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 4th 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 2nd 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 2nd round KO, Kendall Grove
