UFC 75 Conference Call - Babalu Fired, Dana Rips Barnett, etc..

I know it's been awhile since I made a blog but there was just too much good stuff today from the UFC 75 Conference Call. The boys over at MMANews.com have all of the information you need, check out their first report here, & Chris Howie's notes on it here.

My quick take on the conference call:

I think Dana is flat out trying to ruin Barnett.. It's true that most average fans have no idea who Josh is, but anyone who doesn't have him in their top 4 Heavyweights is a fool. Barnett has been taking cheap shots at the UFC ever since he left though, so I really don't blame Dana.

As far as Babalu getting kicked out of the UFC, I'm actually pretty happy about it. Not that I believe what he did was worthy of being kicked out of an organization, but I'm happy he'll go to other shows. Babalu is a big name in MMA, & him going over to EliteXC or one of the other big shows is good for the sport. We need another organization with good fighters, piling all the talent on one show simply isn't smart for the sport. Here's hoping Babalu doesn't retire & that we'll see him in EliteXC/Strikeforce/K1 Hero's.

Looks like Dana & the UFC are simply going to give up on PRIDE. I think they'll keep doing the little things, where they tell everyone it's going to take time, & simply wait until people just forget about it ever happening. I expect them to keep up the hope for a little while to please the die hard fans, only to unleash a final statement that the organization is completely dead within the next year.

I'm going to try and continue to be a bit more active in the future, just keep checking up. Read more!

Still Breathing

Yes, don't worry, no need to call your local police station, I am still very much alive. Just been pretty busy as of late, and I guess it's a good time to be inactive as there hasn't been all that much going on in the MMA world recently. I did catch the recent EliteXC card on Showtime and I was quite impressed. The only thing that was pretty lame was the pre-fight fighter video packages. They reminded me of the early UFC video packages, you know, like the one where Tank Abbott does his famous 500lb bench press?

Anyways, stay tuned guys, I promise I have good things planned. I'll have my preview for UFC 74 & my MMA Betting review up about a week before the card this time. One love. Read more!

Friday Notes

Ah, how nice it feels to finally wake up early and have some free time to write. Been quite busy the past few weeks, and I haven't been able to update as much as I have wanted to. I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I have a lot of good articles planned for the future. So stay tuned, I promise I'll continue to improve upon the site. Here's the latest happenings in the world of Mixed Martial Arts:

• So, I'm sure by now everyone knows both UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk & his most recent opponent, Hermes Franca, both tested positive for steroids. Are these guys really that stupid? Franca has made a statement already, and claims he doped in order to "accelerate the healing process". Sherk on the other hand, has yet to release a statement. Personally, I don't blame "The Muscle Shark" for not speaking out yet. What excuse is the guy really going to have about the matter that isn't completely idiotic, or absolutely cliche. Where does this leave the Lightweight division? How annoying is this going to be not being able to see any of the recently proposed dream matches involving Sherk not happen for a YEAR? The boys over at the UFC offices need to quit beating around the bush and address the 1000 pound canary in the room.
  
  
• There is a pretty funny video that surfaced recently of B.J. Penn calling out Wanderlei Silva from back in the day. A lot of people discussing it liked to point out that Penn is holding a beer during the interview. This video reaffirms my beliefs that Penn fears no man. If it wasn't so dorky to wear MMA shirts when you don't train or fight, I would surely sport a "Just Scrap" shirt in honor of "The Prodigy".

• K-1 stalwart Dewey Cooper won his MMA debut last night against a previously undefeated nobody named Adam Smith at the Palace Fighting Championships. Cooper could be a force if he trains with the right people. I've always felt like a sprawl shouldn't be that hard to learn, but I know there is more to it than that. It could be a little late for him to come on, & I'm not even sure if he intends on pursuing an MMA career, but Team Quest would be a good place to start. Also on the card Shawn Bias, & Ruben "Warpath" Villareal, picked up victories. Not too many big names on the card, but the full results are up over on Sherdog.

• I previously reported that Chris Leben would be facing Mike Swick in the Main Event at UFC Fight Night 11. Instead, Johnathan Goulet has stepped up and will be fighting Swick on the under card. UFCJunkie.com has a good article on it. But apparently, Leben backed out, & Goulet started yapping on message boards trying to get Swick & the UFC's attention. Whether you want to look down on Goulet for going about it the way he did or not, kudos to the guy for getting back into the UFC because of it.
  
  Update: UFCJunkie.com is now reporting that Chris Leben will be fighting Terry Martin at UFC Fight Night 11. I think this is a harder fight for Leben than Swick was, and I look for Martin to completely overpower him.
  

• While we're on UFC Fight Night 11, apparently the Lightweight showdown between Din Thomas & Spencer Fisher will be moving up into the main event slot. I'm actually quite pumped for this fight, especially with the news on Sherk & the state of the division. Whatever the outcome, the winner of this fight could see himself fighting for an Interim title in the very near future. Fisher is always game, and Thomas finally looks like he might live up to the enormous amount of potential he's always had.

• Numerous sources are reporting that Boxing & EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw has been following in Don Imus's footsteps. Apparently Shaw called one of his eight African American fighters "a black monkey". Check out the article on Bet.com for more information on it.

• TIME Magazine has recently published an article discussing Women's Mixed Martial Arts. Not only does the article comment on it's "brutality", but also cites a few comments from good ol' Dana White. From the article: "I don't want to see two women beatin' on each other," says UFC president Dana White. "I don't like it.". Please Dana, quit trying to impress people with your chivalry, we know you would love to be the one who has Gina Carano signed to a contract right now. It seems that Dana will trash talk absolutely ANYTHING the UFC isn't doing now a days.
  

• Graciefighter.com is reporting that both Nick Diaz & Jake Shields will be fighting for ProElite FC in September. Apparently both fighters are still working out negotiations with Gary Shaw(Who's probably too busy dealing with his "black monkeys".) & that both are expected to compete on a card in September. Graciefighter.com also claims they will be announcing their opponents next week, so stay tuned.
  

• According to an article at the OCRegister.com, EliteXC's upcoming July 27th show is being billed as the debut of "ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series". Apparently it is an MMA runoff of the popular "ShoBox: The New Generation" series. Personally I think it's a great idea, & the thought of young MMA fighters getting their start on Showtime at a national level is awesome. Props to Showtime for bucking up & not being scared to show the fastest rising sport in the world. HBO needs to quit messing around, and give Jim Lampley a big slap on the face by showing MMA. Edson Berto & KJ Noons will do battle in the Main Event of the debut card.
  

That's it for today, please keep checking back for more updates. I plan on writing a few very opinionated articles here in the near future. I also plan to continue my Reviews, Predictions, Betting Help blogs for any big cards that may take place in the future. Remember, this is only the beginning.
Read more!

Small update, Babalu arrested

Hey guys, just letting you know I didn't forget about you guys or the blog. Just been quite busy the last few days. I'll have a full update with a lot of notes on Monday. For now, just wanted to let you guys know to stay tuned, and to check out the Tampa, Florida charge report on Renato "Babalu" Sobral. No big deal or anything, he's already out, apparently he spit on a bouncer outside the Hard Rock. It's pretty funny, enjoy, & stay tuned. Read more!

Monday Notes

How's it going fellas? Thanks for all the good comments and emails I've been getting over the past few days. The hits on the website have really been picking up, and I really appreciate all of you. I've started to do a few link exchanges with some other MMA websites, and everyone should check them out. Also, if any of my readers have a link they would like to share, please let me know. Now, time for some notes..

• The fighter salaries & live gate totals are out for UFC 73. According to MMAWeekly.com, the live gate was roughly $1,551,920 while the total disclosed payroll was $628,340. Just another example of how the UFC needs to start dishing out more money to the fighters.

• Cage Rage has released the final lineup for their July 14th card, Hard as Hell. Competing in the Main Event is Eric "Butterbean" Esch taking on Tengiz Tedoradze. Also, in what will surely be a brawl, James Thompson & Cabbage will be throwing it down. Other notables in action are the legendary Mario Sperry, Edson Drago, Gary Turner, UFC referee Herb Dean, & TUF veteran Ross Pointon.

• Apparently earlier today a post on Sherdog surfaced about UFC.com. The post claimed that if you went to the UFC website and then went to Title Holders there were two empty spots for Featherweight & Bantamweight. Although these two spots have now been taking off the website, other posters confirmed they were previously there. Not sure what this means exactly, but I wouldn't read too far into it. The UFC is hyping up the WEC with a strong focus on the smaller weight classes, and I think they will keep them over there. I don't see any reason to bring them into the UFC at this point.

• BJ Penn's website has some very good videos on it. A somewhat daily show of Penn's training regiment, and incredible instructional videos offered up for free. It is surely something to check out.

• Arash Markazi of SI.com wrote a pretty good article about the Rashad Evans & Tito Ortiz fight. He had some really good stuff from the post-fight press conference. Including quotes from Rashad claiming "Tito, you were grabbing the cage the whole fight". Tito then asked Rashad "What about the Vaseline on your arms?". Looks like these two were already hyping up the rematch only a few hours after their first fight was a dud.

• According to an article by Gary Herman at CBS SportsLine.com, Dana White has confirmed that Fedor Emelianenko's UFC debut is imminent. Herman quoted White as saying "We are planning to have Fedor fighting in the UFC at the end of 2007, or early 2008".
  

• For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, there is a video of Kimbo Slice calling Tank Abbott out after his victory over Roy Mercer. Cage Fury has confirmed that Kimbo & Tank will clash in the Main Event at their upcoming Cage Fury 6 event "Heavy Hands" on September 14th, in Atlantic City.

• Apparently investors in Brazil liked the idea of the IFL. MMAWeekly.com reports that The MTL, an organization not affiliated with the IFL will be starting up a league in the near future. The coaches include Brazilian stalwarts like Wanderlei Silva, Murilo Bustamante, Pedro Rizzo, & Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Scanning the list of fighters on the various teams, I see names like Jean Silva, Alexandre Cacareco, Erick Wanderlei, & Andre Mussi.
  

That's it for today, hope you got your fill on some of the latest happenings. Until next time.. Read more!

Sunday Notes, Thoughts on UFC 73

Well, I had a good time last night watching UFC 73 in HD on my big screen television. One of the biggest disappointments I had was not betting on the fights. If you check out my UFC 73 Preview I went 7-1-1 on my predictions. I've been waiting quite sometime for the event, and I think it only somewhat lived up to it's potential. The thing is, if you really looked at the card, you had to somewhat know it wasn't going to be all fireworks.

The way some of the fighters were matched up, it was going to be real probable how most of the fights were going to go. Still, I'm not disappointed in the card whatsoever. The only thing I'd really change about the fight, is the Rashad Evans & Tito Ortiz fight. I would have liked to see what Rashad could have done if he wasn't so damn hesitant to swing.

Time for some notes..

• How impressive was Anderson Silva? The guy just continues to prove people wrong. I, like many other people on the net, have been continuously saying Silva's Jiu Jitsu is weak, and he keeps proving us wrong. I'm officially convinced that his Nogueira Black Belt is well deserved, and I will not doubt him on the ground ever again. The UFC announced the inevitable rematch with former champ, Rich "Ace" Franklin will be in Cincinnati, Ohio at UFC 77.
  

• Just when I was convinced Sean Sherk would hold the UFC Lightweight title forever, Dana White announced in the Post-Fight Press Conference that BJ Penn would be Sherk's next title defense in November. Not only was I very happy about this news, but completely mind boggled on who to pick as the winner. I'd like to say I think Penn could counter Sherk's offense, but I'm just not sure.

• I saw some pretty stupid rumors on Sherdog last night about the Heath Herring & Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight being a possible work. Sometimes it boggles my mind how dumb some of the posters are over there. No, Dana White did not tell Herring to "not finish Nogueira", he simply gassed. Yeah, it looked weird because it seemed like Herring could have finished him at any time.. But, it was simply because he ran out of steam, NOT because Dana White told him not to.

• News 10 Sacramento is reporting that a fan at the UFC 73 event last night fell 30 feet to the ground at the Arco Arena. Apparently he died from his injuries at the UC Davis Medical Center. Sincerest apologies go out to his family, and I'll try to have more on it when it develops.

• On a lighter note, how hot were the two Police officers escorting the fighters down to the arena? Were these even really officers or security guards? If so, I'd let them put me in handcuffs any day.

• The thing that disappoints me the most about the outcome of the Rashad Evans & Tito Ortiz fight is that I believe the UFC will try to push an entire PPV based solely on the rematch. I hope they realize it would be a good thing for the fans to go ahead and offer the rematch as a Main Event for an upcoming Ultimate Fight Night instead.

• An article on the Gainesville Sun's website says Dana White confirmed Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's first opponent in the UFC will likely be Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida. It's also just a pretty good article. You should check it out.

• The UFC has officially launched the UFC 74 "Respect" Website, the Main Event is Randy "The Natural" Couture taking on Gabriel Gonzaga for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

• UFCJunkie.com is reporting that a rematch between Chris Leben & Mike Swick may headline Ultimate Fight Night 11.
  

• Who else was happy to see Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at the UFC 73 event? I'm excited to see "Mach" test some of the Lightweights in the future. I just hope the UFC doesn't feed him to the sharks right off the bat.
  
  Edit: Now that I think of it, Sakurai will probably be fighting at Welterweight in the UFC.
  

• According to Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, Team Quest member Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has agreed to terms with EliteXC. Reports were that Sokoudjou was unimpressed with offers from the UFC, and will reportedly earn $150,000 to show, and $50,000 to win with Showtime's EliteXC. Sokoudjou is coming off of two huge upset victories in a row against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira & Ricardo Arona.

That's it for now. I'll have more stuff later this evening, or tomorrow. Thanks for reading. Read more!

Anderson Silva & Sean Sherk Retain Titles: Full UFC 73 Results Inside

Anderson Silva only needed one round to retain his UFC Middleweight Championship by TKO. Sean Sherk took a different route, by completely controlling his opponent for five rounds to retain his UFC Lightweight Championship.

Nate Marquardt simply looked outclassed early on in the fight. He was finally able to take Silva to the ground, but Anderson once again proved to everyone that his Jiu Jitsu game is actually damn good. Silva used his long legs to work a very high guard, and attempt to transition for a plethora of triangle chokes. Eventually, Big John McCarthy stood the fighters up, and Anderson quickly took advantage.

"The Spider" was able to drop Marquardt to the ground with a left hand, and followed Nate to the ground to unload numerous undefended blows. McCarthy had enough, and pulled Silva off, stopping the fight.

After the fight, it was very well hinted to that Anderson Silva's next title defense will be in a rematch against former champion Rich "Ace" Franklin.

In what many uneducated MMA fans will call a boring fight, Sean Sherk absolutely impressed. For five rounds, Sherk was able to control Hermes Franca and earn a well deserved decision.

Every round seemed to go exactly the same. At the start of each round, Hermes Franca was able to connect with a huge strike, usually a vicious knee strike. After taking the blow, Sherk would muscle Franca to the ground, and the fight would stay there until the end of the round. The fight went this way for five rounds, and Sherk was able to retain his UFC Lightweight Championship. Sherk will apparently be set up in a showdown with BJ Penn sometime in November in what will be his toughest defense yet.

The much anticipated fight between Rashad Evans & Tito Ortiz really didn't live up to the hype. Or, it's quite possible, that the hype is what made it so lackluster. It seemed Rashad Evans was incredibly tentative to engage with Ortiz, and he needed a few rounds to get his feet under him.

Rashad was able to cut Ortiz early on, and the replays showed it was a thumb to the side of the eye. UFC commentator Joe Rogan pointed out that the cut was in the exact shape of a fingernail.

Tito Ortiz seemed to be cruising to a decision, albeit, by simply laying on Rashad, but he was able to score the most take downs in the first two stanzas. Near the end of the 2nd round, Tito was penalized a point on the scorecards for grabbing onto the cage to prevent a huge take down from Evans.

This put Ortiz up by only one round on most of the judges scorecards. Rashad continued to put on the pressure in the third round, and with only 10 seconds left in the round secured the round with a huge take down.

The judges gave Ortiz the first & second round, and Evans the third round. Because of the point deduction, this put both fighters at 28-28 on the judges scorecards, forcing a very rare draw. This likely sets up a rematch between the two fighters in the near future.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was able to defeat Heath Herring for the third time, but not without trouble. After continually peppering "The Texas Crazy Horse"'s face with jabs, and busting him open, Herring hid a huge leg kick reminiscent of Gabriel Gonzaga's against Mirko Cro Cop that floored Nogueira to the ground.

Somehow Nogueira was able to slightly defend Herring's ground attack, & to many people's surprise Herring backed off, and allowed Nogueira to get back on his feet. Nogueira looked to be out on his feet, but Herring seemed gassed, and didn't capitilize on finishing the Brazilian icon.

From there, it was a very slow fight with Nogueira still nearly dazed for the final two rounds, & Heath Herring incredibly tired. Nogueira was able to turn it up a little more in the third round, busting open Herring's face even worse. The fight went to the judges, and all three gave Nogueira the decision 29-28.

Kenny Florian made quick work of Alvin Robinson forcing Robinson to tap out from a vicious barrage of strikes from in the mount. Florian was not shy about his desire to get another shot at Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk.

In the undercard, Stephan Bonnar was able to win in his return to the octagon with a 1st round submission victory over Mike Nickels.

Jorge Gurgel won a unanimous decision over Diego Saraiva in what many fans who saw the fight are calling an absolute war. Although the judges scored the bout 30-27, many reports are that it was a great fight to watch.

Chris Lytle won the UFC's Submission of the night by overpowering late replacement Jason Gilliam and securing an Inverted Triangle Choke.

In the opening fight of the night, Frankie Edgar needed only one round to finish off Mark Bocek with strikes.
Read more!

Here We Go!

We're only a couple hours away until one of the most anticipated UFC fight cards in recent memory. I hope everyone is as pumped for the event tonight as I am. I just decided to shell out the extra ten bucks to order it in HD, so I'm ready. Here's a press conference video I just found on NBCSPORTS. It's pretty damn good, has some funny trash talk between Rasshad & Tito in it.

Hopefully I'll have some post fight analysis tonight after the card, if not, you can expect it on Sunday. I'll have a final review of the card, sum up how well I did on my predictions, and how well I did on my betting picks. Be sure to come by tomorrow, I'll have some good stuff for you fellas'. Read more!

Direct Link to UFC 73 Weigh Ins

Click here and then click the launch button to watch the UFC 73 Weigh Ins. And here is the rest of it.


Read more!

Minute for Minute - UFC 73 Weigh Ins

My Minute by Minute analysis of the UFC 73 Weigh Ins.

5:52PM CST: Watching it from the UFC feed, we got a huge mess, including some random guy yelling at the fighters to get in line and whatnot. If I hear him yell Rashad's name one more time I'm probably going to vomit.

5:53PM CST: Showing Marquardt & Silva backstage together. I never knew how close the fighters were when they were waiting to go on stage. Doesn't seem to be much hostility between the two fighters at all. Silva is now messin' around with someone who I'm not familiar with. Looks like it's just one of his trainers. Silva shows his best impression of how he hopes the fight goes down tomorrow, by getting his trainer in a headlock and faking some punches to his head.

5:55PM CST: Joe Rogan is on. He's being his usually charismatic self.

5:56PM CST: Bocek & Edgar are weighing in.. Edgar gets a pretty decent cheer from the fans. They don't seem to know Bocek at all. Both fighters make weight.

5:58PM CST: Joe Rogan agrees with the fans in booing ESPN for having "us timed out." Lytle & Gilliam come out. Gilliam gets little to no response. Lytle gets a good response. They looked pretty happy and pumped, both fighters make weight.

5:59PM CST: Apparently the UFC continues it's great nicknames by giving Diego Saraiva the nickname of the "Octopus". Gurgel looks absolutely ripped, I think he's going to kill Diego tomorrow.

6:01PM CST: This should be on ESPNEWS now, but it's not yet. Great, here comes Nickels and Bonnar. What a joke, the only thing Nickels has going for him is his 100 tattoos. Bonnar gets a good reception from the crowd, not exactly sure why. Bonnar looks more ripped than usual, probably juiced up again.

6:02PM CST: Rogan announces we have two minutes until the main card. The music cuts off the stream.. Oops, unfortunately it's back, and we get a view of the TapouT Crew. I'm sorry, I know a lot of people don't like them, but Mask's laugh is hilarious.

6:04PM CST: Ok, I'm watching it on ESPNEWS now. Alvin Robinson & Kenny Florian are on their way out. "Ken-Flo" gets a decent reception from the crowd. Florian always looks so awkward. Yikes, I know I picked Florian to win, but Robinson looks huge compared to him. Could be an upset.

6:06PM CST: Here comes Heath herring, camouflage cowboy hat in tact. Monotauro Nogueira is on his way out, he looks good, and he gets a good reception from the crowd. "Minotauro" looks a little bulkier than he has in the past in my opinion. You gotta' think Herring is getting a little tired of seeing this guy, if he loses again, he has lost three times in a row to him.

6:07PM CST: Here comes Rashad Evans, crowd is giving him some mixed reactions. I can hear some boos, but I hear the cheers as well. Tito gets even louder mixed reactions from the crowd. Now the crowd is echoing out in a small "Tito" chant.

6:09PM CST: One lady is yelling louder than everyone else in the crowd for Tito. I wonder if it's Jenna Jammison. Tito runs right up into Rashad's face. They got some serious mouthing off going. Dana has to separate them.

6:10PM CST: Rolling a clip of Rashad & Tito highlights. Rashad calls Tito an "entertainer", & himself a "fighter". Tito claims after the fight is over, everyone will be saying, "Rashad Who?".

6:11PM CST: Continuous trash talking back in forth on the video package. I feel like Tito says the same thing in almost every interview.

6:12PM CST: Apparently ESPN decided to take a commercial break right when Sean Sherk & Hermes Franca were about to come out.

6:13PM CST: After a delay, we get Sean Sherk & Franca. Franca looks happy as hell, and has a big smile on his face.

6:14PM CST: Sean Sherk is wearing the ever played out Affliction shirt. He flexes, and I'm rather impressed in a very heterosexual manner.

6:15PM CST: Nate Marquardt doesn't get the response I thought he would. The fans probably confused him with one of the other hundreds of people in the arena with an Affliction shirt on. Silva doesn't get much of a response either.

6:16PM CST: Anderson Silva gets right in Marquardt's face for a good stare down to close out the Weigh Ins.

Read more!

How to Watch the UFC 73 Weigh Ins!

The UFC 73 Weigh Ins are today at 6:00PM CST time. I expect a pretty entertaining weigh in, and I expect to see some drama go down between Tito Ortiz & Rashad Evans.

If you have ESPNEWS tune into the channel at 6:00PM CST. If you have digital service, the listing should show up as ESPNEWS 'Pregame'. I think ESPN usually only covers the main card, but if you watch it online, you can usually see the guys on the under card weigh in.

For all of the online listings simply click here, and it will give you a list of sites to watch it from.

For all my readers who miss the weigh in, I'll try and get a hold of a permanent link for it, to post on here ASAP. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do!
Read more!

Friday Update - UFC 73 Vegas Odds - Betting Help

Ok, I've had some very good responses for my UFC 73 Preview. Let me first say, that you can expect previews for all of the major events, from the various organizations. I also wanted to let my readers know that I really appreciate all the support I've been getting. I had a great birthday and good 4th of July break, and I hope you all did as well. Now it's time to get back to work. I've got the latest lines in from Vegas, as well as my best bets.

Here's the lines from July 6th from the guys over at UFC-Betting.com:

In bold you will find my pick to win the fight. The two names in red are the fights I am most confident in. The two names in blue are the ones I see as the best value bets, or bets where the fighter isn't my pick to win, but has a long shot chance, and good money can be won.

Remember, if you were to bet on Nate Marquardt to win, since he's at +120, you'd bet $100.00 to win $120.00. If you bet on Anderson Silva, since he's the favorite at -150 you'd have to bet $150.00 to win $100.00.

NATE MARQUARDT +120
ANDERSON SILVA -150

HERMES FRANCA - +195
SEAN SHERK -255

RASHAD EVANS -120
TITO ORTIZ -110

ALVIN ROBINSON +225
KENNY FLORIAN -305

HEATH HERRING +400
MINOTAURO NOGUEIRA -650

MIKE NICKELS +340
STEPHAN BONNAR -470

DIEGO SARAIVA +180
JORGE GURGEL -230

JASON GILLIAMS +300
CHRIS LYTLE -420

MARK BOCEK +180
FRANK EDGAR -240

So to more easily recap that for you. I have Sean Sherk & Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira as my two most confident picks. Also, the two longshot underdogs that are good value bets that I picked are Jason Gilliams & Alvin Robinson. Now, I don't think Gilliams or Robinson is going to win. But in my opinion, they have the best chance to pull out an upset and win you a lot of money. You don't have to bet much to win a lot on those guys.

I'm going to be doing this for every big card, and will be keeping track of my record. Hopefully I don't lose any of you guys money. There are many sites you can bet on the UFC at, just make a google search for UFC Betting Odds.

Read more!

UFC 73: Stacked - PREVIEW

Finally the UFC has a decent name tagged onto one of their PPV's. Not only a decent name, but one that finally means something. No pun intended, but this really could be one of the most stacked cards in recent ages. Anderson Silva defends his Middleweight Championship, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira finally comes to the states to fight in the octagon, the big ticket seller, Tito Ortiz is in action, and not to mention, Sean Sherk will be defending his Lightweight Championship.

I'm going to give you guys a rundown on the televised card, give you a few notes on the undercard, and throw out my predictions. I'm going to start keeping track of how well I do on my picks, maybe I'll build up a good record and Matthew Mcconaughey & Al Pacino can make a movie about me.

Anderson Silva(c) vs Nathan Marquardt - Middleweight Title:
This is going to be a very interesting fight. Two very different fighters who will walk into Sacramento with completely opposite game plans. Silva will look to stand and utilize his Muay Thai, and excellent striking. Marquardt will look to take Silva to the ground where he can attempt to muscle out a decision with ground & pound, as well as a nice submission arsenal.

Most people probably know UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva by now. Mainly for his continuously replayed knockouts of Chris Leben & Rich "Ace" Franklin. I don't think I've ever seen someone's knockout highlights played more on Spike TV.

More experienced fans of MMA, will remember him from his early days & his victories over the likes of Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Carlos Newton, & Jeremy Horn. What a lot of people don't know, is that he has had some pretty memorable losses as well. Ones that come to mind are the flying heel hook loss to Ryo Chonan, and the triangle he got caught in from Daiju Takase.

Nathan Marquardt is a seven time King of Pancrase Middleweight Champion. Marquardt hasn't lost since he got choked by Ricardo Almeida & then subsequently kicked in the face by Renzo Gracie for hitting Almeida after the fight was stopped. Since then, Nate "The Great" has been on an absolute tear starting with wins over Kazuo Misaki, the highly touted Ivan Salaverry, Joe Doerkson, & former ADCC Champion, Dean Lister.

I look for this fight to go one of two ways. Either Marquardt will be able to take Silva to the ground and control him forcing a TKO... Or Silva is going to simply dance circles around him and systematically knock him out.

I was a strong believer in Travis Lutter's chances against Anderson Silva at UFC 67. To be honest, I wasn't all that wrong. Lutter was able to take Silva to the ground and control him. After round one he looked like he was on his way to getting a decision over Silva, but he got chocked out instead. A lot of people like to always point out that Silva has a BJJ Black Belt from the Nogueira brothers, but I've still never thought his BJJ was that great. My view on that still hasn't changed, and I think if the fight goes to the ground Marquardt will punish him. There is much difference between Nate "The Great" and Travis Lutter. First of all, Lutter struggled with weight before the fight and didn't even clear it forcing a non-title fight against Silva. Marquardt will come with his game face on, and will have something to fight for. He has also faced the much better competition in his career than Lutter.

PREDICTION:
I'm not taking anything away from Anderson Silva & I personally view him as the best striker in the entire Middleweight division. I've just never been a true believer in his ability to stop a guy like Marquardt. Nate is an absolute bulldog, and I look for him to take Silva to the ground and control him until he tires Silva out. From there I see Marquardt pulling out a submission for the victory. I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this, but I have to go with my gut.

Marquardt takes the UFC Middleweight Championship from "The Spider" via submission in round 3. Remember, you heard it here first!




Tito Ortiz vs Rashad Evans
What a fight, I absolutely can not wait for this one. Out of all the great fights on the card, this one is easily the one I'm most excited about. There isn't as much on the line in this fight as some of the others but it's easily the most intriguing fight in my opinion. A good clash of personalities & some big questions that need to be answered. Is Tito Ortiz going to prove he's still a contender? Or will he become just another novelty fighter? Will Rashad Evans step up in his biggest fight ever to the upper echelon of the Light Heavyweight division? Or will he prove to be just another "TUFer"?

Ortiz is one of the most marketable fighters out there right now. He's known as one of the guys who worked helped bring MMA to the mainstream by working his ass off. He's also known to bite off a little more than he can chew. He's one of the cockiest guys in the business, and his girlfriend is one of the cockiest women in business.. Yes, pun was intended there.

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" is coming off of a disappointing rematch loss to Chuck "Iceman" Liddell. Prior to that, Tito had only one two other losses in his previous 13 fights. One loss to Randy "The Natural" Couture, and his first loss to "The Iceman". His most recent wins include a pair against an aging Ken Shamrock, and a controversial decision win over Forrest Griffin.

Tito simply hasn't impressed me as of late. There isn't much pride in beating up an over the hill Shamrock. He also didn't help his case by almost dropping a decision to Griffin. His last fight was against "The Iceman", and he didn't look like he learned much from the last time Chuck knocked him out.

If Tito has been less than impressive in his last outings, "Sugar" Rashad has been the complete opposite. Fighting out of Greg Jackson's fight camp, Rashad sports an impressive 10-0 record. Five of those wins coming in the UFC, not including all the wins he piled up on the Ultimate Fighter. He has piled up impressive decisions over TUF alums Brad Imes, Sam Hoger, & Stephan Bonnar. More recently he's shown he can finish fights, by absolutely destroying Jason Lambert & Sean Salmon.

Rashad has shown that his collegiate wrestling career at Michigan State has really paid off. I've yet to see someone out wrestle Rashad in the octagon thus far, and he's really been able to manhandle every fighter he's come in contact with. Albeit, he hasn't had the toughest of competition yet, but he surely hasn't been fighting cans. Another thing he's shown recently is an incredible stand up game. I'm not sure what Greg Jackson puts in the water down there in Albuquerque, but his fighters gain skill at an incredible level. Jackson's team has fallen upon rough times lately, but their future as a top school is intact.

PREDICTION:
This is a very hard fight to call. These guys have certain skill sets that will prove to clash in a very strange way. Tito will look to take the fight to ground in order to unleash his famous ground and pound, and utilize his trademark cardio. The only problem I see here, is Tito trying to take down a decorated wrestler like Rashad. Although we haven't seen Rashad go up against anyone on the level of Tito, I still don't see Tito being able to get on top of him. Rashad's balance and years of wrestling may prove to be too much for Tito. If Tito isn't able to get Rashad to the ground, Rashad will completely outclass him in a stand up war.

Once again, a very hard fight to call, but I have to give it to Rashad Evans by an incredibly hard fought decision. This one will be fight of the night.




Sean Sherk(c) vs Hermes Franca - Lightweight Title:
Another very intriguing fight. Two very highly touted Lightweights going at it for five rounds. I don't think we'll see this fight go the distance, but I think it could be one of the better fights of the night. Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk attempts to make his first successful defense, while Hermes Franca looks to finally gain some well deserved spotlight.

Sherk became the UFC Lightweight Champion in an absolute war with Kenny Florian. Although Sherk was cut, and bloodied bad, he was still able to control Florian for five rounds. Sherk has been getting a lot of play from us Internet fiends, and people have been hyping him up a lot. Six months ago you wouldn't even hear his name mentioned with guys like Takanori Gomi & other upper echelon Lightweights, yet now, many people out there think he could beat any of them.

While I'm not one to usually feed into the hype, he's one guy that truly is for real. He just looks so damn strong and overpowering at Lightweight. Sherk has lost only twice in 36 fights, and those losses were to Welterweight studs George St. Pierre & Matt Hughes. He holds two victories over Karo Parisyan, a win over Nick Diaz, & a plethora of other wins from above average talent.

Hermes Franca is one of those guys who's always kind of just floated around. His first run in the UFC started out in 2004 with two straight wins, including one over then title contender, Caol Uno. He then proceeded to drop his next two fights in the UFC, and wasn't seen again until 2006 where he made his return and has stringed together three victories, including one in the WEC against Lightweight Ultimate Fighter winner Nathan Diaz.

After beating Miletich product Spencer Fisher by TKO, Franca got down on his knees and begged Dana White to give him a title shot. Well Hermes, all I can say for you is be careful what you wish for buddy. You very well may have bitten off more than you can chew with "The Muscle Shark".

PREDICTION:
I think this is going to be a four round war. I don't think it will go to the decision because I don't think Franca will be able to withstand the onslaught from Sherk. Although Sherk wasn't able to finish Florian, I think a lot of it had to do with the cut that could have been messing with his game plan. Hermes will look to test Sherk on his feet, but I think each round will be a short test. Sherk should easily be able to overpower Franca and hold him on the ground. Franca will succumb to the punishment, and Sherk will retain the title.

A very good fight, will be a nice mixture of BJJ, Strking, & Wrestling. Sean Sherk will defend his title, and get the win via TKO in round 4.




Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Heath Herring
Finally "Big Nog" will make his UFC debut. For any of you guys out there who don't know who Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira is, you soon will. He is the former PRIDE FC Heavyweight Champion, and the #2 ranked Heavyweight by MMAWeekly. Heath Herring is mostly well known by the causal fan for the big "Kiss" incident, where Yoshihiro Nakao leaned in and kissed Herring during a stare down. Herring didn't take to kindly to it, and proceeded to knock Nakao out before the fight even began.

"Minotauro" Nogueira is known to have one of the greatest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu games in all of Mixed Martial Arts. He's also commonly referred to as one of the only guys out there that people believe can beat Fedor Emelianenko. He's dropped two decisions to Fedor already, but people still feel he has the best chance out there.

"Minotauro" has been in the ring with the best the Heavyweight division has to offer, and has been able to beat nearly everyone. He has wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Kharitonov, Ricco Rodriguez, Dan Henderson, Bob Sapp, and the list goes on and on. Oh, and I forgot to mention, he's beat Heath Herring twice.

"The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring has had somewhat of a disappointing career. He's had some serious ups, but has hit rough times as of late. You really just never know what Heath Herring your going to get. It could be the vicious and incredibly aggressive one that destroyed legends like Mark Kerr, Enson Inoue, Gary Goodridge, and decisioned Igor Vovchanchyn.

Or we could get the sluggish, and incredibly slow starting Herring that has seen him lose to Bobby Hoffman, & more recently in his UFC debut to Jake O'Brien. I haven't had the time to see his most recent decision win over Brad Imes yet, but I've heard good things. One thing I noticed in his first UFC fight with O'Brien was that he wasn't too used to the octagon. Herring really hurts by not being able to unleash his trademark knees from the North-South position while fighting under UFC rules.

PREDICTION:
While I'm a big fan of the "Texas Crazy Horse", I don't see him being able to stop Nogueira. He hasn't been able to do it the last two times they fought, and I don't see this as any different. The only thing different about this, is "Minotauro" is hungrier than ever, and is making his big debut. His stand-up is too good for Herring, and whether Herring is taking Nogueira to the ground, or Nogueira is simply pulling guard, "Minotauro"'s ground game is simply unmatched.

A decent, but one-sided fight. Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira defeats Heath Herring for the third time, this time by submission in round two.




THE UNDERCARD:

Alvin Robinson vs Kenny Florian:
Yeah, yeah, I know this is going to be a televised fight, but to speak frankly, I don't know enough about Alvin Robinson to make a big run-down on it. I simply haven't seen much of him, although I was able to find a highlight of him. Based on the highlight, he looks like he has some very good take downs, and looks very aggressive. Apparently, he's also a Brown Belt in BJJ under good ol' Royce Gracie. Learning BJJ from Royce surely can't hurt your chances in MMA. Only problem is, "Ken-Flo" has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Roberto Maia from Gracie Barra Boston.

Based on the highlight, it looks like Robinson has some good strikes, and like I said earlier, some pretty sick take downs. Before Kenny Florian choked out Dokonjonosuke Mishima, and before he gave Sean Sherk a war, people used to clown on "Ken-Flo" a lot. I think his image has changed a lot lately, and the guy actually gets some respect now a days.

At first I thought this would be an easy fight to call. It looked like Ken-Flo was fighting some random can, but after looking at Robinson's highlight, and finding out he's a Royce Gracie Brown Belt, it becomes a little bit harder to call.

Prediction:
Sadly, a highlight isn't going to be enough to convince me this guy can compete with Florian. Let's go with "Ken-Flo" by decision.




Frankie Edgar vs Mark Bocek:
Alright, I'm somewhat in the dark on this fight. Of course I saw the Frankie Edgar & Tyson Griffin fight at UFC 67. It was a very impressive showing by Edgar, as he came through and beat a very game Griffin. A lot of people don't know that Tyson Griffin is the only guy who has beat Urijah Faber as of right now. So, Edgar beating Griffin in his debut was very impressive.

I don't know much at all about Mark Bocek. I know he trains with Nova Uniao, a team full of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu studs such as Vitor "Shaolin" Ribiero, Thales Leites, & Gleison Tibau. The only thing I could find on Bocek was a small highlight of him in a BJJ contest. He's got a 4-0 record, but his opponents are pretty much a bunch of unknowns.

Prediction:
Don't know you to well Bocek.. But I do know Frankie Edgar pretty well by now. Edgar displayed some good striking skills against Griffin, and pure Jiu Jitsu guys like Bocek don't like to get hit in the face very much. Frankie Edgar by TKO in round two.




Chris Lytle vs Jason Gilliam:
First and foremost, let me say that I was very impressed with how well Chris Lytle was able to prevent Hughes from finishing him off for three rounds. Let me also state, that I was very unimpressed with Jason Gilliam's very quick loss to Jamie Varner at UFC 68.

From what I've seen of Gilliam, he's a decent striker, he likes to work some ground and pound, and he really just likes to bang. He doesn't have the experience nor the skill of Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. Gilliam is also taking the fight on short notice, as Lytle was scheduled to fight Drew Fickett.

Prediction:
Lytle will withstand an early surge from Gilliam and finish him off in the 1st round with a choke variation.




Jorge Gurgel vs Diego Saraiva:
Ok, let me start off by saying that Jorge Gurgel became one of my favorite fighters back before his Ultimate Fighter days in his King of the Cage fight with Jason Ireland. Anyone who knows me, knows that it was one of my favorite fights of all time. I encourage you to watch the fight in it's entirety. Now, the problem it seems with Gurgel is that ever since the Ultimate Fighter show and his surgery, it seems like he hasn't had the same aggression he had in his early fights. I think he's had some serious time to heal now, and I think you'll see a brand new Gurgel at UFC 73.

From what I know of Diego Saraiva, he has some good jiu jitsu, and some decent striking. Only problem is, Jorge Gurgel is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, and a world class teacher. Oh yeah, Gurgel also has some pretty good strikes himself. I didn't see Diego's fight with Dustin Hazelett, but I know he lost a decision.

Prediction:
Jorge Gurgel has something to prove. I think he can be a force at Lightweight if he comes with his head in the right place. Jorge Gurgel by submission in round three.




Stephan Bonnar vs Mike Nickels:
It makes a lot of sense that this is the opening fight of the night. I don't like to fighter bash, but this fight is a complete joke. Bonnar has never impressed me with his sloppy boxing, and awful sense of humor. Not to mention, the moron tested positive for steroids after his 2nd fight with Griffin. This guy is a joke, and doesn't deserve to be in the UFC anymore.

Nickels is another guy I really don't think should be on a UFC show, or even opening a UFC show. I think this guy is a joke, and I don't think he has much talent at all. I really could care less about this fight, or who wins.

Prediction:
Stephan Bonnar by steroid loaded sloppy looping punches in round two.




I hope you guys enjoyed my first MMA Fight Card Review. I hope some of this will help you out when you consider placing bets, or help you learn a little more about the fighters. Please, please, please, if you have any comments, be them negative or positive, LEAVE ME A COMMENT! I will respond to all comments, and I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about some of my picks. Thanks!



Read more!

Carter Williams Is A Bum

So, I'm sure a lot of you know by now that Carter Williams tested positive for COCAINE. The CSAC revealed the details about it the other day and all I can muster up about it is..

Hahhahahaha...

Way to go Carter, not only do you have a fight against a very game Paul Buentello; who I might mention is one of my favorite fighters, not only do you look like you attempted to meet a 20 twinkie a week quota, but your also apparently blowing lines like Tony Montana.

Give me a break.. I don't understand how people can throw careers away like this. I mean, Williams has always had trouble in the ring, he's been known as one of the great under achievers like a Kevin Randleman, a perfect specimen, but a complete head case.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't see him beating Tello under MMA rules even if he came with his game face on, but still, this is just sad.

What kind of clown shows up to a fight out of shape and coming off a probable coke binge. Oh, I can tell you, a BUM.

Carter Williams, congratulations, your fat, your a coke head, you got stomped by Buentello, and now your officially the first person to be called a BUM on my blog.

Keep up the good work.

Read more!