UFC 124 Pre-Fight Breakdown: Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira

 Posted by at 10:32 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Dec 092010
 

Charles Oliveira has some slick moves in his bag of tricks (like the standing arm trapped Rear Naked Choke pictured) but he will need every one of them and a healthy dose of luck to overcome Jim Miller's superior wrestling. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)

The UFC makes its second trip to Montreal, Quebec’s Bell Centre on Saturday to deliver the Canadian fans a night of top notch fights from the UFC’s middle ranks. The card features talented UFC journeymen such as “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (17-4), “Big Sexy” Sean McCorkle (10-0), Mac Danzig (19-8-1) and “Doomsday” John Howard (14-5) as well as former title contenders “The Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-7) and “Daddy” Joe Stevenson (31-10) and is headlined by the long awaited rematch between welterweight kingpin “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (20-2) and “Kos” Josh Koscheck (15-4). A stellar lightweight match-up on the slate for Saturday evening is a battle between submission experts Charles Oliveira (14-0) and “Mongoose” Jim Miller (18-2). Both of these fighters have had their names mentioned as possible contenders for the UFC lightweight championship and a win here would validate their place in those discussions. Continue reading »

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John Howard vs. Thiago Alves: What Happens Next?

 Posted by at 4:03 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Dec 092010
 

Thiago Alves faces almost certain termination from the UFC should he fall to John Howard, or the scale, at UFC 124. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)

This Saturday night, as “Rush” Georges St, Pierre (20-2) looks to win the rematch and successfully defend his title against opposing TUF 12 coach “Kos” Josh Koscheck (15-4), there is another match-up on the main card that could potentially shake up the welterweight division with former title contender “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-7) taking on “Doomsday” John Howard (14-5). With the addition of more than 70 fighters after the WEC/UFC merger, a loss for either Alves or Howard, depending on his performance, could result in a pink slip. Two fighters, one winner, and a potential of several different scenarios occurring. Continue reading »

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UFC 124 Pre-Fight Breakdown: John Howard vs. Thiago Alves

 Posted by at 3:04 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Dec 092010
 

Thiago Alves (left) will likely enjoy a distinct advantage over his UFC 124 opponent John Howard, whose biggest strength is wrestling. Thiago has faced and defeated much more respected wrestlers in his UFC career. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)

UFC 124 sees the world’s premier MMA organization return to Montreal, Quebec, Canada’s Bell Centre with a solid fight card that has been completely overshadowed by the main event between welterweight king and Canadian MMA deity figure “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (20-2) and the man who told Canadians they sucked at everything, including hockey, the last time he visited our neighbors to the north – “Kos” Josh Koscheck (15-4). The sheer magnitude of the hype Josh Koscheck has built around this fight has caused fans to all but forget that the card also features excellent match-ups between old TUF favorites like “Daddy” Joe Stevenson (31-10) and Mac Danzig (19-8-1) as well as UFC young bloods like “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (17-4), “Big Sexy” Sean McCorkle (10-0), Jim Miller (18-2), and Charles Oliveira (14-0). There is also a match with potentially dire consequences for the men involved that opens the night for the Pay-Per-View card – “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-7) faces an almost certain termination from the UFC roster should he fail to defeat “Doomsday” John Howard (14-5) in their welterweight showdown. Howard is in a must-win situation of a different stripe. With a UFC record of 4-1, he faces little chance of being cut. However a loss at this juncture would almost certainly delay his entry into the upper levels of the welterweight division for a long time. Continue reading »

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