UFC 102 Predictions

UFC 102 is going down tomorrow in Portland on PPV and here are my predictions:

Randy Couture over Antonio Nogueira by decision
Nate Marquardt over Damian Maia by decision
Keith Jardine over Thiago Silva by decision
Chris Leben over Jake Rosholt by KO/TKO

Here is a link to the betting odds for the event. Good luck.

Lesnar To Defend Heavyweight Title At UFC 106 in November

Brock Lesnar will defend his UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 106 in Las Vegas on November 21st. Lesnar will meet Shane Carwin (11-0, 11 stoppages) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in a fight that will assuredly draw huge media attention to the UFC. Lesnar last fought on July 11th at UFC 100 when he stopped Frank Mir in the second round via TKO; Carwin last fought at UFC 96 when he knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga after having his nose broken by Gonzaga. I predict that Lesnar will win the fight by TKO in round 2.

The best part about this fight is the fact that two White fighters will be given some spotlight and recognition that they have earned. Hopefully more White boxers and mixed martial artists will recieve the same recognition in the years to come.

New Champion In MMA

Brian Bowles (8-0) shocked the MMA world on Sunday, August 8th in Las Vegas when he defeated Miguel Torres (36-2) for the WEC Bantamweight weight (135 pounds) title. Bowles hurt Torres with an overhand right early in the first round and was able to land a take down after Torres had pushed him against the cage, landing a couple of elbows. When the fight went back to the feet Torres lunged in with several punches, but left himself exposed as Bowles landed a short right hook and then landed about 7 shots while Torres was on the ground finishing off the fighter who had only lost once in 37 fights.

Bowles was humble in victory saying that "he did not believe the hype" surrounding Torres. Torres blamed his loss on the "pressure" that the WEC has placed on him. Torres had been regarded by some, including Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, as the number one pound for pound fighter in the world. It will be interesting to see where Bowles ends up on the next "Yahoo Top Ten Pound For Pound MMA" rankings.

With this victory there is now 4 White champions in the 7 weight classes in the two major MMA promotions. Bowles at 135 lbs., Mike Brown at 145 lbs., Geroge St. Pierre at 170 lbs. and Brock Lesnar at heavyweight.

Penn Joins Mir As Biggest Sore Losers

Hawaiian UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn has savagely assaulted one of our fighters. George St. Pierre, who is the consensus number 1 fighter in the world was accused of using steroids by BJ Penn. Penn can offer no evidence, but it's "his opinion that GSP is on steroids". It's sad that when a White fighter like GSP rises to the top with hard work and dedication he is attacked in such a vicious way. But Penn is probably still hurting from the pounding GSP gave him in January. Penn joins his bitter buddy Frank Mir as the two biggest sore losers in MMA. Penn better get over GSP and get ready for his fight this Saturday in Philadelphia as he takes on Kenny Florian.

UFC 101 Predictions:
Silva by ko/tko in round 2 over Griffin
Florian by decision over Penn

Frank Mir Is A Joke

After getting destroyed by Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 Frank Mir has had time to reflect on his loss and has blamed it on a "bad game plan". Mir claims that Lesnar took the fight to the ground because "he was losing the exchanges on the feet." Frank you must have a screw loose somewhere. I saw you throw your best punches and knees and not even faze Lesnar. He took the fight to the ground because his wrestling is much better than your jiu-jitsu and he did knock you out. He knocked you out with brutal ground and pound.

Fedor Signing With Strikeforce Is A Blessing In Disguise

Now that Fedor Emelianenko has signed with Strikforce what happens to arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? He will more than likely defeat the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Brett Rogers and Alistair Overeem. He will make lots of money and we will continue to argue with other fans over Fedor's greatness. Already Dana White is savagely assaulting the fighters that Fedor will fight, calling them "nobodys". This is not true. Werdum is a UFC vet and Rogers and Overeem could compete with the best of them in the UFC.

The fact of the matter is that Couture and Nogueira are over-the-hill and Lesnar, Carwin and Velasquez are too green. Hopefully Fedor will sign with the UFC in a year or two when Lesnar, Carwin and Velasquez have more experience. This is unlikely though, I don't believe Fedor will ever fight in the UFC.

Lesnar Post-Fight

I did not have a problem with Brock Lesnar's post-fight "antics" after his historic and brutal victory over Frank Mir at UFC 100, but after watching the fight for the second time I noticed what Eric Paulson said in a recent interview. Why were Lesnar's trainers not allowed into the octagon immediately after the fight to calm Lesnar down? Why did security treat Lesnar like a criminal after he destroyed Mir and then gave Mir a piece of his mind after listening to Mir talk trash for months? Did the UFC want this type of reaction?