UFC 103 Predictions

UFC 103 September 19th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. This is sure to be an explosive event. Loaded with upcoming fighters like, Efrain Escudero(TUF winner). Veteran's looking for a comeback as in Josh Koscheck and superstars making their way back to the UFC such as Vitor Belfort and Mirko Cro Cop. Ex-champions trying to get back on the top as in Rich "Ace" Franklin. The card is full of possible fights of the night and KO victories. With the return of the “The Phenom" Vitor Belfort (Former UFC LW champion) is sure to bring his explosive power back to the octagon against Franklin. On this card we will also welcome long time competitor, Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko. Excited to see him fight in the octagon. There are many names on this card that can bring an exciting fight and close the show early. This is one that I will not miss (Like I miss any of them). Below are my UFC 103 predictions.
Rich "Ace" Franklin VS Vitor "Phenom" Belfort: Winner Rich Franklin. I think that Rich will be able to weather any storm that Vitor brings and as soon as the gas tank is empty Rich will seal the deal. 3rd round stoppage.
Mirko Cro Cop VS Junior Dos Santos : Winner Mirko Cro Cop. Mirko really wants to come out a make a statement. This one will not take long. 1st round KO.
Paul Daley VS Martin Kampmann : Winner Paul Daley. You may be asking your self why Paul Daley (Replaced Mike Swick due to injury). Well I like the underdog and I think this might miss up Kampmann game plan. Paul Daley is no Mike Swick so I think that makes him more dangerous. Paul Daley by decision.
Josh Koscheck VS Frank Trigg : Winner Josh Koscheck. No need to explain. Kos is a great wrestler which nullifies Trigg's and Josh will use his great improving stand up to end it quick. Koscheck by KO in 2nd round.
Tyson Griffin VS Hermes Franca : Winner Hermes Franca. This should be a great battle. I thinks this is going to be a tough match up for Franca but I think that he will catch Griffin slipping and win by submission.
Efrain Escudero VS Cole Miller : Winner Efrain Escudero. Submission
Drew McFedries VS Tomasz Drwal : Winner Drew McFedries. 1st Rd KO

UFC 101 Results

It has been a long time since my last blog. I had my in laws over and they were staying down stairs where my computer is. It was hard to get to the computer. We had some good times and the kids had lots of fun. My other sons finally came home so have spent lots of time with them. We had to spoil them for awhile so spent most of my time doing that.
I did have the chance to watch UFC 101 Florian VS Penn & Anderson Silva VS Forrest Griffin. It was a great card with lots of great fights. As my last blog I had predictions. The Silva vs Griffin fight played out how I thought it would. Anderson Silva did not take long to take Griffin out with precise strikes and great movement. I knew that Silva would be to much for Griffin to handle. Yes Griffin is a big light heavy weight but that also meant he was going to be slower than Silva. This played a big role on the demise of Griffin. Anderson Silva came out as he normally does taking his time just waiting for the right moment. Griffin fired off some shots and Silva danced around them like a movie star in the 9th week of Dancing with the Stars. Silva countered with some devastating straight punches. He dropped Griffin not once, not twice but 3 times. The 3rd time Griffin signaled to the Ref that he did not want anymore. The next thing that happened was a surprise to most people but not me. Griffin gained his composure and rushed out of the octagon and raced to the dressing rooms. Most likely he was on a flight out to Georgia before Silva walked out of the octagon. Griffin came into this fight with lots of emotion. There was all kinds of talk on-line about how it would be Griffin to de-thrown the champion and he was also very confident that he could win. The way that Silva beat him was not only embarrassing but a blow to the ego. As we all remember when he fought Jardine and lost he was very emotional and he stated that he was not going to do that again. Forrest Griffin is a great fighter and I totally respect him still. He is a fighter that fights with a lot of emotion. Do not count him out he is still one of the top fighters in the world. He will be back and he will put on great fights. Anderson Silva is a fighter that is above all the rest. He is truly the best fighter Pound for Pound. He does not duck fights, he does not care about promotions or money, nor does he worry about a tainted legacy(Fedor). He wants to fight the best and fight the biggest fights. Fedor needs to take some lesson on how to be the best from the Spider Silva. Anderson Silva still has 3 fights left on his UFC contract. Does Silva want to stay a Light Heavy Weight? Or does he want to continue to fight and the weight that he has dominated since coming to the UFC. Silva wants to fight the best so if that is at 205 then he will fight at 205. Is there anybody at 185 that can challenge him? If there is he will fight them. There is still Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt and Damian Maia for him to fight at 185. He has already beat two of the named. Will Anderson be excited and motivated to fight people that he has already beat? Not so much. We know what happens when Anderson Silva gets bored with fights. They turn into unanimous decisions with lack luster action. These fighters have other fights that they need to win to be considered worthy. Did Dan Henderson get close to winning the fight with Anderson? Who knows but the one thing I know is that if they make him fight Hendo again it will not last that long. I hope that all that Fu&*# talk about Fedor is over cause he does not deserve to be in the same sentence as Anderson the Spider Silva. Then there is the talk about him fighting his buddy Lyoto Machida. I hope that fight never happens. Lyoto Machida has not even had the chance to defend his title yet. Lets see him do that a couple of times first. Can he beat a Rashad Evans or a Rampage Jackson. That test needs to be signed and delivered before any Silva fight needs to happen. GSP sounds like he does not want any of Silva either. What would be a good fight to see is Chuck Liddell if he decides to come out of retirement, Wanderlei Silva and many others that I think would make for a great fight. ANDERSON THE "SPIDER" SILVA THE BEST FIGHTER POUND 4 POUND NUFF SAID.

Kenny Florian vs BJ Penn also played out like I thought it would. Kenny did a good job being active during the fight but he never took Penn's confidence away and that is what needs to be done to defeat a fighter like BJ. If BJ does not feel threatened or hurt or frustrated then he will smash you. Kenny was in good shape and seemed ready to fight a BJ Penn but he did not have the game plan to put BJ away. Just like GSP did. GSP won most of the stand-up game and was constantly putting BJ on his back and gave damage while he was down. Kenny was not able to do that. BJ was not worried about losing that fight at all. Kenny will be back, but I do not think he will be able to defeat the master until he figures some of this out. Now BJ is calling out Diego Sanchez. Does Diego have what it takes? I believe he does but he needs to be able to break down BJ and strip him of his confidence. BJ looks unstoppable but any one can get beat at any time. If they fight it will be one worth watching, but I do not think the Nightmare is ready for the Prodigy. There is one fighter that I think can beat BJ right now, Frankie Edgar. I think he has all the tools to beat a BJ. His name has not come up but remember I said this. For Frankie's time will come. There were many other good fights that night but I do not have the time.

UFC 101 - Fedor - StrikeForce

UFC 101 is scheduled to go down on Aug 8th. We have Anderson "The Spider" Silva VS Forrest Griffin at light heavy weight, 205 lbs. In the main event we have the Prodigy BJ Penn VS Kenny "Kenflo" Florian for the light weight title. Both of these fights I have been waiting for. There has been a lot of talk about the Silva-Griffin fight. Everybody is saying not to count out Forrest and that he has already shocked the world with his wins against Sho Gun and Rampage, but I must say that Silva does not compare to either of these two. Silva is a different level then they. He is quick and precise with his stikes. He brings speed and top level counter strikes and above average foot work. People are saying that Forrest is a larger light heavy weight and that it can pose many problems for Silva. A lot of people bring up the Henderson fight and the Lutter fight. Mmmm, let me think........Lutter was submitted but a triangle choke and Henderson a rear naked choke. Silva took a lot of damage from both fighters from the bottom but he still submitted them. Every fighter that goes in to fight Silva wants to take him down and impose their will. Many fighters have tried but have not succeeded. Do not get me wrong Forrest does pose some problems for Silva but he is the type of fighter that will find a way to win and win in a awesome fashion. Forrest is going to come after Silva and kick and strike and he will not run from Silva nor beat himself. This is exactally what Silva wants. Chris Leben tried to do the same thing and we all know how that ended up. Yes Forrest is bigger and stronger but so was Rich Franklin. Rich has been know to say that he was stronger then Silva and bigger. As we all know to watched both fights Silva dominated him and had him all over the Octagon. Is Anderson Silva unbeatable? No, any man can be beat at any time. Can Forrest be the guy to beat him? Maybe. Many people are looking for Forrest to beat him and if he can weather the storm he can win. All this could or could not be the case. What I have noticed about Anderson Silva is that when he wants to knock a fool out he will find the way. Will Forrest be able to impose his will? I really do not see this happening. The one thing that I notice about Forrest is that he sure does get hit a lot during his fights, and you really do not want Silva to hit you many times, most people say goodnight. Forrest is going to try to utilize a lot of kicks and close quarters and the clinch. If he starts to chase Silva that could be the end of the fight due to Silva's great striking ability. My prediction is Silva KO within the first 3 minutes of the fight. I also think that Silva might just rush Forrest with a devastating flying Knee right after the ref starts the fight. It will rock Forrest and then it is just a matter of time before the lights go out.
Penn VS Florian is a different story. BJ Penn is a dangerous fighter, ex specially coming off a loss. If Florian is going to have a chance he better not let Penn pick him apart with the jab and great striking. Is KenFlo ready to take on the best 155 Pound in the world. We will just have to see. The one thing that I notice about BJ is that if the fight starts to slip away from him he will break and will never be able to come back. In all his fights if he starts off well and continues that way no one can stop him. Every time he gets in trouble he does not win. Florian is going to have to beat BJ at the stand up game in order to win. That is a very huge task going up against BJ. I really do not have a prediction for this fight because many things have to happen in order for each fighter to gain the advantage. If KenFlo can take the 1st round then I think he definitely has a chance. If he lets BJ control the standup and take the 1st round he might not get another chance because once BJ smells blood it is over. What Iam wondering is will BJ get on top of KenFlo and will he eat some vicious elbow's. Iam so excited to see these fights. I cannot wait.
The whole Fedor thing has me all pissed off. If you look at all other sports wither it be NFL, NBA, MLB you want to always play with the best. Alot of it could be about money, fame and legacy but when it all boils down to it any champions wants to beat the best to call himself the best. StrikeForce has some good fighters but they are all UFC flunkies or no names. Yes they have titles but are they defending the titles. Fedor may go in and dominate the division but then what. Can StrikeForce continue to put good fighters in front of him to keep him happy. Who knows. I just think that he is going to be the Dan Marino of MMA. Has all the records but no Super Bowel Ring.