Welcome MMA fans to an action packed month of fights. The UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce are all on display. Despite just 1 title fight and just 1 actual pay-per-view there are some intriguing match ups out there. Let's take a look at my Top 10 for June. (These aren't in order of importance rather by date.)
1. Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields (at middleweight); June 6th, Strikeforce
Lawler is a Top 10 maybe Top 5 middleweight in the world. Jake Shields is a Top 10 maybe Top 5 welterweight in the world. Neither guy is signed by the UFC. Neither guy has a worthy opponent out there. Maybe Lawler could fight one of the DREAM 185 pound guys, but the fact of the matter is Shields has no one he can fight, when 9 of the top 10 welterweights are in the UFC and he's the other, who does he fight? He goes up to 185 apparently. What's next for him if he wins?
2. Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith; June 6th, Strikeforce
Diaz just ran through Frank Shamrock in his last fight, not he gets in the cage with a very exciting fighter and fellow UFC alum Scott Smith. Diaz changes weights more than Anna Nicole (too soon?), so he is a prime candidate for tough fights outside the UFC. Perhaps if he and Shields both win that would be a match up in the future.
3. Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers; June 6th, Strikeforce
The former UFC Heavyweight Champ and current Affliction star Andrei Arlovski steps in for the injured Strikeforce Heavyweight Champ Alistair Overeem... 2 quick things here. Overeem (one of my favorites) is the champ after beating Paul Buentello forever ago for the vacant title, and he hasn't defended it once. He's been fighting in DREAM and K-1. What the hell? How can a title be taken seriously like that? And 2, Overeem is hurt because of a bar fight where he and his brother, former Pride fighter Valentin, put 5 bouncers in the hospital. Crazy. I do like how Affliction and Strikeforce will work together, because they have to. Rogers is a big dude, could be a solid fight.
4. Kevin Randleman vs. Mike Whitehead; June 6th, Strikeforce
We all know the best 205 pounders are in the UFC. Babalu is the best not under contract by Dana White and the Ferrettas. He already beat Whitehead in Affliction. But these two guys are very experienced and have fought in the very best organizations in the world. Nice work out of Strikeforce to put together a card like this. They have 4 fights I want to see.
5. Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber; June 7th, WEC 41
The lone Championship bout in the month, we can see the 2 best Featherweights in the world on free tv. Thanks Versus. Brown shocked most of the MMA world when he beat Faber for the title back in November of 2008. In his last 3 fights, Brown beat the 3 of the best at 145, Jeff Curran, Faber, and Leonard Garcia. The WEC is praying (much like Hughes did against Serra in a laying fashion) that Faber wins so they can set up a Faber/Brown III. But if Brown wins? Who's left? They better hope a lightweight drops down and challenges him. Should be the best fight of the month right here.
6. Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin (catch-weight 195); June 13, UFC 99
I don't know what to make of this one. Besse and I tried to figure this out and we got nothin. Silva was the 205 champ of Pride and really the world for a 4-5 year period. Franklin was the best middleweight around until Anderson Silva showed up. So you got one guy moving up and another moving down and they catch (pun!) each other in the middle. Wow. Both guys though are can't miss fighters.
7. Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders; June 13, UFC 99
Two exciting alums of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Swick was a good middleweight, but made the move after losing to a huge 185er in Okami. He's 3-0 as a welterweight and is already a top 10 guy. Saunders meanwhile is 3-0 in the UFC. The winner of this fight should be taking on the likes of Josh Koscheck, Karo Parisya, Paulo Thiago, huge fight for both guys.
8. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Mustapha Al-Turk; June 13, UFC 99
Crop returns to the UFC where he posted just a 1-2 record after being regarded as a top 3 heavyweight in the world when he was in Pride. Both Cro Cop and Al-Turk share losses to Cheick Kongo. This is a big fight to me, because I want to see if Cro Cop has anything left in him. He was in the ring with Overeem and was getting whooped before it was rules a no contest cause he got his junk kneed in by Alistair, I hope he's recovered from that, not sure you can though.
9. Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida; June 20, Ultimate Fighter Finale
Like oh so many fighters who lose in the UFC Diego moved down a weight class. Fighting at 155 now Diego has to be a threat at the title. He was a top 10 welterweight, if he can handle the cut, and he certainly did in his win over Joe Stevenson, I say look out. Remember he beat Kenny Florian in TUF 1 (both out of their weight classes), but I think Diego is just a couple fights away from the title. Guida always pushes the pace and makes for exciting fights. Goldberg is going to be nuts in this one.
10. Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz; June 20, Ultimate Fighter Finale
Big fight for both guys here. If Diaz wins he proves he should be fighting Top 5 UFC Lightweights until he loses. Stevenson on the other hand, needs to W. He's lost 3 of his last 4 fights. Nothing to be ashamed of in the losses as they were to B.J. Penn, Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez, but if he can't beat those guys he's not winning any titles. A loss to Diaz would be devastating. You won't want to miss either Lightweight bout, this and Diego vs. Guida, both for free on Spike TV.
-Keefe
1 comment:
I personally don't find the ANS weight reference offensive, but Oprah and Kirstie Alley would have been suitable alternatives, as well. Good stuff though. The Arlovski fight might be the most impactful of the weekend. Rogers is on the rise and this is the most significant test of his career. If he wins, this guy is on the fast track; if he loses, it'll bring him back down to earth and maybe start wondering if a win over Kimbo isn't such a "lock." Arlovski is coming off that Fedor loss, but boxing is on his horizon anyway. If he loses on the feet, the boxing thing will lose some luster and his stock will plummet, but I don't see that happening. I think he'll put Rogers' head into the fifth row.
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