UFC 101 Predictions

UFC 101 is this Saturday and I am excited to say that I will be viewing the event at Shoeless Joe's where they have the best lattuce fries in Southern Ontario. Now the event itself doesn't have the same draw as UFC 100 but is still going to be a great card with lots of star power and history on the line.

Of course Anderson "the Spider" Silva will be fighting and looking to improve on his winning streak inside the octagon by getting his 10th straight victory. If he wins he will more than likely hold onto his belt past October which would give him 3 full years as UFC Middleweight champion which I am sure is some kind of record.

Also on the card is BJ Penn who, if he beats Kenny Florian, will legitimize his legacy as one of the best fighters of all time. I say this because it will be the first time Penn has beaten serious competition as lightweight. Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk don't count as serious contenders because Pulver was old, Stevenson is one dimensional, and Sherk is useless unless on steroids. Florian will be the first test for Penn who had beaten top welterweights in the past but never a top lightweight. Penn may set the modern standard for success across weight divisions.

UFC 101 will also mark the debut of Amir Sadollah. Sadollah has fought in the UFC before winning the finale of TUF over a year ago but has since been injured and unable to fight. This time he is 100% and ready to fight and will finally get to show the world his skills.

Now that you are pumped for the event it is time for some predictions:

BJ "the Prodigy" Penn (13-5-1) vs Kenny "KenFlo" Florian (13-3)

This is a match up of the best nickname is MMA (the Prodigy) against the worst nickname in MMA (KenFlo). It also marks the first true test in BJ Penn's lightweight career.

Now Penn is coming off a devastating loss to Georges St. Pierre where he was dominated for 20 minutes and then was forced to submit due to fatigue. Penn is hungry for a win but seems to still be hung up on the St. Pierre fight as he was been all over the news saying GSP was on steroids when they fought and that he illegally greased himself. Penn may be looking past Florian when he needs to be paying attention to him.

Florian on the other hand is 100% focused and has his trash talking game on blast. He has ripped off 6 straight wins in the octagon and has looked amazing while doing so. His ground game is unreal and he has some of the sharpest elbows in MMA. He also has the cardio to go late into rounds which he will need against Penn.

I personally hate BJ Penn and love Kenny Florian. I think Florian is the smartest fighter in MMA and has been improving every fight since he has been in the UFC. I think he can survive BJ Penn's initial assault and eventually tire him out enough to get him on the ground and work the ground and pound.

Prediction: Florian via TKO due to strikes in the 4th round.

Anderson "the Spider Silva (24-4) vs Forrest Griffin (16-5)

Finally Anderson Silva will be fighting someone where he will need to try. In his last two fights Silva has faced opponents who wanted nothing to do with him and were content on either running away the whole time (Patrick Cote) or laying on their back like a broad (Thales Leites). Silva will have no such luck with Griffin who is a dog and will push the pace the whole fight.

Griffin is coming off a tough loss to Rashad Evans and is looking to rebuild his reputation and start climbing back up the ladder. Griffin has always wanted to fight tough guys but I think in this case he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Silva is no joke and is unlike anyone Griffin has fought before. Then again people said the same thing before he fought Shogun and look how that ended.

How does Griffin win this fight? Not on the feet. Not in a decision. Good luck submitting Silva. I love Forrest but I just don't see a scenario where he has his hand raised at the end of the fight. He loves to brawl and exchange and Silva is the very last person you want to exchange with. At least Silva will try for this fight and should entertain rather than sedate the crowd.

Prediction: Silva via KO in the 2nd round

Amair Sadollah (2-0) vs Johny Hendricks (5-0)

Now no one has seen Amir fight in a long time because of injury but from what I have read he is a beast at the gym and is being compared to Forrest Griffin. That being said there is no substitute for experience and in that area Sadollah is weak. I am not saying Hendricks is a veteran or anything but 5 fights is more than 2.

Sadollah is more of a ground fighter having won both his professional fights by submission where as Hendricks prefers to stand. Neither has beaten anyone of note but I am going to go with the likable Sadollah.

It is worth noting that if Sadollah loses he can always fall back on his television career.

Prediction: Sadollah via Unanimous Decision

Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove (12-5) vs Ricardo "Big Dog" Almeida

Two of the top 10 worst nicknames face off in this middleweight bout. The sad thing about this fight is that it actually has some title implications. Brutal I know.

Kendall Grove is a trash fighter who is coming off a lucky one punch knockout of Jason Day while Almeida is a decent fighter who is coming off a decision victory over the always dangerous, yeah right, Matt Horwich. Seriously how did this fight make the main card?

Kendall doesn't have the power to knockout Almeida or the ground game to stop him. Almeida should win this fight easily. At least he better so I get to see at least 1 non-broadcasted fight.

Prediction: Almeida via Submission in the 2nd round.

Josh "the Dentist" Neer (25-7-1) vs Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino (19-4)

I just want to say that Pellegrino might be the only person I know of that likes Batman more than Calvin Burrows.

Now Neer is a submission specialist who has a great chin and and is as tough as they come. He is coming off an impressive submission victory over TUF winner Mac Danzig and looking to get a winning streak going.

Pellegrino is known for his ground game and boasts an excellent chin as well. He recently beat Rob Emerson like he stole something and looks to try and climb the ladder as well.

Both these fighters match up very well except for Neer's ability to work submissions is greater than Pellegrino's. I think that will make the difference in the fight as Neer will constantly be trying to put Pellegrino in submissions but in all honesty it is a true coin flip.

Prediction: Neer via Unanimous Decision

____________________________________

So there you go. Predictions you can take to the bank. Seriously. In my UFC 100 predictions i went 6-2. What up!!

Random YouTube Video

Huge Fight Announcement

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (24-4) will return to the light heavyweight division to square off with Forrest Griffin (16-5) in a featured bout at UFC 101 on August 8th in Philadelphia.

Griffin had been booked to fight fellow top contender Thiago Silva in the UFC 101 co-headliner in a bout that was likely to determine the next challenger for the 205-pound title. Now, however, he’ll take on one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world in Silva, who knocked out James Irvin in just 61-seconds in his light heavyweight debut last July.

The winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Griffin won back-to-back fights over Hector Ramirez and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in 2007 to earn a light heavyweight title shot, then defeated champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson via unanimous decision to claim the belt. In his first title defense, Griffin suffered a third-round knockout loss to Rashad Evans and has not fought since after suffering a broken hand that required surgery in the December defeat.

Despite winning nine-straight UFC bouts, the most in the promotion’s history, Silva has been criticized recently after delivering two forgettable performances against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. Following stoppage victories over Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, and Irvin, Silva’s October matchup with Cote ended in controversy after Cote was unable to continue in the second round following a severe knee injury. Silva returned to action on April 18th in the main event of UFC 97, winning a unanimous decision on the judge’s scorcards that was highly criticized by fans, the media, and even UFC President Dana White for its lack of action as Silva refused to engage Leites on the ground.

In light of Silva’s recent performances and with no standout contenders at 185-pounds, the UFC has turned to Griffin in hopes the pair will slug it out and deliver a “Fight of the Year” candidate that will further Griffin’s status as one of the UFC’s most popular fighters while allowing Silva an opportunity to re-affirm his status as one of the world’s best fighters.

Random Youtube Video

Pound for Pound Disappointment

Anderson Silva is supposed to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world.  Whenever there are commercials to try and promote his fights the UFC claims that he is the best fighter out there.  This can no longer be the case however as in his last two fights Silva has failed to put away both Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. 

Many people who watch the fights try and stick up for Silva and say that he is just bored or that these guys aren't on his level.  Well if they aren't on his level shouldn't he just smash them like he did to Chris Leben and James Irvin?  Why do scrub fighters take him the distance while good fighters he pounds out in the first round?  I don't know the answer but the fact that it is even a question is a real piss off.

When you see fighters like Georges St. Pierre and Fedor you see men who want to go out and dominate their opponents.  They don't sit back and dance and then apologize after they put on a crappy fight.  They go out and try their best to win fights and prove they are superior.  Their goal is to win.  They don't care if it is flashy or exciting they simply want to win.  Silva on the other hand appears to have no desire to win.  He seems content with dancing around the ring for 25 minutes and doing little to no damage.  

Tonight should have been a great night as with his win Silva set the record scoring his ninth straight win inside the Octagon and setting the title defense streak at 5.  Unfortunately the night was ruined by one of the most boring fights I have ever seen.

“The Spider” was taken the distance for the for the first time in his career since 2004, which clearly did not sit well with the fans sitting ringside or the people at the bar I watched the fights at.  The 185-pound showdown turned out to be quite a snorefest that if you had gotten up to take a piss you wouldn't have missed anything. Seriously Silva danced for 15 minutes and Leites laid on his back.

Silva didn’t do much in the first two rounds against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, opting to keep his distance and stay out of harms way. But when he did attempt to engage, Leites did what most laymen and keyboard warriors would do and flopped to the canvas like a dead fish, looking to bait Silva into a ground match.

Silva refused to engage him on the ground and forced him to stand up roughly 15 times.  There was one flash of action however as Silva had Leites on the ground and fed him a few shots causing a minor cut to open. He couldn’t seal the deal, however, when all was said and done and it went to the judges scorecards.

To let everyone in the arena and at home know how big an ass he is Silva threw up his arms after the final bell sounded and jumped up on the cage as if he had just participated in a fight rather than a 25 minute dance class. It was just as bad as someone yelling "Anything is Possible!"

To make matters worse Silva in his post-fight remarks didn’t seem to concerned about the perception, said fans sometimes just don’t get it. He’s right, but that fight was just downright painful to watch … maybe that’s what happens when a title challenger gets his big chance with a finish over Drew McFedries.

Random Youtube Video