UFC 112: INVINCIBLE

Alight kiddies; guess who’s back to blow your mind with amazing knowledge and moneymaking picks for your bank account? That’s right Kevo is back.  So go ahead and pick your panties up off the floor ladies, I’m married now.  Let’s do this, ladies and gents, I present my preview of UFC 112.

-Anderson Silva (25-4; #1 Middleweight) vs. Demian Maia (12-1; #7 Middleweight)

Let’s start with the main event of this card, Anderson Silva “the god king of all the men of Persia’ against Demian “less of a shot than me VS Chuck Norris and Dolph Lungren in a fight” Maia. Let’s really be honest here, does anyone honestly thing Maia has a shot in this one? For those who don’t know Maia is a ground-fighting specialist, his ground skills are second to none in the middleweight division. For Maia to have a shot in this fight he is going to have to take Silva to the ground, which is not going to happen.  This fight is going to turn out like Thales Lietes, Silva toying with Maia like a cat and mouse.  The more interesting story here is going to be if Silva will step up and finish Maia in this fight. Personally I think he will, but this fight may end up being a boring one. I believe Maia will try to play the ground game on Silva the whole fight, but Silva won’t bite, and near round 4 or 5 he will get frustrated and then punched in the face.

Winner via 4^th round TKO, Anderson Silva

-B.J. Penn (15-5-1; #1 Lightweight) vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1; #9 Lightweight)

This fight is the one I’m more interested in than any other fight on this card.  BJ Penn who is regarded as one of the best fighters in the world is known for an all around amazing fight game. His bread and butter is his ground game, but his stand up is just as deadly.  Frankie Edgar may not be known to all as an elite fighter but he will be soon enough.  6 of Edgar’s 11 wins come by way of decision, so you know he’s got the heart to stand in a fight. Edgar’s biggest win so far of his career is when he beat former champion Sean Sherk. Edgar also has some solid power in his fists that he’s not afraid to use it.  I think this fight holds many different layers that come into play.  First being BJ Penn’s dedication.  No one can argue that over BJ’s last 2 fights he has shown the amazing abilities that he has in his arsenal.  However BJ Penn’s always been known as a guy who can’t stay on the straight and narrow for long.  I think you also have the tag line of BJ making a case to get another fight with Georges St. Pierre.  After this fight there is not much more competition for him at the lightweight division.  Either way, this fight is shaping up to be a good one. I know BJ Penn has been on a tear of late, but this would be a bet worth taking. All this being said…

Winner via 2^nd round TKO, Frankie Edgar

-Matt Hughes (43-7; #5 Welterweight) vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)

UFC hall of famer Matt Hughes makes his “long awaited”? Return to the octagon against veteran and always-dangerous Renzo Gracie. This fight really doesn’t mean anything in terms of rankings or title shots. This is a one of those fights that people always wanted to see. It’s just too bad they wanted to see this fight 10 years ago.  The fact is this fight is probably going to be boring.  I see a 3 round ground battle, with Renzo trying to take down Hughes and Hughes stuffing those take down attempts. Matt Hughes doesn’t have much of that same explosive movement he used to have in any aspect of his game. This is a pretty easy one to call for the most part, Renzo hasn’t had a fight since 2007, and he is pushing 45 years old. Matt Hughes doesn’t have much left, but I think he’s got enough to take this one.

Winner via Unanimous Decision, Matt Hughes

-Terry Etim (14-2) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (13-4)

I’ll be honest, I’m not the most familiar person with these two fighters, its’ an interesting fight to put onto the main card of a PPV match-up.  However looking at both of these guys in comparison I can see why they did it. This fight is going to be fireworks. Etim who is a European based fighter with 14 wins, 11 of those wins are by submission. Dos Anjos has 13 wins, 6 of which by submission.  Both of these guys have an excellent ground game and are going to put it to the test here. This fight is going to play out like an exhibition jiu jitsu match.  Both guys are going to come out and go down quick.  Like I was saying I don’t have much film on these two guys, but I will tell you that Etim is the better fighter all around.

Winner via rear naked choke, Terry Etim

-Mark Munoz (7-1) vs. Kendall Grove (11-6)

Kendall Grove is a fighter who most believe hasn’t come close to his full potential. Many people think of him as a BJ Penn type fighter who never truly develops into that superstar.  Grove is a ground fighter with a strong stand-up game with some knock out power.  His past couple of fights has certainly showed he’s picking up his dedication to the sport. Mark Munoz is a fairly new fighter to the sport; with only 8 fights under his belt his first fight was in 2007.  Munoz has only 1 loss on his record now and that’s to Matt Hammill. Munoz hasn’t shown much in the way of stand out talent, as he’s really just a lower end fighter who the UFC throws at guys to put on a good show.  Grove should have no problems beating a guy like Munoz.

Winner via 2^nd round KO, Kendall Grove

Kevins current record 20 – 5

Well, Well, Well, kids, look who’s back. Welcome all to another action packed preview of the next UFC show, UFC: 101.  This card features some big names, and some up and comers, so strap yourself in and prepare to get worked over by some of the best.

-B.J. Penn (13-5-1; #3 Lightweight)* vs. Kenny Florian (12-3; #6 Lightweight)*

BJ the prodigy Penn steps away from his quest to hold 2 UFC Champion belts to face his toughest fight to date in the Light Weight division.  Penn who’s ground game is second to none is coming off a complete beating at the hands of Georges St. Pierre. Penn, always a fan favorite is a solid striker with a fierce ground game, his main weakness is going to be speed. BJ has long sat atop the LW ranks as the best fighter in the game, in fact many people consider him to be in the top 5 PFP fighters, however Kenny KenFlo Florian is gunning to knock him off.  Ken Flo is an ultimate fighter season 1 alumni, he has improved vastly and hasn’t in a very, very long time. His last loss was to Sean Sherk(former champion), in a 5 round decision.  That was well over 2-3 years ago believe. After his loss Florian has dedicated himself to the sport, and has redefined what it means to be a fighter in the Light Weight division, knocking off top contender after top contender example; His last fight was against top 2-3 LW fighter Joe Stevenson, it only took Florian about 1 minute to end the fight.  This fight has a lot of people giving question mark answers, personally I think this is going to be a great fight, but an easy one to pick, Florian is coming off a fairly long hiatus, last fight about a year ago, I think for once this will work in his favor, he will come in fresh, and focused.

Winner: Kenny Florian(new LW champion) via TKO(Knee strikes) in the 2nd.

-Anderson Silva (24-4; #1 Middleweight)*vs. Forrest Griffin (18-5; #3 Light Heavyweight)*

This is by far the fight im looking forward to most on this card, it’s got intrigue and excitement surrounding it.  Silva who is arguably the PFP greatest fighter in the world is moving up in weight to fight former Light Heavyweight Champion, Forrest Griffin.  Silva who is a very large fighter for the middleweight division is, for the first time, being thrown in against someone who matches him physically. I don’t really need to list Silva’s accomplishments because, well, if you don’t know then you probably are not reading this article.  Forrest, who is the ultimate fighter season 1 winner is facing one of his toughest fights to date. Personally I think Griffin has faced better fighters i.e. Shogun Rua, and “Rampage” Jackson, both guys he beat. Forrest is known for a strong chin and a big heart, and I think he will get both tested in this fight. The president of the UFC, Dana White, put this match together very quickly after Silva’s piss poor performance against Thales Lietes, I think Dana is hoping to spark a fire under one of his top fighters who was known for his quick and devastating knockouts, but lately has been boring as all hell.  Maybe im feeling punch drunk right now, but im calling for an upset, I think Forrest wins this fight one of two ways, first by submission in the 2nd, since I can’t pick both outcomes, im going with…

Winner: Forrest Griffin via Split Decision

-Amir Sadollah (5-0) vs. Johny Hendricks (5-0)

So the reaming fights on the card are exactly like this one, up and coming fighters who are getting a chance at the big show, part of me loves these types of cards, the other hates them.  Sadollah was season … 6? Winner of the ultimate fighter, he has been put on several cards since winning the reality show last year, however he keeps getting injured.  This is Sadollah’s first fight since winning.  To tell you the truth I don’t know much about Hendricks, he seems to be a solid fighter with a lot of good potential, part of me believes they are giving Sadollah a fairly easy warm up fight, but a also think this could be a trap fight for him.  As much as I want to see Sadollah win, because he is a likeable guy…

Winner: Johnny Hendricks via 3rd round TKO

-Ricardo Almeida (10-3) vs. Kendall Grove (12-5)

An interesting fight here as the 2nd fight of the night. Both Almeida and Grove are semi well known fighters who have a lot to lose, and a lot to gain in this fight.  Grove is coming off a very impressive win in his last fight. Grove a Hawaiian trained fighter seems to be hitting a good stride in his career.  Almeida was basically a heartbeat away from a title shot when he fought Thales Lietes last year. Personally I don’t think either of these guys will do much damage in the Middle Weight division, however both are solid strikers with a well rounded ground game.  Grove I believe will come in as a the bigger fighter thus I think giving him the advantage, however his chin is questionable.  I’m thinking this fight won’t take long to reach it’s outcome.

Winner: Ricardo Almeida vis 1st round KO

-Kurt Pellegrino (13-4) vs. Josh Neer (25-7-1)

Again, this fight is against 2 fighters fighting to a spot in the crowded lightweight division.  Pellegrino who’s a solid striker hasn’t faired well getting the match-ups needed to move forward, till now. Josh Neer is a great fighter with lots of skill and experience, however he is not a title fighter.  Neer is a great gate keeper for the UFC’s lightweight division.  I think this is a great fight to test Pellegrino’s desire and skill to become a champion.  For me this fight is as much a coin toss as anything, you have to guys with a similar style,  yet each very different in their approaches to fights.  I think this fight will be a bit of a snooze fest to start the night off, expect a chess match of sorts…

Winner: Josh Neer via split decision

UFC 97: Redemption 

Alright you wanna be cage fighters, get ready to get your face fucked, cause the UFC is back in Canadia, and they aren’t queering around. 

 

Middleweight champ Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites

Anderson the Spider Silva is back to defend his title, not only as the raining UFC middle weight champion, but as the Pound for Pound king of MMA. Silva is 23-4 during his career in MMA, and he’s 8-0 in the UFC.  Silva is known for his fierce striking.  Leites who’s basically being thrown to the dogs in this one, he’s 14-1, winning his last 5 in the UFC. Leites only loss coming in the UFC by decision. He’s not known for being great at any one thing, but he is an all around good fighter.  Still he doesn’t have the skill set to beat Anderson in this fight.  Silva is really best known for dismantling fighters quick.  I don’t see much of a difference here. Personally if Leites wants a chance in this fight he’s going to have to take it to the ground and hope he can catch Silva in a submission, that being said, Silva in the 1^st.

Anderson Silva via TKO in the 1^st.

Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua 

One of the most exciting fights for the UFC in quite a while. This fight pits Chuck Liddell the former UFC light heavyweight champion against former Pride Fighting Championship mega star Mauricio Rua.  Rua has been on a bad slide as of late, even after his victory against a 40 something Mark Coleman at UFC 93.  Liddell however is no spring chicken, coming off a disgusting knock out loss to Rashad Evans, the current UFC light heavyweight champ.  This fight means a lot to both fighters, as the president of the UFC Dana White has said that Chuck is not safe from getting the pink slip.  Thus it brings us to the fight term, “win or go home“. I believe that if Rua losses this match to chuck he WILL be cut by the UFC.  The funny thing about that is that 3 years ago Rua was considered number 1 or 2 in the pound for pound greatest MMA fighters. He demolished such names as Alistair Overeem, Kevin Randleman, Ricardo Arona, Antonio Noguera, Quinton Rampage Jackson, and Babalu Sobral. Rua has literally beaten a who’s who of top MMA fighters, yet right now many people can’t say he will win this fight against an old ass washed up Chuck Liddell. This is do in part to his piss poor performance against Mark Coleman and Forrest Griffin.  Chuck has seen his hay day in this sport, but I think it’s passed him by now, however I think Chuck will take this due to Rua no longer roiding his ass off. Chuck has a much better gas tank than Rua and I think this fight will make it to the 3^rd.

Chuck Liddell via KO in the 3rd

Krzystof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann

Krzysztof “the polish experiment” Soszynski (yes that’s his real nickname), who will be referred to as Kris, because he name is to fucking difficult to spell over and over, is making his return to the octagon after his first win in the UFC over 4 months ago.  Kris is an Ultimate Fighter Alumni, he is a great fighter and coming in with one goal, just win.  Brian “the all American”Stann (yes… I know) is a former WEC star, and Light heavyweight champion.  Stann is 6-1, with all 6 wins coming by way of KO, and all coming in the first round. His only loss was his last fight to Steve Cantwell, who was the former light heavyweight champ himself, and fighting on this same card as well.  Kris certainly has much more all around skill in the ring. Stann is known for his KO power and he uses it well, this should be an interesting match-up of styles. I think Kris takes this one, because he can take a punch, and that’s what Stann is going to come in and try to do, punch the big polish guy’s face.  I think Stann will gas in the first round, lose the 2^nd, and get subbed in the 3^rd.

Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski via Rear Naked Choke in the 3rd 

                                           Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk

Their isn’t much to say about this fight, Kongo who is personally one of my favorite fighters, not because of his skill but, due to the fact that he’s a 6″7 black man who speaks French, and his name is Kongo. This fight is typical of his past fights, the UFC has been feeding Kongo weak ass opponents for a while now, and this is no exception. IT is believed that if Kongo wins he will be next in line for a title shot against the winner of Brock Lesnar/Frank Mir.  Personally their isn’t many others in that division that I could make the case for besides Kongo, he’s beaten most of the lower tier guys in that  division but hasn’t really been tested, but he’s beaten most of them in pretty impressive fashion, he’s a former Kick boxer and his stand-up really can’t be beat in the HW division, however his ground game is horrid, if I were to rank it, he would get 10 out of 10 for standup, and negative 5 out of 10 for his ground game.  Hardonk is a joke, and I won’t even go into how he could win, because honestly I don’t ‘think it’s possible.

Kongo via TKO in the 2^nd.

Luis Cane vs. Steve Cantwell

This is certainly and interesting match-up, you have 2 fighters here who are coming off very impressive wins. Cane back in October destroyed “The African Assassin” Sokoujou, and Cantwell most recently ripped a guys arm out of it’s socket… yes, you heard right, he won by Arm out of socket submission.  Anywho, both are young fighters, both with fewer than 10 fights in their careers, and both with a lot to prove in the stacked Light Heavyweight division.  Cantwell was a WEC fighter, and most recent Light Heavyweight champion for that organization.  Cantwell has certainly proved himself as the more well rounded fighter, however Cane, has won all but one of his fights in the first round.  This is a hard one to predict, but personally I give the nod to Cantwell, as a former champ and more well rounded fighter, Cane is good, but he last fought back in October, that’s a 6 month layoff were as Cantwell is only coming off 3.

Steve Cantwell via split decision