Cavalcante, Gilbert Melendez, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson, Clay Guida, Nick Diaz, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta (where are you, Roger?), KJ Noons (probably with Roger)

It’s hard to honestly compare lightweights when a large portion of the echelon compete overseas. That’s what makes HDnet so valuable for hardcore MMA fans. The big fight coming up is the Penn-Florian showdown. Based on name alone, a lot of people are writing off “Ken-Flo”, but you have to like this matchup stylistically for him. It’s certainly more favorable than being smothered by Sherk for five rounds, plus he’s training with GSP; we’ll see if that reaps any rewards.

Kitaoka is a new addition (thanks to reading about him on Sherdog.com) and he’ll compete for Sengoku’s lightweight title in the coming months. Meanwhile, Kawijiri’s stock rises after his decision win over Cavalcante. Maynard’s next move will be intriguing, as well. After Edgar outboxed Sherk for three rounds, media members were calling for a potential title shot down the road. Lest we forget that Maynard outwrestled the wrestler Edgar for three rounds during their bout last April. “The Bully” has wins over Edgar, Jim Miller, Rich Clementi and Denis Siver. This guy is rolling through dudes. Perhaps we’ll see a rematch and the opportunity to challenge the Penn-Florian winner? Or will that go to Diego Sanchez or Clay Guida, following their headline bout this weekend? Many interesting matchups in the UFC.

UFC 94 Results

Georges St. Pierre def. B.J. Penn by fourth-round TKO*

Lyoto Machida def. Thiago Silva by first-round knockout**

Jon Jones def. Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision

Karo Parisyan def. Dong Hyun Kim by split decision

Clay Guida def. Nate Diaz by split decision

Undercard:
Jon Fitch def. Akihiro Gono by unanimous decision
Dan Cramer def. Matt Arroyo by split decision
Jake O'Brien def. Christian Wellisch by split decision
John Howard def. Chris Wilson by split decision
Thiago Tavares def. Manny Gamburyan by unanimous decision

*GSP and Penn fought a pretty even 1st round, with the advantage to St. Pierre, but the next 3 rounds were all GSP. The welterweight champ took B.J. down and did some serious ground and pound. Penn has probably never been in the position his entire career. Give him credit for surviving 3 rounds of beating by St. Pierre. At the end of the 4th round the doctors looked at Penn and the Hawaiin's corner said enough is enough.

When the fight was over Thiago Alves went in the ring. Therefore those who wanted another super fight of GSP vs. Anderson Silva will have to wait at least as long as a St. Pierre vs. Alves fight.

**This was as close to a buzzer beater as you could get. Of course if Machinda didn't make the Knockout Shot he just would have gone to round 2, but just a tick before the clock sounded Lyoto landed a damaging blow to Silva. The ref went in to say the 1st round was over, but alas so was Thiago's night.

UFC 94 will be remembered for the super fight and the super performance of St. Pierre against Penn. But look at all those decisions and split decisions at that. Certainly Karo Parisyan and Clay Guida should both be thankful for their results. They could have easily been losers. Pretty good card overall though, February will provide some free fights, with a Fight Night and UFC 95. Nothing jumps out at me. Diego for Stevenson I guess.

Keep reading the Brief, and spread the word. Send us an e-mail as well. Besse and I would like to get a "mail-bag" type thing going as well.

Why BJ Penn will beat GSP

This Saturday's UFC 94 main event between welterweight champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre and lightweight champion BJ Penn is one of the greatest matchups in the history of combat sports. You're got two of the best pound-4-pound fighters in their prime, combined with their history (a split decision victory for St. Pierre at UFC 58) and the bad blood that has developed between these two since that fight, particularly through the latest TV series UFC PrimeTime.

Leading up to the fight, many critics, fans and pundits alike have tried their best to break down the fight. They discuss Penn's jab and heavy hands, but St. Pierre's versatile striking arsenal. Or Penn's superior flexibility and jiu-jitsu and St. Pierre's world-class wrestling. Penn's questionable cardio against St. Pierre's bottomless gas tank. Or even the fact that Penn is moving up from lightweight while St. Pierre will undoubtedly be cutting 15-20 lbs. this week just to make 170. There will be a considerable size advantage, but will it matter? Each fighter will walk into the cage on Saturday night with considerable advantages in different disciplines and areas of the fight game.

But one aspect that may have been overlooked, or perhaps not given enough attention is the mental aspect of this fight. Penn has referred to GSP as a mental midget, a bully and a quitter. And while GSP can say all he wants to refute that, and people can point to his impressive resume of victories over the likes of Penn, Matt Hughes (2), Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Matt Serra, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Dave Strasser, Karo Parysian, and Jay Hieron, I'm here to point out a noticeable trend in St. Pierre's fights.

I've been watching MMA and UFC for several years now. My first exposure was TUF Season 1, and my first live fight on TV was the classic TUF finale between Stephan Bonnar. I've been hooked ever since and made it a priority to catch every Fight Night, PPV and TUF episode possible in one way or another. So I've seen each and every one of GSP's fights as far back as his destruction of Jay Hieron at UFC 48 in 2004. If you haven't seen that, it's a beauty, reminiscent of Houston Alexander's massacre over Keith Jardine.



The problem with St. Pierre's resume is that all of his fights have, for the most part, been one-sided. His two victories over Hughes and his wins over Fitch, Serra, Koscheck, Trigg, Hieron, Strasser and Sherk were complete dominations in favor of GSP. He controlled the fights from the outset, imposing his will and at no point in any of these fights was he in any bit of trouble. GSP was essentially on cruise control, faced little to no adversity and was able to execute his gameplan en route to a finish or lopsided decision victory. Whether the fight ended via stoppage or went to the judge's scorecards, the fans were left with no doubt from the start of the fight to the end as to who the victor would be.

However, it's important to closely examine those "other" fights. His decision victory over Karo Parysian was said to be closely contested, but I'm tossing that out the window due to the fact that it was five years ago to the date tomorrow. Interestingly enough, five years after his UFC debut, GSP will be competing in perhaps the greatest mega-fight in UFC history. Parysian, meanwhile, is fighting on the undercard against a guy nicknamed "Stun Gun", and reports from mmamania.com indicate the UFC is concerned Parysian may pull out at the last minute. This is after Karo withdrew from UFC 88 hours before the fight due to panic attacks after being KO'd by Thiago Alves in his last fight.

So moving past that early fight in his career we start to see the trend unfold. The loss to Hughes in their first tilt is perhaps the first and most exemplary sign of St. Pierre's weak mental state. Admittedly he was nervous leading up to the fight, which is understandable considering it was his first title fight, only his 8th professional bout, and he was fighting a legend of the sport. GSP could not look Hughes in the eyes during the stare down, but incredibly he dominated the first round. His striking and takedown defense were remarkable, and the highlight of the round was a spinning back kick which caught Hughes and visibly locked up his stomach and chest muscles, knocking the wind out of the opponent and momentarily putting him in trouble. But at the end of the round, Hughes scored a takedown and while trying to impose his legendary ground and pound attack, latched onto an arm from the top, swung his left leg around GSP's head and fell off to the right, locking in an arm bar. St. Pierre instantly tapped, not even attempting to fight off the submission, roll out of it or hold on until the end of the round. And sadly, just as Big John McCarthy stepped in, the horn went off signaling the end of the round. But the stoppage had been declared, and St. Pierre was left to wonder what could have been. He gave up at the first sign of trouble, plain and simple.

Then there was the first fight with Penn. St. Pierre's face was bloodied and bludgeoned by a fighter who was a natural 155, smaller fighter who had a history of fighting bigger opponents and not only holding his own, but holding his own. The guy has a decision loss to Lyoto Machida...remarkable especially with where Machida currently ranks in the light heavyweight division. The second round was more closely contested, with Penn continuing to land strikes, but St. Pierre scoring takedowns and trying to work some ground and pound from Penn's guard. It was competitive and close, and was undoubtedly the swing round in the bout. The third round most likely belonged to St. Pierre, as Penn's gas tank went on empty and shifted the momentum into the Canadien's corner. Many question whether the result would have differed if Penn came into the fight with better cardio. Even so, many including myself argued that Penn did enough early to earn the split decision. But alas, the victory went to St. Pierre although he was immediately ushered to the hospital for overnight observation.

Against Matt Serra, St. Pierre was heavily favored. Serra actually came into the fight as a +800 underdog in Vegas. He was an improbably title challenger, perhaps an undeserving one after claiming the TUF Season 4 welterweight crown via split decision victory over Chris Lytle, a fight that left many in the audience underwhelmed by the action. Serra was certainly a veteran of the sport, a solid resume with fights against Shonie Carter, Din Thomas, BJ Penn and Karo Parysian. But he'd lost all four, and the promotion by Dana White to have the TUF 4 winner fight for a title was undoubtedly an effort to reinvigorate the TUF brand. And in the first round, both fighters exchanged pleasantries in the form of strikes on their feet. A couple minutes in, however, Serra caught St. Pierre with an overhand right that put the champion on queer street. Smelling blood, Serra moved in for the kill, landing bombs almost at will and staggering GSP into the cage, onto the mat and across the octagon. Finally Serra landed a blow that put the champ on his back and into a corner, and a flurry of strikes prompted Big John to step in. But tape revealed that prior to the referee stoppage, St. Pierre was actually tapping out. The strikes were overwhelming him, and he was asking for help. He wanted to be saved from taking any further punishment. Again, he quit in the Octagon in the face of adversity.

Given his history, I can't help but believe Penn will hold a considerable mental and psychological advantage heading into Saturday's fight. Dana White mentioned in his video blog that during the staredown at the press conference, Penn kept telling GSP, "You cut too much weight Georges...you cut too much." He's getting in St. Pierre's head and making him question everything, from his training to his ability to his mental state heading into the fight.

The bottom line is that Penn is right: St. Pierre is a bully. He is able to dominate and walk through most opponents with ease. His superior athleticism, cardio and strength combined with his arsenal of strikes, wrestling and submission skills make him a tall task for anyone. But many opponents have allowed him to impose his will, and once St. Pierre has taken control of a fight, he's been allowed to maintain control and blitz through fighters with ease. Yet as Penn has said, all it takes is for someone to stand up to the bully and challenge him. For years that bully stole money from kids in the lunch line every day, until that one time some unknown stepped out of the line and punched him flush in the nose and put an end to the robbery from that day forth.

Well that unknown is Penn. He will challenge St. Pierre and keep pushing forward, giving the welterweight champion all he can handle. Saturday's fight will prove one of two things: a) Penn is right and St. Pierre will fold under the pressure or b) St. Pierre has evolved and matured and will outlast the lightweight champion. Thus, I see this fight ending one of two ways. Either Penn by stoppage or St. Pierre by decision. But ultimately I think Penn will live up to his word and take on the bully and stop him. As great a fighter as St. Pierre is, Penn is just as great and has the mental fortitude to press forward and pressure his adversary to the tipping point. And on Saturday night, there will be two differences from their first fight. A recommitted fighter in Penn will have the gas to last longer and this time around, he won't need the judges to earn the victory. Penn will become the first fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes with a 3rd round stoppage over GSP.

-Bess

The Sports Brief's UFC 87 Picks

The UFC has a slew of great fights coming up over the next several months, and this card is a great way to kick things off. Not only is GSP putting his welterweight crown on the line, but he'll have an opportunity to make his case for being the top pound-4-pound fighter in the world. Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar returns and looks to avoid a disastrous 0-2 start to his UFC career, one that he nor the company can afford. And to top it off, we get two of the top lightweight contenders in the UFC going toe-2-toe for their shot at UFC gold. With further ado, here are the picks, Keefe's first, then mine. We did them separately then put them together, so let us know what you think, who you agree with and who you like coming out on top on Saturday night.

Televised Bouts

Keefe’s Picks

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch (Welterweight Championship Bout)

GSP and Fitch truly are the two best welterweights in the world. The 170 pound division is dominated by UFC fighters and this is the match up every fan wants to see. The only hick-up St. Pierre has faced was the stunning loss to Matt Serra. Since then he has defeated fellow Top 10 guys in Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes (for the second time), and took care of business against Serra. Along with those names, how about B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, Jason Miller, Jay Hieron, Karo Parisyan, and Pete Spratt being on GSP’s resume. Why not add Jon Fitch to that list?

I understand Fitch has rattled off 15 straight victories including a perfect 8-0 in the UFC with wins over Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, and Josh Burkman, but I’m still not convinced. Half of Fitch’s victories in the UFC have come via decision, and St. Pierre has never lost when it comes down to the judges. He usually doesn’t let it go that long. Fitch is a great wrestler. That’s a fact. But GSP out wrestled Fitch’s training partner and 4 time All-American wrestler Josh Koscheck. Maybe Fitch can submit GSP? He has finished 3 fights in the octagon by submission. Don’t count on it. Besides that armbar by Hughes in 2004, GSP won’t let that happen either. I truly believe the only way to defeat GSP now is a fluke knock out a la Serra. I think this is a solid fight for 2 and a half rounds but than St. Pierre, one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet, ends it.

Georges St. Pierre def. Jon Fitch via (T)KO in the 3rd round

Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian

These two are not Top 10 lightweights in the world, but they are Top 5 in the UFC. The winner could find him self in line for a title shot down the road, the one problem being that the current champ B.J. Penn has his sights set a little higher, on a rematch with Georges St. Pierre. I think Penn will be watching this night of fights pretty closely. After a busy 2007, Huerta has not fought in 8 months. He can’t afford to have any ring rust against a guy like Ken-Flo. (I’m still upset I didn’t tell Florian he had a good flow when I took a leak next to him in a Somerville bathroom, damn.) Either way I like Florian to catch “El Matador” in one of the 5,000 submission holds he knows.

Kenny Florian def. Roger Huerta via submission in the 2nd round

Heath Herring vs. Brock Lesnar

Will big Brock Lesnar last more than 90 seconds this time around? For the paying fans I hope so, for Herring’s face, different story. Lesnar proved he’s an absolute monster who just has a lot to learn. Mir got a title shot out of defeating Brock, in his 1st UFC fight no less, you figure that out. Meanwhile Herring is coming off a victory over Kongo. Heath has yet to have a fight in the UFC not go the distance, but I think this will be different. Herring’s only chance here is to find a submission, where most of his Pride victories came from, and slap it on early a la Mir. Upset alert… if this is an upset.

Heath Herring def. Brock Lesnar via submission in the 1st round

Demian Maia vs. Jason McDonald

A pair of fighters here who find themselves on the outside looking in, on the true contenders list at 185. Both guys hold victories over Ed Herman, of course so does Besse and I. McDonald’s best win is over Leben, but anytime he’s gotten a shot a one of the elite, he has lost (Franklin and Okami.) This is a huge fight for Maia. Where does he stack up? He’s 7-0 in his career and 2-0 in the UFC. McDonald, owner of the worst nickname in sports “The Athlete” (aren’t they all athletes?), needs this win. In fact, I feel like it’s a great win for one fighter, but a bad loss at the same time, if that makes since. The loser here is a long way from a title shot, the winner may only need another fight or two, much like Patrick Cote who went on a nice run.

Demian Maia def. Jason McDonald via submission in the 3rd

Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson

Not sure why this is a televised main event bout, I’ll be honest. I can understand the die hard fans who say enough with the TUF crap being pushed down our throats. Yes there have been many great and entertaining fighters from the past shows like Forrest Griffin, Chris Leben, Diego Sanchez, etc., but there’s been many more who don’t belong on TV. I’m not saying Manny and Emerson are bad fighters. They could both be solid some day. If you watched Dream 5 last month you saw some incredible lightweights. This is an undercard fight. Manny’s had a nice run of quick finishes, and I think it continues.

Manny Gamburyan def. Rob Emerson via submission in the 1st

Undercard Bouts

Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via decision

Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via (T)KO in 1st

Luke Cummo def. Tamden McCrory via (T)KO in 2nd

Andre Gusmao def. Jon Jones via decision

Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via (T)KO in 3rd

Besse’s Picks

Televised Bouts

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch (Welterweight Championship Bout)

Finally, GSP is clear of the whole Matt Hughes/Matt Serra shenanigans and can finally begin truly defending the welterweight crown. His first test since regaining that title is against a guy who is on quite a roll in Jon Fitch. Fitch has won 15 straight, but he looked a bit off target in his fight with Chris Wilson. Don’t get me wrong, Fitch clearly deserves this opportunity as he’s beaten some talented and fairly big name fighters along the way. He’ll be relying on the strength of his wrestling and jiu-jitsu in this fight, but he’s going to have his work cut out for him.

That’s because he’s taking on MMA phenom Georges St. Pierre, who is truly exemplary of the new generation of athletes in the sport. GSP is athletic and well-rounded, and you could argue that he is never at a disadvantage in any facet of the game against any fighter. Formally you would have pointed to his wrestling, but after his decisive win over Josh Koscheck, he put that to rest; he’s also training with the Canadian National team. His striking will be far superior to that of Fitch, and I expect GSP to come out and get comfortable on his feet. While I think he can hang with Fitch on the ground, he’ll want to score points standing and wear down the challenger, who will be going for five rounds for the first time in the UFC. In the end, GSP will simply be too much for the game, but outclassed Fitch.

GSP remains your Welterweight Champ via (T)KO in the 3rd round.

Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian

This is the fight that I’m most excited about on this card. Florian and Huerta are two of the top lightweights in the UFC and I think this could be an opportunity for one of these fighters to establish himself as a top 10 lightweight in the world. Dana White should be taken seriously when he says this has the potential to be a Fight of the Year candidate.

Huerta is returning to action for the first time since his win comeback win over Clay Guida last December. He posted an impressive 6-0 campaign in 2007, and while I argue that his opponents weren’t top caliber fighters, his aggressive, all-action style makes for great fights and his win over Guida showed he is dangerous at any point during a fight. While he should be compared to GSP in terms of talent level, he’s similar in that he’s an athletic, well rounded competitor. He’ll need to apply pressure for all 3 rounds and not allow Florian to gain control on the ground.

For Florian, his biggest challenge will be sticking to his gameplan. I’m confident that due to his experience at a championship level, he’ll be able to do this, but he needs to avoid getting into a fast paced, all-action brawl with Huerta. Florian’s striking is very good, don’t get me wrong, but Huerta is more athletic and rangier, so Florian will need to utilize angles and his Muay Thai clinch. If he control the action and eventually take Huerta down, I think he can work his way to the mount and go for the finish.

Kenny Florian wins via (T)KO in the 3rd round

Heath Herring vs. Brock Lesnar

I hate this fight because I’m actually a fan of both fighters. Herring HAS to be one of everyone’s favorite fighters simply because the guy will fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. That and his infamous YouTube clip in which he knocked the guy out for kissing him during the stare down. That scores points with me any day of the week.

Yet interestingly enough, you have to respect Brock Lesnar because he’s not taking any cupcakes for opponents. This guy has stated he wants to fight tough, credible opponents, and he got that in Frank Mir and he’s getting that again in Herring. I thought Lesnar was mighty impressive against Mir, inflicting serious damage and relentless attack before being caught in a submission. Meanwhile, Herring is coming off an impressive win over Cheick Kongo, a match that many thought would go the other way. But Herring has revamped his training and dedication to the sport, and he looked very tough, durable and much improved in grinding out the decision win.

There’s no question that the biggest hole in Lesnar’s game is his submission defense, and Herring has captured 16 of his 28 victories via just that. However, a lot of those have been submissions that come as a result of being on top of his opponents. I simply don’t see him finding a way to control Lesnar on top and work his way to a mount, taking the back, acquiring a choke, etc. While he may be able to roll Lesnar or work out of Lesnar’s guard, it’s my contention that Brock will simply be too big, too strong and too powerful. Herring will put in yet another gritty, impressive performance, but Saturday’s fight will show why he is the Chris Lytle, Chris Leben and Marcus Aurelio of the heavyweight division.

Brock Lesnar wins via (T)KO in the 2nd round

Demian Maia vs. Jason McDonald

Maia and McDonald could be a ton of fun to watch. Both are sick submission specialist, and I thank them both for their respective embarrassments of Ed “Short Fuse” Herman. Maia has come out of nowhere and is off to a modest 7-0 start to his career. McDonald, meanwhile, has shown flashes of brilliance at times, earning him fights with Yushin Okami and Rich Franklin. He fell flat on his face both times, however, and is slowly developing into a guy who will always fall just a bit short.

A lot of times when two guys with similar backgrounds go at it, the fight is won by utilizing other facets. It’s a matter of who is more comfortable in other areas and can keep it there. I don’t think that will be the case here. Maia seems to have jiu-jitsu skills that are unparalleled, and I think his will simply outclass McDonald’s in scoring a late submission win.

Plus his submission over Ed Herman was much cooler than McDonald’s. That and I also have trouble picking a guy with the nickname, “The Athlete.”

Demian Maia wins via 3rd round submission

Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson

Joe Silva is pitting a pair of TUF 5 alums against each other here. Interestingly enough, Emerson is an alum of something else, as well: The Lords of South County. Pretty hardcore, eh? Not if you watch the video in which he and his boys ambushed some poor guy at a gas station filling up his car. Pretty weak. I’m not a fan of Gamburyan, either, but I’ll take him over some spoiled, rich kid punk. Not only do I expect Manvil the Anvil to run right through Emerson, I’m hoping he gets hold a limb and goes Babalu on that ass.

Manny Gamburyan wins via 1st round submission

Undercard Bouts

Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via decision

Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via 1st round submission

Tamden Mcrory def. Luke Cummo via decision

Andre Gusmao def. Jon Jones via 1st round submission

Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via decision

-Besse and Keefe

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