Pretty rattled about tonights event as usually I go home and watch the fights with my buddies at Shoeless Joe's. However I work tomorrow and now am stuck watching the fights in Waterloo where there is no Shoeless Joe's and thus no "the cookie."
For those of you that don't know "the cookie" is a desert they have at Shoeless Joe's that is the greatest food item known to man. It is a giant cookie served with ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and a couple of brownies just for good measure. It is the Mona Lisa of deserts.
Alas there will be no "the cookie" tonight, only beer. Now for the predictions:
Lyoto "the Dragon" Machida (16-0) vs. Shogun"Shogun" Rua (18-4)
Interesting fact about this fight: Since Rampage Jackson defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75 back in 2007, only one 205er—Lyoto Machida—been able to successfully defend the strap and a lot of people (myself not included) feel that Machida lost the first fight.
As for the fight tonight I think Machida is going to walk away victorious. Shogun had 1 chance to beat Machida and he blew it. His strategy for the last fight was near perfect as he pushed the pace and didn't allow Machida any room to stay back and use his counter punches. But Machida knows that Shogun will probably try and do the same thing again and this time he will be prepared for it.
A lot of people are saying that if Shogun wants to win he should take Machida down. “Many people think trying to work on the ground with Machida would be a good way to end the fight,” said Shogun, “but that’s a hard thing to say. Lyoto is very good on the ground. He’s trained in sumo and a lot of wrestling. Besides, it’s very hard to get him down on the ground.”
So then I guess Shogun will have to knock him out or submit him. “He’s a very tough, well-rounded guy, and he’s not an easy fighter to knock out or submit. He never has been knocked out or submitted in his career.” So how does Shogun plan to beat Machida if he can't take him down, submit him or knock him out? Well your guess is as good as mine.
Machida is 16-0 and has fought the best fighters in the world. He has knock out power and is one of the smartest fighters in MMA today. I mean the guy drinks his own piss how do you beat someone like that? I don't think Machida wants another close decision so he will probably be a bit more aggressive and look to end the fight as quick as possible. I see another repeat of what he did to Rashad Evans.
By the way having seen all of the previews for this fight I cannot help but notice that they try and make it look as though the first fight was a war and was non stop action. I remember that fight vividly and I remember thinking to myself that it was real boring. The fight consisted mostly of leg kicks, body kicks and some clinching. Yeah there were a few punches thrown in there but never once did the bar make a collective gasp. The last fight had as much action as a Amish porno.
Prediction: Machida via TKO
Josh "Kos" Koscheck (16-4) vs. Paul "Semtex" Daley (23-8-2)
I can't remember a time I have been so excited for a fight. One thing I hate about UFC is that there is way too much respect shown between the fighters. I want more WWF style trash talking and in this fight 2 of the biggest shit talkers in MMA face off.
If you watched the UFC 113 Countdown show then you know how much these two dislike one another. In the 20 minute clip dedicated to this fight Daley called Koscheck a "pussy" a "bitch" and said that he is gonna beat Koscheck so bad he will put him on the undercard for the rest of his career. Koscheck responded by making fun of Daley's braces and also calling him a bitch.
To see just how awesome this has gotten check this out. "Heard Koscheck, talking a little....but a real man, can tell his chat is just a front....I can smell his pussy from here....Bitch. For my Supporters, we are also running a competition to help Josh....we can all see he is in desperate need of some advice about what to do with his Blonde 'Fro.....So PHOTOSHOP PEOPLE, Wining hair style will be handed to Josh at the pre fight press conference." If you haven't seen these pictures check them out here (they are hilarious).
Now for the fight itself. If anyone thinks Paul Daley is going to win they are an idiot. Just watch his fight against Jake Shields if you want to see how this will end up. Shields is a decent wrestler, not great, and he took Daley down at will and controlled the fight. Koscheck is an elite wrestler and should be able to do the same thing to Daley, if he wants to. And that right there is the big question. Will Koscheck fight intelligently and take Daley down or will he let the trash talk go to his head and try and stand with him?
I would assume he would go with the latter but you never know. All that dye he puts in his hair may be eating away at his brain.
The winner of this fight gets a shot at GSP so there is extra motivation. Interesting fact: Koscheck has 12 wins in the UFC, no one has more wins inside the octagon without getting a title shot than Koscheck. This should give him some extra incentive to want to put away Daley in exciting fashion.
Prediction: Koscheck via Submission
Kimbo Slice (4-1) vs. Matt Mitrione (1-0)
I don't know why everyone is counting out Kimbo in this fight. He has more experience than Mitrione and he trains with better people than Mitrione also don't forget that . Kimbo has fought decent fighters in the past like Houston Alexander while Mitrione's only win came against Marcus "My Chin is Made of Glass" Jones. A soft breeze could knock out Jones so I completely discount that win.
Mitrione is a one dimensional fighter, strikes only, that has shown to gas quickly. If this fight goes more than 3 minutes cardio could be a problem for Mitrione and as the cardio goes so does the power. This isn't a problem for Kimbo who has shown to be able to throw punches for minutes on end and is also more dedicated in the gym than Mitrione is.
Kimbo has everything to lose in this fight as he needs to prove to the world that he isn't just some YouTube joke who thinks he can fight. I think that extra motivation will be the difference for Kimbo and will have him more prepared plus we all know what happens if he puts those dun dadas on you. The again if Mitrione throws a jab while backpedaling then its all over for Slice.
Prediction: Kimbo via Decision
Patrick "the Predator" Cote (14-5) vs. Alan "the Talent" Belcher (14-5)
Cote will have his hometown fans on his side in Montreal, but he hasn't fought since he lost to Anderson Silva more than a year and a half ago, and I expect him to be rusty against Belcher. Then again Cote has some serious power and that means the fight could end at any moment. Cote does train with GSP and was on a 4 fight win streak (with wins over Kendall Grove and Ricardo Almeida) when he lost to Silva but coming off a major knee surgery makes it hard for me to pick him to beat a guy of Belcher's talent, no pun intended.
Belcher had a very good year in 2009 (wins over Denis Kang and Wilson Gouveia) and is, at age 26, one of the younger fighters to keep an eye on in the middleweight division. His fights are always exciting as he constantly pushes the pace and the only real negative about him is his ridiculously bad tattoo of Johnny Cash on his arm (seriously top 5 worst tattoo ever).
I think Cote will be able to survive for a few rounds but will eventually run out of gas in the 3rd round allowing Belcher to finish the fight. The frogs will go home pissed about this one.
Prediction: Belcher via TKO
Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stephens (17-5) vs. Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout (16-5-1)
Stout has won Fight of the Night four times in his UFC career and Stephens has won Knockout of the Night twice, so this is the kind of fight that's intended to provide fireworks.
Both guys like to strike but Stout is the better striker of the two as he is much more versatile than Stephens who opts for looping haymakers rather than pinpoint accurate strikes. Stout will use his kick-boxing background to put together some sweet combos and frustrate Stephens for 3 rounds..
Prediction: Stout via Unanimous Decision
Random YouTube Video
No comments:
Post a Comment