UFC 201...The Night Of Upsets

Last night was UFC 201 and I have to say it was awesome. Dana White said Jake Ellenberger asked for one more shot and he took full advantage of it. Tyron Woodley was looking for his opportunity, and in one shot ended Lawler's Run at the title. Also, Karolina win against Rose in the Co-Main Event. This was a fun fight card where we saw two split decisions, two KOs, and one Unanimous Decision, where both fighters we balls to the wall in the first five seconds of the third round.

Benoit vs Serrano

Here was a great example of the up and coming guys ready to fight. Beniot took the fight on 10 days notice and was ready to rock. Now I will have to say I felt this fight might have actually gone to Serrano. Beniot controlled some of the fight but I do not think it was not enough to say he won two of the three rounds. Both fighters did a great job during this fight especially trying to game plan on short notice but I felt Serrano won the fight. The one thing I will stay stood out was Serrano for being a wrestler was throwing some serious Axe Kicks at Benoit which was unexpected.

Perez vs Rivera

Let's be honest this was a boring fight but was well controlled by Perez for most of it. Up until the 3rd round when Rivera called out Perez and they decided to go toe to toe in the center of the Octagon. These two traded blows for about 5 seconds, Perez would then take the fight to the ground and continue to hold down Rivera until the round ended. Great fight all around hope to see these two go at it one more time in the future.

Ellenberger vs Brown

Now I have made it no secret that Jake is my favorite fighter in the UFC. Though he was 1-4 in his last five fights, Matt Brown was 1-3 in his last four. Both of these men needed to have a win and one of them got it. From the moment the bell rung, Jake ran out and hit Brown in the face with a powerful right hand. Brown hit the ground and tried to pull guard. Now on Fox Sports 1 DC had said Ellenberger looked to lose confidence and was starting to look worried. However Jake got back up to his feet and delivered a nasty left kick to the liver of Matt Brown and he went down. Jake jumped on top and finished the fight. It was a great win for Jake and we will see him continue to ride the win. I would like to see Jake at UFC 205. Moving up the ranks will be huge for him and hopefully 2017, the Juggernaut is back in the title hunt.  

Kowalkiewicz vs Namajunas

This was a fun fight to watch and a good Co-Main Event. These two girls went out and left it all in the Octagon but it was Karolina who came up huge with the win and setting up and all Polish title fight. Joanna is going to have her hands full with Karolina. This split decision could set up down the road for Karolina and Rose to have a rematch and maybe for the belt, but I feel Rose has a lot to learn still and has tons of potential.

Woodley vs Lawler

This was a great set-up in the fight and a lot of anticipation. However I felt a lot of people had written off Woodley, to include most of the set on FS1. When these two got into the Octagon, I felt like Robbie was trying to set-up his fight but, looked more timid then usual. Lawler tried to keep the distance with Tyron but ultimately it was a right hand that passed through the defense of Lawler and ended his night. A new champ is crowned and I would like to see Wonderboy fight The Chosen One next at UFC 205 as well. Stephen Thompson asked Woodley if they could meet but, Woodley was quick to respond saying Thompson wanted to fight Lawler so now he has that match up if he wants it. Let's see who is up next.

It has been a nightmare for champions lately in the UFC, almost as if those who were hungry suddenly are not hungry anymore:

Rousey loses to Holms, who loses to Tate, who loses to Nunes
Cain Velazquez loses to Werdum, who gets dropped by Stipe
Silva loses to Weidman, who loses to Rockhold, who is KO'd by Bisping
Hendricks loses to Lawler, who loses to Woodley
Dos Anos recently was defeated by Alvarez
Barao gets beat by Dillshaw, who loses to Cruz

Let's hope that more titles start to change hands soon, but for now I can not wait for Diaz vs McGregor 2. I will be back here posting about who I think will win the fight, but next week we will be talking with Jake Ellenberger and I'm excited to interview one of my favorite fighters so be tuned for that.

Guys don't forget to check out "The Middle Flipper", Cat is always having fun writing the articles for everyone so go out there and support her.

Till next week.

Great fights on Fox 20

Last night on 7/23/16 UFC on Fox 20 took full flight, now it was not the greatest card ever, but it was definitely one to watch. Great match ups, I just want to take a few moments and talk about three of the fights I found to be interesting. Even though I felt there were five strong fights.

Francis Ngannou vs Bojan Mihajlovic

Here I found an interesting match up of two gentlemen with crazy KO power but, what we found out was one person was willing to fight and the other was willing to run. Bojan was moving around the cage refusing to battle on the inside with Francis. Now maybe the size and weight difference to Bojan made him realize that he was not in just any kind of battle, but I would think if you are training to fight you are ready for anything. Bojan circled and circled looking for his moment to strike, however when the moment showed itself Francis was ready for the strike and countered well. Bojan was blocking the hammerfist and strikes coming down, but I think Herb Dean has to stop the fight. There was great cover provided by Bojan and strikes were not landing, but Bojan was not doing anything on the ground to make moves which cost him the fight.

But it is pretty tough to figure a game plan when a guy can hit like this:

Edson Barboza vs Gilbert Melendez

Edson was riding the victory he had over Anthony "Showtime" Pettis, and was ready to take on another former champion in Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez. Now the fight had great back in forth contact and at one time, I truly believed Edson was in trouble trying to fight on the inside with Gilbert. Gilbert's boxing is incredible and felt Edson was in trouble trying to battle with his boxing. Gilbert had the advantage on the inside but was in serious trouble outside of the range, where Edson was able to use his kicking power. Edson stayed smart to keep Gilbert out of range, especially when you have someone who was willing to bang with Diego Sanchez:

But I also felt Gilbert should have kept stepping past the kicking range and force Edson to battle. Gilbert can throw four or five combo punches with quickness and land, Edson did it smart by taking steps back and forcing Gilbert to him. Then again Gilbert had to becareful about stepping into Edson because of the kicking power Edson has, who else could forget about this kick:

Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of that kick, what ended up happening was Edson kept hitting Gilbert in the knee and eventually it gave out. Gilbert had to alter his stance in the third round and know he was in trouble, he had to battle with one leg and chose to keep fighting (my hats off to him for that). Great fight all around but, once Edson got in his zone that was all she wrote.

Holly Holms vs Valentina Shevchenko

Let's look at the craziness of this fight, both fighters were coming off of loses: Holly to Tate, Shevchenko to Nunes. Now Tate was able to submit Holms with a desperation take down which lead to Holms going to sleep. Nunes was able to beat Schevchenko in major decision but, only won rounds 1 and 2 while Schevchenko won the 3rd.

When these two strikers met in the ring last night, it was a Tae Kwon Do artist vs a Muay Thai fighter. It showed why Muay Thai is a dangerous art form as Valentina was able to gain and control the upper hand on Holly for five rounds.

Holly who is coming off an incredible KO of Rhonda:

Lost in her first title defense against Tate and is desperately looking to get back in the win column, but taking the fight versus Valentina was probably not the best choice. She was able to outstrike her and out grapple her with ease. When you have kicks like this:

it is to be expected. Valentina demanded respect and got it from the rest of the women's division. I would expect Valentina to be next in line to fight Nunes but feel she should have to go through Tate or Rousey first before she gets that shot at the title. I think Nunes is in trouble for rounds 3 through 5 if they get in the ring again but, let us see how Nunes does in her first defense against whoever Dana chooses.

With these wins from Francis, Edson, and Valentina it shows there are some great things coming to the UFC. I feel Francis needs a fighter in the top ten to test his ability. I think Edson deserves to be tested with Dos Anos before getting a shot at Alverez. and Valentina with her great striking needs to be tested against Tate or Rousey, once she gets past them, it's on to Nunes or the current champ. What are your thoughts on these three fighters.

Guys also do not forget to check out "The Middle Flipper" Cat does amazing things with the Dolphins and her articles are fun to read. Till next week we will be covering Jake Ellenberger and his match up with Matt Brown next week as we get ready for UFC 201!!!

Getting Caught Using

It is crazy to think that having great technique is not enough to get the KO in MMA now-a-days. Nate Diaz has come out and say that all fighters are on steroids. To be honest what a scary situation to be in, to know that a fighter who trains for three months for the fight of their life only to fight a person who has been training and using PEDs in their time. Now, there are numerous things that could happen in a fight, anything is on the table, up to death. People are gaining an unfair advantage in their fights. There were questions about a fighter a few years ago, Shane Carwin was questioned about his fights, did he use steroids? He retired before the new drug policy came into play, but there are still the fear that people fought him while he was using.

USADA has been flagging fighters left and right recently, UFC 200 has now shown us two fighters who were flagged alone. Jon Jones was test in Mid-June, and Brock Lesnar was tested June 28th. Both fighters have been flagged for using some sort of PED or masking agent and are being pushed for 2 year bans on both fighters. Chad Mendes is also on the list of athletes who were flagged by the USADA is facing a potential 2 year ban, Lyoto Machida, BJ Penn (who is serving a 6 month bann after using an IV). To me its wild to think athletes would like to use to keep that competitive advantage. 

Guys like Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Randy Couture were never investigated for using, nor did they need to be. They constantly were training focusing on their technique to give themselves their selves that advantage. 

You have to question the past victories for some of the fighters who have recently been fighting. Sure the last time we saw Brock Lesnar in the Octagon prior to his (Tainted) win over Mark Hunt, he lost to Alistar Overeem (who later was found to be using PEDs, and served a one year ban). I wonder how long Brock was using prior to getting caught by the USADA, especially when he was so quick to throw Jon Jones under discussing how unprofessional it is for him to be using. 

Speaking of Jon "Bones" Jones, he was tested sometime in Mid-June and he popped up for a higher level of estrogen, what is crazy is why does he need to use. I remember in an interview he thought it was a great idea for fighters to be tested. He understood, he was not a spring chicken himself, but for him to be using makes him a hypocrite. This is a man who wanted to be a role model for kids but recently with the cocaine use, talking back to police officers, and now the PED accusation, this is not someone who should be a role model. I remember the Jon Jones who the same day he won the championship, he had stopped a car thief. That is the kind of person I would like to see again, but now I have to question the athlete that was before the suspension, did he cheat in his win versus OSP?

 
There are so many fighters who have been flagged the USADA:

Chad Mendes:

Lyoto Machida:

Frank Mir (who recently asked for his release from the UFC):

It is crazy to think, we are now getting to the point in the UFC where fighters are being tested out of competition finally. I think the UFC was behind the ball on this issue, and probably should have been testing athletes from the jump. Back in the day fighters in the first few UFCs understood they were testing their abilities against each other, but it seems that the spirit of the competition has fallen and fighters were looking for anyway possible to be the best.

Things will get back to the way they were prior to fighters using PEDs, as far as fighters who get caught, I personally am looking to see those fighters get the max penalty thrown at them. What are your thoughts on it?

Also, do miss out on another blogger, who has done amazing things in the marine mammal world. Go read Cat's blog she has done amazing things in the field www.themiddleflipper.blogspot.com, I have been reading her articles for a few weeks now, great humor and amazing topics.

Till next week y'all. 

What a Night

We have to dig into the fight card from UFC 200. If you did not get to see the under card fights, I feel like you missed the best part of UFC 200.

Three cards on the UFC Fight Pass there was three first round knock outs:

Jim Miller landing devastating shot after shot on Gomi;

Gegard knocking down and out Santos;

and Lauzon stopping Diego Sanchez.

I would have to say my favorite fight of the UFC Fight Pass card would have been Lauzon stopping Sanchez. 

I have to admit that I was surprised by these three fights, I felt as if they had set the tone for what was to come. In a way they sort of did:

The next four fights were all decision and were drawn out. Grant it some of the event had great inner battles between fighters. 

Sage Northcutt showed he needs to work on his ground game. Marin was able to move as he pleased and Northcutt could do nothing to stop his transitions. However we did see Sage has incredible heart and spirit as he was caught in several submission attempts and instead of tapping out, he fought through them and eventually picked up his win by decision. 

T.J. Dillashaw showed us once again, he is ready to get back in the title hunt. He was active landing shots, moving well, and was able to show Raphael that his game was not on Dillashaw's level. Dillashaw will have a lot to prove as he continues to grow as a fighter but he did an amazing job. 

Kelvin outclassed the former champ Johny Hendricks. This was a fight I thought Big Rig was going to win but, when you miss weight the mental side of your game goes as well. Johny needs to get back to the win column quickly, but this was not his best performance. Kelvin was able to move in and out with out taking too much damage and avoiding Hendricks best shots. Hendricks also was loading his hand weigh too much and was telegraphing his moves. Kelvin moves up from the 12 spot at least to the top 7 in my book with this win. 

Julianna had a game plan for Cat and though she did not execute it to perfection, she did come out with the win. I felt as if Cat won two of the rounds but judges had it the other way and Julianna came out with the victory. Great take downs, leads to great openings, and Cat was having trouble returning fire. 

Between the four fights on FS1, I think Julianna and Cat had to be my favorite fight of the four. 

NOW ON TO THE MAIN CARD ITSELF:

I had predicted Browne would win over Velasquez, I felt as if Browne could have overwhelmed him and it was not the case at all. Velasquez show he was willing to do new things in the ring as well, with the addition of a wheel house kick, I have seen it one other time but Cain did it twice in the fight. Travis was in trouble once Velasquez showed off what strength he had in his take down game. Beating on Browne with a few seconds left in the first round and it was called. 

I really thought with the previous injuries and back surgeries Cain had been through it was still going to have some issues, but that is not the case and I would expect to see Cain back at the top of the heavyweights in his next fight. 

Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar went to war for the Interim Championship and I have to say this was an amazing fight. Five rounds and only one speed, the endurance of these two athletes were amazing. Jose showed why he has great boxing and Frankie displayed lots of heart. Jose was able to stuff take down after take down attempt by Frankie and capitalized on his missed attempts. Jose called out Conor at the event and let him know he is coming back for his title. Conor currently is training for his fight with Nate Diaz, but lets get ready for this match up. I would like to see Max Holloway get shot at Jose Aldo and let the winner of the fight go after Conor McGregor. 

The next two fights were snooze fest at best. I felt as if I went to sleep and watch the same fight over again. But, in the sense of a MMA stance the game plan was executed to perfection. 

Daniel Cormier showed he was afraid to throw with Anderson Silva, to be honest I do not blame him. Especially in the third round, when Cormier tried to throw with Silva and when Silva connected with a kick to the abdomen Cormier tied up Silva and refused to let him go. Silva has a great ground game but Cormier has an amazing balance and was able to overwhelm Silva at this fight. DC admitted to being scared of Silva and went to what he knows best. His ground and pound on Silva was on point. Now if Silva would have taken this fight originally and not Bones Jones (we will talk about him at another time), I think Silva would have had a better chance battling DC.  

Back at UFC 118 Randy Couture showed James "Lights Out" Toney basic UFC 101. What it means was Strikers can not be wrestlers, it just does not work out. Which was the same exact thing we saw last night with Brock Lesnar vs Mark Hunt. Brock was able to get in and take down Mark anytime he wanted to in the first and third rounds, however in the second round fatigue had set in with Brock and it looked as if Mark could capitalize on it, which he did not. Brock was proud to be back in the UFC but now he has to get ready for SummerSlam and his match with Randy Orton. 

The best fight of the night had to go to the Amanda Nunes vs Meisha Tate. The women headlined this fight, though I did have Tate winning this fight I wanted to see Nunes with the upset. Nunes came out with a serious game plan of taking the fight to Tate. As Nunes loves to be a fast starter in the first round she was able to get over on Tate. Nunes dropped Tate and continued to punish her with shot after shot. Once Tate began to cover up Nunes jumped and finished with a rear-naked choke. Tate understood Nunes like to start all of her fights fast, but Tate could not handle the pace and ultimately paid the price. 

The fight card was a great fight card some great match ups. We all are going to be thinking how the DC vs Bones fight would have gone down, had Bones Jones not got into trouble with the USADA. We will never know, and best of luck to Bones Jones as he fights the possibility of a two year ban. 

Overall I thought it was a good fight card but had the potential to be an amazing fight card. All the great plans that were put into play. I also can not wait to see UFC 201, onward to July 30th. 

IIIIIIIIITTTTTT'SSSSS TIIIIIMMMMMMEEEE!!! UFC 200 Preview

Let's be honest by now, whether you are a fight fan or not chances are you know about UFC 200. You probably know Jon "Bones" Jones and Daniel "DC" Cormier are the main event. You may even know that the return of the "Beast" Brock Lesnar coming back to fight Mark "The Super Samoan" Hunt as well. What most you probably do not know is how stacked this card is from bottom to top. Dana White has to be given a hand for this fight card, what some may fail to understand is every fight on the main card (the Pay-Per-View event) is a potential headliner fight in any other card.

But let us talk about the main card for UFC 200 and my predictions for this fight card

Cain Velazquez vs Travis Browne

This is an epic battle between two giant heavyweights. Cain has so much speed on his side with his ground game, his take downs are smooth and he has the ability to KO fighters with out a second guess:

He is fast and furious but, he is also coming off of a two year lay off and his most recent fight he was submitted and lost his title.

Cain is battling against a much taller fighter in Travis Browne. Travis has the size and speed to match Cain, with Travis having one X factor. Travis' fight IQ and chin make him ridiculously tough to knockout. Also Travis has no fear in throwing any kind of attack, if it means that he can score the KO. Remember Struve?

I see this fight going one of two ways: 1. It becomes and early night for one of these two heavyweights with a massive KO or 2. Cain Velazquez goes back to what he knows and utilizes his wrestling to grind out the fight for 3 rounds.

I have to go with my gut and hope to see some serious bombs thrown but I am going to take Travis "Hapa" Browne via KO.

Jose Aldo vs Frankie Edgar

Talk about two unbelievable strikers getting to fight it out on a huge card. Frankie who's boxing continues to improve as well as his footwork, and Jose Aldo who is known for throwing serious bombs on people. The last time I remember seeing a fight similar to this, it was Frankie Edgar vs Gary Maynard I. Two guys who just continually threw bombs at each other hoping to score the KO.

Jose Aldo is fast, has good wrestling take downs and a knack to finish the fight. He has come off a recent lose to Conor McGregor. That was a well timed punch by McGregor, I think had the fight gone on longer Aldo may have found a way to win that fight. Aldo is known for KO'ing fighters and having heavy hands.

However even with all the power behind those hands. Aldo is facing a person who has great wrestling, fast feet, and excellent striking in Frankie Edgar. Frankie is coming off a huge win over Chad Mendes and is looking to ride that momentum to a title shot with McGregor. Frankie is the type of fighter to look and pick his openings, he dominated an once untouchable BJ Penn and continued to do so on two more occasions. With Frankie it will more than likely come down to his boxing and his wrestling to finish his fight versus Aldo. If Frankie lands one of his bombs it could spell and early exit for Aldo.

With this fight and two momentum it has with it, I expect to see Jose Aldo preform at his best. Aldo is known for showing up in the spotlight and this fight should be no different. I am going to take Aldo in this fight but it is not a confident call for me. I think Edgar has so much in the tank but Aldo wants to get back in the win column so bad to avenge his lose. Aldo, decision.

Miesha Tate vs Amanda Nunes

Here is my sleeper fight for the night. I think this fight has a huge potential to showcase how the women fighters are going to be, expect huge bombs to be thrown from both women. They understand they are on the top fight card and are ready to make things happen.

Amanda has only one lose on her record since being in the UFC (Cat Zingano, who is also fighting on the card as well). Amanda is known for having heavy hands and loving to throw huge bombs. When I watched her recent fight against Valentina Shevchenko, she displayed beautiful hand movements. She did however have a tendency to leave herself open and was countered a few times. But when she fought Sarah McMann she took the fight to her landing gorgeous counters, which resulted in her getting the submission win.  

The crazy things about the champ Miesha Tate is, she was losing the fight to Holly Holms for the first four rounds! She was being hit left and right as if Holly was Babe Ruth calling his home run shot. However that also brings me to another great point, Tate has one of the toughest chins in the UFC. With all the punches that were landing at will Tate whether the storm and ultimately got the victory and the championship. Tate has amazing wrestling and good striking, she still needs a lot of work on her counter game. But Tate has shown time and time again how much pain she can take and is willing to ride the storm till the end.

This is going to be a tough fight to call, Tate is going to have to utilize her ground game and wrestling to win this fight. Amanda will be tough to take down but I believe the champ will come out victorious in this match up, though I secretly will be pulling for Amanda Nunes to win the fight. Tate, TKO.

Brock Lesnar vs Mark Hunt

This is going to be a fun but quick fight, Mark has no patience with Brock and I am sure the feeling is mutual. These two heavyweights are going to throw down and want to end the fight early.

Brock is coming off of almost a five year lay off. If you do not think ring rust is going to play a factor in this match, I got something to tell you. Aside from the recent victory from Jon Jones, most fighters that come off long lay overs do not fair well in the return to the Octagon. Sure Brock has a lot of speed, power, and amazing wrestling as far as the UFC goes. But being in the WWE and trying to return to real combative sport may not fair to well for him. Sure he could probably take this fight to the ground and grind out Hunt, but Brock is going to come back with something to prove. He is going to want to throw at first, take the fight to the ground, and ground and pound it out. Could he do it? Sure, anything is possible, just like I never thought I would see a person get hit so hard they do a backwards roll into the cage (right Heath):

Mark is coming off a huge win for himself defeating Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night: Mir vs Hunt. Mark does not have much of a ground game as he loves to stay on his feet to knock people out. Aside from a submission lose and a draw to Mark Hunt it is either KO or be KO'd. He does not like to be on his back and does not like to be taken down. His strike game is amazing and it will be interesting to see him utilize it on a fighter like Brock Lesnar. There is no doubt that Mark is going to look for the KO ask anyone he has fought:

This fight could go 1 of 2 ways: 1. Brock wants to grind the fight and continue taking Hunt down at will, which would be the best way for him to win the fight, or 2. These two juggernauts go into battle against each other and slug it out (which I believe favors Mark). I have to think Brock is going to be smart and take this fight to the ground as he is getting ready to head to Summerslam next month for the WWE, and will take this fight to the ground. I see Brock winning this fight by taking Mark down for three rounds and grinding the energy out of him. What I want to see happen is another walk off win by Mark Hunt. Lesnar, Decision.

Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier

The fight everyone has been looking forward to. The talking for this fight is about to end, and we will see who is going to be victorious in a fight round bout for the ages. These two guys no doubt hate one another, the are always bickering about anything to get the headway. Whether they are calling each other out or just talking about referees. Either way I have been looking forward to this fight for a long time and it is about time, we get to see these two guys go head to head in the octagon.

Jon Jones is coming off a victory against OSP, there was definitely a lot of ring rust and though he said there was not, he even admitted there were kicks that he normal would land that did not. Jones has yet to be beat in the Octagon other than his DQ against Matt Hamill. Jon is looking to use his unorthodox methods to throw off DC and possibly land as many shot to DC while trying to finish the fight. He took down DC several times in their last bout, and I think the fight with OSP only helped sharpen Jones for this fight against DC. Jones loves to throw his spinning back elbow so expect to see that this fight once again:

Daniel Cormier has not fought since October of 2015. Expect that ring rust will be involved in this fight as well. I think has Daniel fought back in February or March of this year, we could be talking about a who new level of fight. However, DC is the champ and he has been training waiting for Jones to come back to prove to the world that he is good enough to beat Bones Jones. DC has a great wrestling game and showed it off when he fought Dan Henderson, beat the Roman-Greco wrestler down and leading to the submission victory. He is going to try and take Jones to the ground and grind his fight out much as he tried in the first meeting. DC has said he is better than what he was the first time they had met, so I am interested to see how much better DC has gotten. With good hands that lead to great take downs, I think DC has what it takes to grind the fight out on paper against Jones.

Ring rust has to come into play in this fight, and I think with the champ being off for so long, Jones may unite these two titles. Jones as I mentioned took down DC numerous times in their previous meeting and I think for five rounds DC is going to go back through buzzsaw called Bones Jones. With the hatred these two fighters have for each other, it will be amazing to see where they are mentally in this fight. I am sure the first person to score the knockdown, will be ready to talk the most trash during the fight. I am going to take Jon "Bones" Jones in decision for this fight, and expect DC to be humbled by this defeat looking for the next challenge to come his way.

That is my predictions for the fight, let me know what you all think in the comments I can not wait to hear from you, and if you want to talk to me during the fights you can find me on twitter at cm_miller85, I will be around all night from the start of the fight card with Jim Miller and Takanori Gomi to the final fight with Jon Jones versus Daniel Cormier.