UFC Vancouver and Looking Toward The Future

Let's dive right into what we saw last night at UFC VANCOUVER, shall we? Four fights big anticipation and I would have to be honest, it did not disappoint. Depending on who you are, and what level of Mixed Martial Arts you have, you may have seen it differently. But, I felt for this card and these fights you got a bit of everything to watch. From the big slugfest to brazilian jiu-jitsu competive match. To the debut of Pettis at 145, to the return of Paige VanZant.

Jim Miller vs Joe Lauzon

If you are looking for two guys who want to go to war with each other, then look no further than these two at Lightweight. You would think, these two guys have a mutual hate for each other but it is quite the opposite. These two fighters know what they are getting into the moment they walk into the ring against each other. This is the second time they have faced each other, with Jim winning the first match up.


Jim and Joe came out of the gates throwing some serious bombs, and at one point in the fight they both had the other in serious trouble of being submitted. Jim and Joe are both great at their ground technique and have a solid wrestling to help defend.

Jim seemed to have the endurance to hold the pace at which they were fighting and landing:

But Joe is tough and can take a punch as well; for three rounds we looked at a fight which started on top, but would move to the ground and the passing game was phenomenal. In the end it would be Jim Miller who would get his hand raised in a split decision. Expect these two to throw down one more time next year.

  

Paige VanZant vs Bec Rawlings

It has been a long time since Paige had been in the Octagon. In fact the last time anyone had seen her take the stage she was on Dancing With The Stars. Rawlings was beginning to make a name for herself as she riding a two win fight streak, and was ready to get at the "NEW FACE" of the UFC. Paige was assumed to have a some ring rust, seeing how the last time she fought was in December of 2015 (really does not feel like it was that long ago, seeing how it is only August...then again it is August). 

Paige came out swinging as she ran into the center of the ring and threw a quick kick. Paige likes to throw a bunch of "junk" to see what will connect, which was one of the reason Rose Namajunas was able to tap her out. It seemed like Bec Rawlings was expecting anything to get thrown at her, but probably not at the pace which Paige threw it at. 

In the corner Bec was warned to look out of "junk" Paige might throw at her. Sure enough in the 2nd round it came. A standing switch kick which ended the night for Rawlings and gave the victory to Paige:

After the knock down Paige would throw mini-hammerfist and end the fight. It was a great match up for Paige and she took full advantage of it. 

Anthony Pettis vs Charles Oliveira

This was the debut of "Showtime" Pettis at 145, and I have to admit he looked rather comfortable at this weight. He went a very tough opponent in Oliveira and made him look like he was an average fighter.The striking from Pettis was excellent and I felt he could have called his shot and landed anything he wanted to throw:

Oliveira who last fought in December as well, had a difficult time getting out of the blocks. He landed some shots on Pettis, but in the third round I felt that Pettis had taken over the fight and found the finish. 

Damian Maia vs Carlos Condit

If you are a fan of Condit and you have bet on him the last couple of times, you may have forked out a lot of cash (as one of my friends, recently admitted). Condit has been slowing down in his fights and it is hard to imagine the UFC is going to be keeping him around much longer. 

Maia went in and made quick work of Condit with a submission victory. Getting in and taking Condit to the ground rather quickly and moved right into the rear naked choke. Condit seemed to be disappointed with the results for the fight, but Maia should definitely be getting the next title shot.  

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE FIGHTS

We have a lot of great fights coming up and with the events coming up I will put my predictions up the week before:

Andrei Arlovski vs Josh Barnett

Talk about two heavy hitters who will be ready to drop the next person if they get the chance. Josh Barnett has no fear and chooses to throw bombs with anyone. On the flipside Andrei, may have a glass chin, but he has hands of stones and is not afraid to use them. I can not wait to see to see these two juggernauts go at it. 

Alexander Gustaffson vs Jan Blachowicz

In the last four fights for Jan he is 2-2, while Gustaffson is 1-3. Now one can argue Gustaffson has lost to: Bones Jones, Rumble Johnson, and DC. He has a lot to prove and needs to get back in the win column. Jan wants to show the world that he has what it takes to an elite fighter as well. These two will be a great size match up for each other and I am excited. 

CM Punk (Phil Brooks) vs Mickey Gall

Mickey called out this fight when he heard Dana White was in the crowd. CM Punk wanted this fight because he was not afraid to fight anyone. CM Punk, yes the wrestler from the WWE, has been training since December of 2014. He has been trying to make his debut for a long time and finally will be against Mickey Gall. It will be interesting to see these two go at it, as Mickey Gall did win his first fight in the UFC and is ready to fight CM Punk. 

Fabricio Werdum vs Travis Browne

It is good to see these two will be going at it again. I have made it clear, Travis is one of my favorite fighters in the UFC. I think he deserved a second shot at Fabricio. The biggest thing is Werdum needs this win just as bad as Browne. They both want to get into the title shot contention and with this win, it may help get them there. 

There are so many good fights that are getting ready to happen, barring any kind of injury. I think for me the fight I am looking forward to is the debut of CM Punk at UFC 203. I was at the last Smackdown CM Punk was at, before the Royal Rumble and ultimately his departure. I can not wait to see Mickey Gall and Punk. 

What fights are coming up that you are excited about. Let me know in the comments. Remember you can find me on twitter at cm_miller85 or getthekoblog, also you can email me at gettheko@gmail.com. Also, you guys thank you for the views and reading the stories we have over 1,000 and it is amazing. 

If you guys are looking for mats two either wrestle on, or even to train make sure you guys are looking at Tiffin Mats. Yes, they are still making mats and yes, they are working to supply the best products to customers. 

Don't for get to check out the Middle Flipper as well. Cat is out doing amazing things at Baltimore National Aquarium and you can read about her adventures there. 

Have a good one!

UFC 202 Review

What a night of fights happened last night. I just want to talk about four of the fights because I felt they were the most significant fights of the night. Now before I begin, I thought the women's fights were great and some tough battles going on in their respective weight classes. So let's begin

Atrem Lobov defeats Chris Avila 

This was a fight that I felt set the tone for what could be going down. I mean seriously look at this picture:

If you are wondering why I am showing you a picture of this, it is simple. Avila is the protege of Nate Diaz, you can clearly see in just this photo he takes after his mentor. With that being said, Avila had a lot of trouble with the best friend of McGregor. Avila opened himself up to a lot of leg kicks eventually slowing him down, and causing him to get tagged a few times from a stronger opponent in Lobov. Lobov was obviously more experienced than Avila but the fighting styles between these and McGregor and Diaz spoke volumes about what could happen in the upcoming fight.

Donald Cerrone defeats Rick Story

Cowboy Cerrone needed to get this win at 170 over Horror Story, but Story would not go patiently into the night. It was pretty obvious that Story wanted to make sure Cerrone knew he was in a fight. But, it was good to see Cerrone at a healthy weight class beating Story to the punch and walking through his punches. Now I will say this Cerrone definitely put his combos together well and this one was the beginning of the end:

After the fight Joe Rogan talked about how well Cerrone looked at 170 but Cowboy had other plans, he wants the belt that Eddie is holding at 155 and I think he has the skills to go get it. I hope we get to see this fight at UFC 205 if not, then lets get it on next year.

Anthony Johnson defeats Glover Teixeira

Imagine if you will, you are the number 2 fighter in your weight class. Imagine you wanting to prove to the world you should be number 1. However, imagine the number 1 guy is Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and he has scary knockout power. That is what Glover learned last night, I mentioned it last week about the KO ability to Rumble and in 13 seconds he showed the world again what he is capable of doing. Sort of looked like this:

Also after this fight Anthony then called out DC and says he wants the belt. DC and Rumble fought once before with DC dominating the fight. Let's see if he can do it again. Again this would be a fight I would like to see happen at UFC 205, especially because Rumble took no damage in this fight.

Conor McGregor defeats Nate Diaz

Let's go ahead and call it, what it was last night. It was a redemption for Conor McGregor. He needed to win this fight and it happened.  But, the judges on the cards went to show their was so much money that could be made if a third fight happened. However, Conor did show why he was not to be taken lightly. Yes, he had a full camp; yes, he was able to make adjustments that he was not able to make in the first fight; Yes, he utilized his leg kicks tons more than he did in the first fight. These were things that ultimately ended up helping McGregor win the fight.
In the first two rounds McGregor was able to knock down Diaz three times.

Now all of the leg kicks Diaz was eating, may have been the reason why as he could not continue to put weight on his lead leg.

McGregor has a bigger problem to deal with and that is his stamina. McGregor fights at a pace his body can not handle. At the end of the second round, all of the third round, and the first half of the fourth round McGregor was gassed and just hoping for a second wind to kick in, which he got. Diaz was able to capitalize on the moment and almost put away McGregor at the end of the third round:

McGregor stayed as composed as he could but, would eventually turn his back to Nate Diaz and walk away from the fight to get some air, Diaz would laugh and point at him but, I do not think Diaz could have ran up on him because of all the damage his lead leg took.

To me though I felt that Nate Diaz had won rounds 2,3,5 especially with McGregor being pushed on the cage and almost finished in round 3 and taken to the ground in round 5 and the ground and pound game almost put him out. Here is the punchlines for the fight:

I am curious to see if there will be a Rubber Match between these two, McGregor said he would do it again but only at 155 and when Nate is ready. Nate said he is ready anytime and is willing to fight anywhere. I am curious to see where the suspensions lie on Monday. McGregor did break his foot last night with the volume of kicks he threw at Nate. Also, Nate is going to need some time to heal because his face got dominated last night. What I think should happen is McGregor let's the belt go and moves up to 155 and begins his new quest if he wants to fight Diaz at that weight class. Also wasn't it McGregor who demanded a rematch at 170? I was curious to see why he asked Diaz to move down to 155 when this whole time they could just do another match at 170. Oh well.

Let me know what you thought of the fight and remember you can follow me on twitter @cm_miller85 or @getthekoblog. Also if you want to write me an email and ask him questions getthekoblog@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you and we have some great fights getting ready to gear up, to include my favorite heavyweight makes his return to the UFC after losing at UFC 200 TRAVIS "HAPA" BROWNE!!!

UFC 202 Preview

Let's talk about what to expect at UFC 202, and just for kicks lets talk about the two big fights for the night: Glover Teixeira vs Anthony Johnson and Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor 2. We four heavy bangers getting ready to throw down in the center of what could be a massive war. Now Rick Story and Donald Cerrone are on the card as well and it will be a fun fight to watch, but I would like to focus on how the main event and co-main event could stack up.

Glover Teixeira vs Anthony Johnson

Remember when Anthony "Rumble Johnson was at 170, struggling to make weight but still had the power to do this:

Pretty scary to think that is just pure power in the kick he can deliver. Well a few years ago he was shacking so bad from cutting so hard he was cut by the UFC. They pulled him from the card and released him because he could not stay healthy. Then he decided he wanted to fight for himself and not for someone else. A couple of years ago he made he return to the UFC and was weighing 205, closer to his bodyweight at what he walks around at. He is healthier and just destroying those who gets in his way. Don't believe me:

That is Alexander Gustafsson (you may remember him as the guy who sent Jon "Bones" Jones to the hospital), a former title contender and to many as the man who still can win a championship. Anthony dominated this man and finished the fight. Now Anthony is still struggling with this take down defense game and Daniel Cormier was able to exploit that. Since UFC 197, Johnson has been on a two fight win streak. It is still insane to see the way Anthony can throw punches and connect:

It is almost as if Anthony can predict where you want to try and block and rip through your guard. But, that does not mean he is not running into a wall. Glover is clearly no push over as well, and to have a person training you like Chuck Liddell, you must have something special.

Glover has some dirty hands to throw as well, remember:

Glover has beaten his fair share of people as well. People who at one time were considered to be title chasers, Ryan Bader can attest to the power and defense of Glover:

Glover is riding a 3 win fight streak coming into this fight with Rumble. His last three fights have ended with a submission of OSP, TKO of Cummins, and KO of Sugar Rashad Evans.

Something is going to give in this fight. Both fighters have endurance issues but tons of heart and refuse to lose, I expect to see some good punches to counter punches going on in this fight. But I am curious to see how Glover's chin will be versus the bombs from Rumble. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how long Rumble can throw punches for versus some one who can endure punishment like Glover can.

In this fight I have to take Anthony "RUMBLE" Johnson by TKO in the 1st Round.

Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor 2 

"He had 11 days to prepare for Nate"; "He didn't have a proper gameplan"; "He could have beat him with a full training camp"...these were some of the excuses I have heard from McGregor fans. These were the same fans who said "Diaz is a stoner and can't win this fight"; "Diaz is a loser who can't match the boxing of McGregor". Listen when you go up two weight classes in boxing, yes you can make that same claim but this is Mixed Martial Arts and there are a lot of weight to give up, especially in the UFC. McGregor has a lot of work to do, he has a limited take down game, very limited ground game, and even more limited submission defense game. These are still factors you have to figure in this fight, remember the fight ended this way:

And what made things worse was the fight prior, we watched Holly Holms fight with everything in her body not to tap out. But, McGregor gave up his back and a "fighting champion" tapped out immediately. So let us look at this fight in a different manner, yes Conor now has a full fight camp, can learn from his mistakes, can clean up his boxing, and even bring in some help to defend in a submission world. On the flip side you can see Diaz learning from his fight as well, taking the fight on 11 days notice (while training for a Triathlon), working on his boxing, and ground game.

The way McGregor wins this fight is by keeping the fight close and utilizing his kicks, yes McGregor was able to hit and cut open Diaz; but to anyone who heard me on WNST 1570AM during the Sunday Sports Show, that is like winning a toy in a happy meal. Diaz has so much scar tissue in his face that it would be an anomaly if Diaz wasn't bleeding. If McGregor can use his kicks and keep his boxing clean with enough punches, yes he can win the fight. Now McGregor was working on lowering his body to fight RDS, so this might be his chance to show people he can battle with any fighter. However the exchanges between Diaz and McGregor did not favor McGregor at all:

Diaz has an ability to bring fighters to his level and finish them. If you get involved with the trash talking that Diaz throws out, you have already lost the fight. He is an expert and manipulating the field to his advantage. Only a handful of fighters have been able to ignore him and win the fight. Diaz is now ready for anything McGregor has to throw at him, in the previous match up Diaz was at the same disadvantage that McGregor was at. I still have this fight in the same respect as the last time I called this fight. Diaz is going to win this fight, and he is going to do it in a fashion that most people are not going to know what McGregor was thinking demanding a rematch. It also seems as if McGregor is taking his eye off of Diaz and focusing on the WWE a little bit too much and should be focus up.

Diaz by TKO.

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments section below, also you can follow me on twitter @cm_miller85 or @getthekoblog. Also catch me on WNST 1570AM Sunday Sports Voice (www.wnst.net), Thursdays between 3PM to 5PM Eastern Standard Time. You can also email me your questions or your ideas for what I should cover at getheko@gmail.com

Don't forget to also check out Cat on "The Middle Flipper" fun stories from her about her aquatic career.

He's the Juggernaut!!!

His name is Jake "The Juggernaunt" Ellenberger. He is a beast, and though he has been on a bit of a down streak here is why I think Jake is going to bounce back at UFC 201.

Jake has an excellent wrestling background. The University of Nebraska-Omaha has been known for putting out great wrestlers. He is constantly working on his grappling game and is always focused. Jake is a purple belt in Brazilian Jui-Jitsu. When he gets an opponent to the ground, he is always looking for the finish, whether by KO, TKO or submission (remember Josh Koscheck):

Striking is one of the things Jake likes to do. He throws a lot of combos and makes sure that they are hitting on all cylinders. Jake loves his left hook and when you watch him in his fights he lands his right hand and tends to KO people quickly. Did I mention that he has one punch KO power, he has the crazy ability to hit a guy and put them out with one punch (Sean Pierson can relate to this)

One thing I would like to see Jake do more often is utilize his leg kicks. When he was fighting Nate Marquardt was using his kicks, Nate was having trouble coming on the inside and landing his own shots. Eventually Marquardt started to fight Jake's style of fight and the end result up like this:

Throwing from a Muay Thai clinch is underrated when it comes to Jake, he has the ability to close out fights with it. Just ask Jake Shields:

Now I am not going out and saying that Matt Brown is not going to be a push-over. Matt Brown is coming off of lose to Demian Maia, who at one time was considered to be a title-contender. Matt Brown has good hands. 

In my opinion Jake is going to need to utilize his striking game but also look to take the fight to the ground and grind the fight out. Matt Brown does like to look for the counter punches but, Jake does not take a lot of risk in throwing his punches. I think that if Jake can take the fight to Matt Brown: control the cage, grind the fight out to the ground Matt Brown is going to have a difficult time trying to get the win. 

With Both fighters coming off of loses, this could be the time where Jake bounces back and starts making his title run once again. Just remember this:

------UPDATE------

Let's update since I wrote this article two weeks before UFC 200. Jake beat Matt Brown via TKO in the first round. Jake came out of the gates and landed a nasty right hand, which immediately dropped Matt to the ground. Jake went to finish the fight but Matt was able to pull guard. Once Jake got up from Matt's guard, Matt went to pressure the fight which was not allowing Jake to throw his punches. Jake landed his a left kick to the abdomen of Matt Brown which instantly dropped him. From there it was a vicious barrage of punches and hammerfist to Matt Brown which stopped the fight.  

The crazy thing is Jake had been bouncing from gym to gym trying to find a place to call home since Mark Munoz closed up shop. Jake was actually cut by the UFC prior to this fight and asked Dana White for one more shot, which he gave him. Jake was able to utilize that opportunity and take full advantage of it. On Fox Sports, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson openly admitted to being hit with the same right hand and dropping. Jake is a bench mark in the UFC and should be treated as one. I would like to see who the UFC tries to throw at Jake next.