Looking for the Underdog: Cain Velasquez

 Posted by at 7:24 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Oct 192010
 

Cain Velasquez looks to maintain his undefeated record and walk away the UFC Heavyweight Champion with a victory over current champ Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. Here, Velasquez lands a solid left hook to the face of "Minotauro" Antonio Nogueira at UFC 110. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

This Saturday at UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez, the newly dubbed “Baddest Man on the Planet” UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (5-1) puts his belt on the line against perhaps his toughest competitor yet – the undefeated heavy hitter Cain Velasquez (8-0).  Both men will face new challenges in each other, and both Lesnar and Velasquez will more than likely have to exhaust their skill sets in order to pull off a win. If he beats Velasquez, Lesnar will have two consecutive wins against previously undefeated opponents, the first of which being Shane Carwin (11-1).  MMA fans across the world will be watching and wondering if the “Brown Pride”-adorned Velasquez will pull off what Carwin seemingly came oh-so-close to accomplishing at UFC 116 in July – stripping the champion of his belt.  Perhaps watching even more closely will be their fellow heavyweight competitors, as the Lesnar vs. Velasquez outcome will have a direct effect on the division match-ups for months to come.


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Strikeforce Diaz vs. Noons II: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

 Posted by at 7:39 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Oct 112010
 

Fans are being treated to a high dose of quality MMA with so many promotions holding fights so close together. While some may still be digesting WEC 51, Strikeforce put forth a valiant effort to stay relevant with a decent night of fights. While much remains to be desired as it comes to the quality of Strikeforce events as a whole, and this writer won’t dwell on the bad and the ugly of the commentating and other common points of concern with the event, there are a few points to be made about the fights themselves. We’ll cover areas of improvements and points of pride with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:

Photo courtesy of Strikeforce

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WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

 Posted by at 3:30 PM  MMA News  2 Responses »
Oct 012010
 

Whether by default or design, Zuffa always manages to make up for lackluster showings by its respective organizations.  As if to repay any dissatisfied fans for their fifty bucks spent on the highly criticized UFC 119, they delivered an outstanding card with WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan. There were impressive submissions and brutal knockouts and the fights that went to decisions  kept fans on the edge of their seats with no room for complaint. There were plenty of exciting story lines on last night’s card as well, including the re-emergence of a former champion, a tutorial on how to effectively stop a zombie, the continuation of a grudge match, and the patience of an evolving champion. The WEC 51 card was presented for free on Versus, however many a fan would have received their money’s worth had this entire card been on Pay-Per-View. Let’s take a closer look at WEC 51, Clint-Eastwood-style, with The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

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Looking For the Underdog: Mirko Filipovic

 Posted by at 12:55 AM  MMA News  No Responses »
Sep 232010
 

On Saturday at UFC 119 “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (28-7-2) will face off against two time former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir (13-5) in a battle that may not determine a contender, but will bring more clarity to the pecking order of the UFC Heavyweight division. Cro Cop is coming off an impressive submission victory over “Hype or Die” Pat Barry (5-2) and is hoping to keep the streak going with a victory over Mir.

“Cro Cop” is a very experienced MMA fighter who has found the majority of his success in the ability to out strike his opponents. Many fans know him for his seemingly unstoppable head kick that has ended the night for many an opponent. Recently he has demonstrated that he’s still dangerous with four of his last five wins coming by TKO. At first glance, it could be easily said that he has the striking advantage over Mir. He throws a good combination of punches and kicks and has solid takedown defense. All of his strikes have knockout power, and he throws them in bunches, which tends to be a problem for most of his opponents. Top that off with solid footwork and this is a very complete pure kick boxer. Continue reading »

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UFC 118: Looking for the Underdog in Frank Edgar

 Posted by at 3:38 AM  MMA News  No Responses »
Aug 272010
 

If there’s a true underdog in this Saturday night’s lightweight title fight it is “The Answer” Frank Edgar (12-1-0). This may seem strange to some because in his first matchup with “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) Edgar was able to defeat a man who has dominated his division for the past three years. Now Edgar has the unfortunate position of having to prove his worth by defeating Penn for a second time.

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UFC 118: Looking for the Underdog in BJ Penn

 Posted by at 6:01 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Aug 252010
 

Underdog and BJ Penn in the lightweight division are typically two things that aren’t necessarily synonomous. However at UFC 118 the lightweight title will be on the line when “The Answer” Frank Edgar (12-1-0) faces off against “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) and Penn won’t be the one defending it. Penn lost the title in a shocking five round decision lost against Edgar when the two first met at UFC 112 admist a small wave of controversy mostly spawned by Penn believing that he didn’t necessarily lose every round.

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Back to the Grind: Positional Wrestling Replacing Ground and Pound in MMA

 Posted by at 6:13 PM  MMA News  1 Response »
Aug 122010
 

Ground and Pound is a method that has been used since the early days of MMA. It was used in many victories by Mark Coleman, and some could argue that it was perfected by Tito Ortiz who added the submission defense factor in order to combat against the occasional tricky Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist. Today the ground and pound has evolved into something that has to be used in a lot more calculating manner than it ever has before. Today’s ground and pound has been combined with not only submission defense but with technical grappling, fighters that use this style are typically described as using a “grinding pace” or “willing to grind it out”. This style has pros and cons.

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UFC 117: Looking for the Underdog in Junior Dos Santos

 Posted by at 2:59 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Aug 062010
 

In the past two years Dana White has been able to change the UFC’s heavyweight division from bloated and overrated, to relevant and exciting. UFC 117 promises just that, a relevant and exciting bout between top contenders. When “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4-0) faces off against rapidly rising knockout artist “Cigano” Junior Dos Santos (11-1-0) much more will be revealed about the depth of the UFC heavyweight division. While Roy Nelson is quite obviously the seasoned veteran and former IFL champion he will face his toughest test yet against a very game Dos Santos.

If you ever need a bathroom break during a UFC event the most innappropriate time to go would be during a Junior Dos Santos fight. He has had only one fight go past the first round in his career and that was mostly because Mirko “Cro Cop” wasted a lot of time not engaging Dos Santos in their fight. In this fight I saw no issues with the cardio nor the takedown defense of Dos Santos. He was able to keep the fight standing, and go into the later rounds without slowing down. I mention all of this because this is more than likely the situation he will face when it comes to Roy Nelson.

Nelson will more than likely be looking for the takedown with Dos Santos, but don’t look for this to turn into another Leites-Silva matchup. Nelson has a capable standup game and as long as he believes he can stand with Dos Santos this is where he’ll be most vunerable. If Dos Santos does what he is good at and uses his power and ability to throw “punches in bunches” he will be able to put Nelson away quickly and with relative ease.

This fight will be a true test of Junior Dos Santos as a mixed martial artist. We already know that he can knock people out seemingly at will however we haven’t seen extensive use of his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I’m sure many fans would love to see Dos Santos show another dimension of his MMA game in a submission victory over Nelson. He will have the opportunity to show his skill, if he chooses to engage Nelson if and when the fight goes to the ground. In past fights we have seen Dos Santos stand up quickly when put on the ground and more so look to keep the fight standing with superior takedown defense. Both fighters have skills on the ground and standing so there is no guarantee as to where the fight stays on Saturday.

I truly believe that if Dos Santos can effectively stifle Nelson’s takedowns then the fight will stay standing. He will more than likely settle into his bread and butter game and stand and bang with Nelson. If Dos Santos can execute this gameplan, I believe he can edge out Nelson on the scorecards if not put him away early.

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UFC 117: Looking for the Underdog in Roy Nelson

 Posted by at 7:32 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Aug 032010
 

While a lot of people are focused on the hype that is surrounding the main event at UFC 117, there are several interesting subplots that are developing and gathering steam. I’m sure I could spend plenty of time discussing each one of them but for now I’d like to focus on one. In the heavyweight division “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4-0) will be facing off against “Cigano” Junior Dos Santos (11-1-0) in a bout that will determine the next contender for the heavyweight belt. Many people are looking at this as another opportunity for Dos Santos to tee off on yet another opponent however this bout is quite possibly the most dangerous in his career.

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Jon Jones Beats The Janitor: End the Slowplay

 Posted by at 12:00 AM  MMA News  No Responses »
Aug 022010
 

After last night’s UFC on Versus 2 we were treated to yet another exciting performance from Jon Jones’ elbows. “Bones” Jon Jones (11-1-0) and “The Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (24-5-0) was a quick affair as Jones was able to quickly take The Janitor to the ground and exploit him with vicious elbows from the crucifix position.

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Looking for the Underdog: Brock Lesnar

 Posted by at 6:44 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Jul 012010
 

When you’re sporting a 4-1 record the one loss can speak more volumes about you than the four wins. Especially when in 5 fights you’ve found yourself at the top of your division. This Saturday at UFC 116 Brock Lesnar (4-1) will face Shane Carwin (12-0) and experience in the octagon will not be a factor in deciding who is the Undisputed champion of the UFC heavyweight division.

When it comes to actual time spent in the octagon, Lesnar actually has the edge on Carwin. Shane Carwin has less than 20 minutes of actual inside the ring fight time. Granted that’s all he needed to dispose of every single opponent in sensational fashion, he’s bound to face at least a few new situations in his fight with Brock.

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Looking for the Underdog: Shane Carwin

 Posted by at 8:51 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Jun 302010
 

UFC 116 boasts a main event for the heavyweight title between two larger than life (pun intended) opponents. Shane Carwin (12-0) and Brock Lesnar (4-1) will face off on Saturday in what will likely tell the true pecking order of the heavyweight division not only in the UFC but in MMA. This fight has has its ups and downs in getting made but it’s finally upon us, and promises to be an intriguing fight regardless of the outcome.

There are two things that stand out to me in this fight. The first is that Brock Lesnar only has one loss on his record and it was largely due to the slick jiu jitsu of Frank Mir and the inexperience of Lesnar. The second is that Shane Carwin has never lost a fight, seen round two, or even the 4-minute mark of any fight. Today I’d like to talk about Carwin, tomorrow I’ll cover more about Lesnar.

Shane Carwin is a good fighter. He has seen adversity and overcome it during a fight, and he has found success in the most successful MMA promotion in the world. I don’t say this lightly, even more so he has devastated every one of his opponents the majority by KO and TKO, even half of his submissions are by punches. On paper this seems like real trouble for Brock Lesnar.

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Strikeforce: Chaos Ensues! Dana White Smiles

 Posted by at 5:13 PM  MMA News  1 Response »
Jun 282010
 

Strikeforce strikes again, and I’m trapped inside a glass box of emotions on this one.

There were four fights on the main card of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum and none of them went to decision. This sounds like it could be a promising night for Strikeforce however the only issue is that the heavyweight division appears to be in a bit of disarray after a surprising outcome in the main event.

By now many of you already know the result of “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emilianenko (32-2) and Fabricio Werdum (14-4) which was a relatively quick submission for the underdog Werdum in round 1. One thing about this fight seemed a little odd to me. I don’t believe this fight was “fixed” in the sense that the majority of people may suspect it was however, I found it strange that an MMA veteran of 34 fights would go into the guard of a BJJ black belt for ground and pound with his head down. When they showed the replay I couldn’t believe what was happening in front of me. It’s not that I believe Fedor is untouchable or unbeatable, I just refuse to believe that he’s never heard of a triangle and doesn’t know how to defend one.

Shortly after the Main event ended quickly Dana white tweeted the following “:D”. I’m pretty sure I know why Dana is smiling, and furthermore how Strikeforce will keep the smile on Dana’s face.

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Chris Leben might be back….

 Posted by at 3:27 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Jun 212010
 

“Crippler” Chris Leben (20-6-0) hit the wall that many people in the middleweight division had hit before and its name was Anderson Silva.

Before Leben faced Silva, he was on a 6-fight win streak with 4 of the 5 wins coming by submission or TKO. After the loss to then UFC newcomer Anderson Silva Leben entered a phase of his career where he accrued the majority of his losses. Touting a record of 20-6 four of his losses have come since the Silva fight.

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