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[Boogie]

Hey all, time for neo-GAF’s first MMA thread, and we have quite a treat, with UFC 48 and Pride: Critical Countdown on the same weekend. As usual, I’m here to give you all the preview of both events, with my own predictions. I’m coming off picking 8 for 8 at the last UFC and 7 for 8 for the last Pride, so let’s see if I’ve still got the magic touch

Too bad I won’t be able to see most of tonight’s UFC because I’m working nights this weekend. Stupid campground.........

Also, since Pride is on 24-hour delay for broadcast in North America, it might be a good idea to spoiler tag the Pride results until the event has aired in North America.

Anyway, I’ll start with UFC 48:

Overall, I think UFC is the weaker event of this weekend, mainly because of the unnecessary main event of Kimo vs. Shamrock, but it’s still a solid card that should provide lots of excitement and entertainment. Let’s look at the match-ups.

Pre-lim bout: Curtis Stout (7-3-1) vs. Trevor Prangley (6-1)

As is tradition, the UFC always has to have at least one prelim bout consisting of fighters I’ve never heard of, as is the case here. Stout has been in the UFC once before, with a decision loss to Phil Baroni. It’s a shot in the dark here, but I’m going to flip a coin and pick Prangley.

Georges St. Pierre (5-0) vs. Jay Hieron (3-0)

St. Pierre is a rising star from Canada, with wins over UFC veteran Pete Spratt, and a win in his first UFC appearance over the submission wizard Karo Parisyan. I don’t know much about Jay Hieron, other than that I think he trains under Renzo Gracie, so he’s probably great on the ground. I’m going to have to go with St. Pierre by TKO in round 3 because of his greater experience against better competition.

Matt Serra (4-3) vs. Ivan Menjivar (13-2)

Serra’s record may not look impressive, but all but one of his fights has been in the UFC, and most against top competition. Serra’s got great jiu-jitsu skills, but his takedowns and striking can really only be described as adequate. Although this is Menjivar’s first UFC appearance, he has lots of experience in Canada’s UCC/TKO organization. One other factor may be that Menjivar usually fights in the 145 pound weight division, while the fight is taking place at 155, so Serra might have a size advantage due to cutting more weight. Nonetheless, I’m going to say that Menjivar takes the fight in a win by decision.

Matt Hughes (31-4) vs. Renato “Charuto” Verrisimo (4-0)

Matt Hughes, one of MMA’s most dominant champions ever, is coming off the loss of his title to B.J. Penn in a huge upset. (Penn has since been stripped of the title for fighting in K-1. Long story) Despite the loss, Hughes is still one of the sport’s best, with a stellar record. His strength is his wrestling, but his stand-up striking is solid. If he has a weakness, it is to submission, as he has been submitted twice by Dennis Hallman, and once by B.J. Penn, something Verrisimo may be able to exploit. Verrisimo is a Brazilian-Jiu jitsu expert, and is actually Penn’s BJJ trainer, which is definitely an advantage to have trained the person who beat Hughes. Verrisimo is coming off of wins against Gil Castillo and Carlos Newton, and may have the tools to beat Hughes. Despite this, I think that Hughes is going to rebound strongly from his loss to win by TKO in the third
round.

Dennis Hallman (26-8-2) vs. Frank Trigg (10-2)

This fight is actually a re-match. In their first bout, Trigg kicked Hallman in the crotch, and
Hallman was unable to continue. Instead of disqualifying Trigg, Trigg was given the win for the match. Both of these guys are solid fighters, but Hallman has two wins over Matt Hughes, while Trigg lost to Hughes. Now, that may mean nothing, but I’m still going to go with Hallman by submission.

Phil Baroni (5-3) vs. Evan Tanner (25-3)

In yet another rematch, Phil Baroni and Evan Tanner are set to resolve their differences from their first highly controversial fight, where Tanner got a questionable stop to check a cut when he was rocked, and then the ref stopped the fight prematurely when Baroni was getting pounded by Tanner’s elbows with mere seconds left in the first round. Now, Phil Baroni punches hard, and.....actually, that’s it. He punches hard. After his initial flurry, he usually gasses. Now Tanner is a good all-around fighter, except that he really doesn’t react well to getting hit. So this match will boil down to whether Baroni can knock Tanner out early, or whether Tanner can weather Baroni’s early storm, get the clinch and start kneeing, or get the takedown and pound Baroni from mount. I don’t like Baroni, but admit that he has a good chance if Tanner can’t get the takedown. I still think Tanner will take it though, by TKO in the second round.

Heavyweight Title Bout: Tim Sylvia vs. Frank Mir (7-1)

With all of Tim Sylvia’s steroid problems, perhaps we shouldn’t assume this match will happen until Sylvia and Mir actually step into the cage, but assuming it does, this should be an exciting match. Tim Sylvia is a huge fighter, with solid boxing skills, knockout power, and excellent takedown defence, a combination which made him a UFC champion, and could give him a long reign. I like Frank Mir. He’s a skilled jiu-jitsu fighter who’s always going for a submission. That being said, I’m not sure if he has what it takes to beat Sylvia. His wins haven’t come against top competition, and he had some trouble putting away the skill-less Wes Sims. If Mir can get the takedown, he has a good chance, but quite frankly, I expect Sylvia to frustrate all of Mir’s attempts, and knock him out, probably in the first round.

Main Event: Kimo Leopoldo (8-3-1) vs. Ken Shamrock (25-8-2)

And now for the re-match and main event that absolutely no one was clamouring for. Neither fighter is anywhere near a top contender anymore, and there isn’t really any bad blood between the two, but that’s not stopping Ken Shamrock from acting like he’s on a mission to right some wrong against him and jump into the title picture. Ken won their first fight ages ago, but since then Kimo has improved a lot. I’m going to go out on a limb and call Kimo by TKO in the second round.

 

[Boogie]

And now on to Pride. This weekend’s event is round 2 of the Heavyweight Grand Prix, and the tournament format that Pride is going with brings a lot of anticipation to their events. First, I’ll look at the non-tournament fights.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Nino “Elvis” Schembri

This is yet another rematch. In the first fight, Sakuraba was dominating the fight standing up, and Schembri was unable to get the fight to the ground. However, Sakuraba got overconfident, and Schembri connected with an accidental headbutt, a devastating knee, and then some sloppy punches and kicks to score the knockout upset. Now, Sakuraba is one of the legends of the sport, and almost always an entertaining fighter, but he’s getting old, injury-ridden, and doesn’t give himself enough time to heal. Also, Schembri has been training with the Chute Box team, so his stand-up should be improved from the slap-punches of the previous fight (seriously, from what I saw in their first fight, I probably would have beaten Schembri in a kickboxing fight ). I still think Sakuraba will win, probably by decision.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (20-4) vs. Ricardo Arona (8-1)

This match is a #1 contender’s match to see who gets a title shot against Wanderlei Silva in October. Rampage is a strong, well-rounded fighter with good kickboxing skills, and is known for his wrestling slams. He does seem to be vulnerable to submissions, as he often gets stuck in a guillotine choke that tires him out. His opponent, Arona, is a skilled but boring fighter. He’s a jiu-jitsu specialist good at holding opponents down, but not good at finishing them. Of his 8 wins, 6 of them went to a decision. I’m going to predict/hope that Jackson can stuff Arona’s takedowns and win by TKO in the third round.

Heavyweight Tournament Bout: Semmy Schilt (23-13-1) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (8-0)

This may just be the toughest fight to predict out of the entire weekend. Schilt is a veteran and a K-1 level striker, while Kharitonov, primarily considered a jiu-jitsu fighter, is still something of an unknown quantity. He sports an undefeated record, but only one of his opponents has a winning record, that of Murilo Rua, a skilled striker who Kharitonov knocked out standing. I’d like to pick Kharitonov, but I just don’t know yet if he has what it takes. One thing is for sure, if he does win, it will propel him into the elite of MMA. That said, I’m going to have to go with Schilt by KO in round 3.

Heavyweight Tournament Bout: Paulo Cesar “Giant” Silva (1-1) vs. Naoya Ogawa (6-0)

Now whether this fight is a work or not is irrelevant. Sportsbook.com isn’t putting up betting lines on this fight, so I guess they have their suspicions, but it doesn’t matter. Silva is a huge, unskilled monster, while Ogawa has real skills. Ogawa by shooting star press, round 1.

Hidehiko Yoshida (3-1-1) vs. Mark Hunt (0-0, K-1 record: 16-7)

Yet another fight that hasn’t had betting lines put up for it, so again, we might be a bit suspicious as to its legitimacy. This is a true style vs. style, with Mark Hunt being a K-1 champion, while Yoshida is a Judo gold medallist. So essentially, Hunt can strike, but will be clueless on the ground, while Yoshida can grapple, but clueless standing. Generally, this favours the grappler, so I’ll say Yoshida by submission, round 1.

Heavyweight Tournament Bout: Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira (22-2-1) vs. “The
Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring (22-9)

In our final rematch of the evening, Nogueira takes on Heath Herring, whom he beat by
unanimous decision in 2001. This match could be closer than most people think, as Herring has survived Nogueira’s submissions before. All I can really say is that Nogueira “should” win, but in MMA, what “should” happen isn’t always what does happen. Nogueira by submission, round 3.

Heavyweight Tournament Bout: Fedor Emelianenko (16-1) vs. Kevin “The Monster” Randleman
(15-7)

Randleman is coming off of the biggest win of his career in his upset, out of nowhere knockout of Mirko Filipovic. Unfortunately, this will be as far as he goes, because he has been matched up with the best fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. Kevin’s got heavy hands, but Fedor’s are heavier. Kevin’s a better wrestler, but Fedor has a slick submission game, as was proven in the first round of the tournament when Fedor submitted Kevin’s coach and mentor, Mark Coleman. In fact, this fight could go exactly like that fight, with Kevin taking Fedor down, but Fedor submitting Randleman from guard. With Mirko Filipovic already out of the tournament, Fedor will win the tournament. Fedor by KO, round 2.

And there you have it, the most action-packed weekend in MMA history. Too bad I won’t be able to see most of it.

 

[Boogie]

*Bumped for when someone from the MMA Crew gets around to reading this*

 

[Boogie]

Last bump before work....I hope this thread doesn't go to waste.......

 

[dream]

Gotta run but I just can't let this post die. For the UFC I'm going with:

Prangley over Stout by decision
St. Pierre over Hieron by decision (St. Pierre's strength is his G&P but Hieron's guard is insane)
Menjivar over Serra by decision (Menjivar is every bit as talented on the ground as Serra)
Charuto over Hughes by TKO (Charuto's standup is just incredible)
Hallman over Trigg by sub
Baroni over Tanner by KO
Mir over Sylvia by sub
Shamrock over Kimo by decision

Everyone seems to think that Sylvia will just stuff all of Mir's shots and knock him out but Mir is just so much faster whereas Sylvia is sort of a plodding, lumbering Frankenstein's monster sort of fighter. If Mir slips Sylvia's jabs and works angles then shoots in behind a counterpunch, I see him being able to get the fight to the ground without taking too much punishment. Sure, Frank wasn't able to submit Sims but Wes has some of that crazy tard strength working for him.

As for Pride...

Saku over Schrembri by KO
Rampage over Arona by TKO
Kharitonov over Schilt by KO (probably the same way Alexey Ignashov took Semmy apart)
Ogawa over Giant Silva by shooting star press
Yoshida over Mark Hunt by sub
Herring over Minotoro by decision
Fedor over Randleman by TKO

 

[Minotauro]

Much respect for taking the time to type all that up.

I'm going to keep my comments kinda short and only focus on a few fights:

UFC:

Baroni vs. Tanner
As much as I'd like to see Baroni's teeth knocked down his throat, I think he's going to take this one. Have you seen any recent pictures of him? He's dropped a lot of muscle mass which can only be a positive stride as far as conditioning goes. Shit, he actually weighs less than Tanner.

Sylvia vs. Mir
Once again, as much as I'd like to see Sylvia beaten, I just don't see it happening. Mir will be lucky did get him on the ground at all. Hopefully, Arlovsky will finally get his shot at Tim after this bout.

Kimo vs. Shamrock
Kimo is going to take this one. Shamrock is old and didn't look good is last fight. When Tito makes you his bitch, you should probably consider cutting your losses and getting out while you still can. It's sad to see Shammy keep trying.

While this show doesn't look nearly as good as the Pride one, I'm still looking forward to it.

Pride:

Arona vs. Rampage
While I haven't seen him fight too many times, I don't know how people can call Arona boring. Yesterday, I watched his fight with Hendo and found it fairly exciting. While he doesn't constantly attempt subs, Arona is always working for position. The fact that he wins a lot of decisions doesn't mean that much...he's fought a lot of tough guys.
That said, I think Rampage is going to take this one. I think Arona would be a better opponent for Silva but sadly I doubt it will happen. I actually like Rampage and give him a decent chance of beating Silva but this would probably be the last chance for Arona/Silva to happen.

Most of the other fights seem pretty cut-and-dry. Anything can happen in MMA but I think most of your picks will likely be victorious.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Good thread.

I'm not familiar with all the fighters, so I'll just comment on the ones that I know and am looking foward to.

Phil Baroni (5-3) vs. Evan Tanner (25-3)

In yet another rematch, Phil Baroni and Evan Tanner are set to resolve their differences from their first highly controversial fight, where Tanner got a questionable stop to check a cut when he was rocked, and then the ref stopped the fight prematurely when Baroni was getting pounded by Tanner’s elbows with mere seconds left in the first round. Now, Phil Baroni punches hard, and.....actually, that’s it. He punches hard. After his initial flurry, he usually gasses. Now Tanner is a good all-around fighter, except that he really doesn’t react well to getting hit. So this match will boil down to whether Baroni can knock Tanner out early, or whether Tanner can weather Baroni’s early storm, get the clinch and start kneeing, or get the takedown and pound Baroni from mount. I don’t like Baroni, but admit that he has a good chance if Tanner can’t get the takedown. I still think Tanner will take it though, by TKO in the second round.

I agree with this word for word. Baroni really isn't very good, but he has knockout power which makes him a threat. I watched their first fight, and Tanner really got wrecked by Baroni standing. If Baroni was more accurate, paced himself better he would take it.

I don't think he has the mentality to change though. Evan is the better fighter of the two, and will fight smarter. I don't think he'll take as many hits as before, and he may even end it quicker then before. That being said, I wouldn't be shocked to see Baroni win via early KO. Tough to call, but I pick Evan via TKO second round.

There's been so much shit talking between the two on mma.tv (with Matt Lidlands hilarious gay Baroni videos), this is one of the better fights of the night.

Main Event: Kimo Leopoldo (8-3-1) vs. Ken Shamrock (25-8-2)

Why is this a main event? Anyhow, both will gas out fairly quickly. Kimo is supposedly a BJJ BB now, but I don't think there will be a huge difference in his fighting style. He's a tough guy who's signifigantly bigger then Ken.

Ken is way past his prime, but he should still be dangerous if he doesn't come in like he did with Tito. The real version of Ken is someone whos very hard to takedown, extremely strong, and good with leglocks. Even so, I don't see this match ending by submission. I pick Kimo via second round KO.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (20-4) vs. Ricardo Arona (8-1)

I think Jackson is overrated. He's very strong and has a natural ability for being a fighter. However, I don't think he's really commited to be a champion. I've read/watched interviews and he comes across as someone who's more comitted to the fame and money. He's going to burn out one day, and he won't be remembered as great as he is now.

I don't really know how good Arona is. He gave Fedor a fairly good fight, yes? I hear he's boring because he mostly pins and does little else, but hell...he wins. Is he the one who upsets Jackson? I don't know. Even though I don't buy into the mystique of Rampage, he is still in his dangerous form. Its hard for me to pick a winner since I know little about Arona, so I'll say Jackson via 3rd round KO.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Nino “Elvis” Schembri

I love Sakuraba, and I think he's the best wrestler I've ever seen. However, he has the flaws of a wrestler. He turtles up and tries to grab when he's being hit, and because of that he takes a serious beatdown. He's incredibly tough, and that has saved him many times. But, he doesn't have good strike defense and he's open when he tries to grab his opponent.

I'll be the minority and say I don't think their first fight was a fluke. Keep in mind, I didn't see the whole thing. Just the moments before and of Sak getting KOed. Sakuraba came in with his double chop or a grab, and Nino just beat him down. The very same could happen here. Everyone assumes Sak will just play it safe and take the decision, and maybe so. He is really great. However, his best days are behind him and he does take to much damage when he fights someone who doesn't mess around.

Since Nino is training with Chute Box, he should be much better standing this time around. However, Sakuraba's the magic man. He can always pull a win. I just don't think it will be the walk in the park allot are predicting for Sak, so I'll say Nino via KO in round 2.

Hidehiko Yoshida (3-1-1) vs. Mark Hunt (0-0, K-1 record: 16-7)

I'm a Yoshida fan. Love the guy. Mainly because I love Judo. I'm lloking foward to this fight because its him and its a throwback to the early UFC days of style VS style. Anyhow, Mark Hunt's strength's are he can take a hit and hit. Yoshida won't try to hit him though (although, remember Silva/Yoshida?). Yosh will win this one. Hunt has a punchers chance, and his size. I doubt that will give Yosh trouble though and he'll take Hunt down fairly quickly and choke him out. Yoshida via choke round 1.

Heavyweight Tournament Bout: Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira (22-2-1) vs. “The
Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring (22-9)

Herring is underrated. Actually, some of his losses have impressed me more then his victories. I know he got mauled by Fedor, but he had some good moves here and there. It was just Fedor was all over him, but I won't get into that. My point is, Heath has good wrestling skill and he should be able to give Nog a very good fight.

However, Nog is Nog. The best Jiu Jitsu man in MMA ever, and maybe the greatest MMA heavyweight yet. He'll beat Heath, by decision again.

Heavyweight Tournament Bout: Fedor Emelianenko (16-1) vs. Kevin “The Monster” Randleman
(15-7)

Randleman is brutal. His KO of Crocop was so damn vicious. For a lot of people, he did the impossible. All that being said, Fedor will KO him. I don't see Randleman getting caught like he did with Sakuraba, that was a different Randleman. I don't see a repeat of Fedor/Coleman. I see this as a brutal fight, that probably won't make it past the 2nd round.

Fedor may be taken down, he may even take a few shots. But, he's to fucking good to stay pinned down for long. He'll be one step ahead of Kevin, and he'll just keep coming. In the end, he'll KO Kevin brutally. I think this fight will either by very quick, or drawn out. But, it will end via KO. I'll say Fedor via KO round 3.

And yes, Fedor is the best around right now. He'll fight Nog in the final and win, and he may even knock him out this time.

 

[dream]

Okay, so I didn't really have to go.

If Baroni is smart he'll go into the fight using the same strategy Rich Franklin employed to beat Tanner -- keep a jab in Tanner's face to prevent him from closing the distance, punch your way out of the clinch and just pick your shots and set up combos until Tanner drops.

As for Shamrock...he's really changed his training. He's actually healthy now and he's been training with Eric Paulson for this fight. Kimo, as far as I know, is still training with Joe Moreira. Shamrock's a better striker, a better wrestler and while Kimo is probably the better submission artist, Shamrock's sub defense and leglocks are godly. It's pretty much his fight to win unless he blows up -- but if you saw Kimo vs Bob Sapp...cardio isn't a friend of Kimo's either.

I don't know how people can call Arona boring. Yesterday, I watched his fight with Hendo and found it fairly exciting. While he doesn't constantly attempt subs, Arona is always working for position.

That's just it. You work for dominant positions so you can either try to maneuver into a sub or pound the guy out. Arona does neither. He sort of adapted Sperry's no-gi strategy of slipping into half-guard, passing half-guard, getting a point, then sliding back into half-guard to repeat the whole process. And Arona's so strong that it's hard to stop him from doing so. So basically the knock on Arona is he's a top-level BJJ player who doesn't even attempt submissions.

 

[dream]

(with Matt Lidlands hilarious gay Baroni videos)

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it and doesn't fear catching the gay...

http://outercell.com/~dream/baroni.wmv

 

[karasu]

go Saku!

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Okay, so I didn't really have to go.

If Baroni is smart he'll go into the fight using the same strategy Rich Franklin employed to beat Tanner -- keep a jab in Tanner's face to prevent him from closing the distance, punch your way out of the clinch and just pick your shots and set up combos until Tanner drops.

As for Shamrock...he's really changed his training. He's actually healthy now and he's been training with Eric Paulson for this fight. Kimo, as far as I know, is still training with Joe Moreira. Shamrock's a better striker, a better wrestler and while Kimo is probably the better submission artist, Shamrock's sub defense and leglocks are godly. It's pretty much his fight to win unless he blows up -- but if you saw Kimo vs Bob Sapp...cardio isn't a friend of Kimo's either.

I kinda agree with these two points. Baroni could beat him if he played it smart, but he won't. Like Minotauro said, Baroni really has slimmed down. So, that shows he's trying to fight better. But, a brawler is a brawler. And, I see him getting pissed off and wanting to end it quick. I think he'll play into Evan's hands again.

Ken and Kimo is harder to call. Ken looked really bad in the Tito fight, and he may have crossed the point of no return. But, the man was good. If he comes back with his old strength, I can definitely see him subbing Kimo. I'm wishy washy over this fight.

 

[Fifty]

I really, really hope Fedor wins. This is an amazing weekend for MMA. I'm taping both cards.

 

[Minotauro]

That's just it. You work for dominant positions so you can either try to maneuver into a sub or pound the guy out. Arona does neither.

Most of the complaints I've heard about Arona have said that he has a real lay-and-pray style. To me, that means someone who stays in the guard and attempts half-assed punches throughout the whole fight.

It seems to me that Arona just doesn't take risks. Instead, he waits for the right opportunity. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure he attempted at least two subs in the Henderson fight. I guess I can see where this bores some people but I found the fight of his I watched pretty exciting. As long as someone is working, be it for position or for subs, I really don't have any problem with it. It's the guys who are content to stay in the guard (like Kerr in some of his later fights or Ricco in Nog match) who bore me.

 

[Asbel]

Wow, I missed this thread the whole day.

Charuto/Hughes - Hard to say. Hughes has also said his weakness is lanky guys. Still, I'll go Hughes by KO.
Baroni/Tanner - I'd like both guys to prove they can stay in the UFC but Baroni will probably gas before he's able to KO Tanner again. Tanner by TKO.
Mir/Sylvia - I like Mir but his lost to Freeman tells me a KO is coming his way. Sylvia by KO.

Rampage/Arona - I like Rampage but the fight will go to the ground where Arona will dominate. Arona by decision.
Herring/Minotoro - I wouldn't be suprised if Herring won this but Mino has the edge. Mino by decision.
Fedor/Randleman - Randleman by KO! Well, it'ld really shake up Prides HW.

The Lindland/Baroni feud is getting hilarious.

 

[Fifty]

LOL@ that pic. Baroni will never, ever get rid of that part of his past.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

No, he won't ever get rid of it. I'd feel bad for him if I didn't hear he's really an asshole. One story was of him getting caught in a triangle by a talented 15 year old at a Jiu Jitsu club. Instead of tapping out, he picked the kid up and slammed him hard. Fucked up the kids back for some time from what I heard.

 

[Fifty]

Yeah, all signs point to Baroni being a total douchebag. It's good to have him around though....he's someone that everyone can root against

 

[dskillzhtown]

Great post again Boogie.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Interesting results so far...Ken/Kimo is about to start. I will pull a flip flop and say Ken will win. Gooooo Ken.

 

[dream]

I am a terrible handicapper except for when it matters.

 

[Minotauro]

How great was it to see Sylvia's arm break? That seriously made my night.

 

[Boogie]

Well, not a bad night of fights. My friends taped it for me, so I managed to see it all now.

I think I went 4 for 8, which I'll gladly take consider a couple of the fights I was wrong about.

I was pleasantly surprised to see I was wrong about Mir, but what a strange ending to the fight. That was a nasty pop in Sylvia's arm, but he didn't seem to feel any effects of it. Still, if it's broken, it's broken, and if the fight continued, I doubt he'd be throwing punches with that right hand for long.

Almost makes me think of Monty Python and the search for the Holy Grail. Mir could keep snapping limbs while Sylvia insists "It's just a flesh wound".

And the fans at the UFC are really starting to piss me off with their booing. I mean, they booed Mir even after they saw the video of Sylvia's arm snapping. I mean, in almost all post-fight interviews, Mir is always talking about trying to put on an entertaining fight for the fans. And they boo him. Ridiculous.

The Tanner/Baroni fight was more boring than it had to be. Baroni wasn't his aggressive self, probably hoping to pace himself, while Tanner seemed content to just shoot in and out to do enough to win a decision.

I think the fight of the night for myself might have been the St. Pierre fight. St. Pierre really lit Hieron up standing, but Hieron showed great recovery and heart for staying in there as long as he did.

When the interview for the main event aired, and Ken and Kimo walked to the octagon, I had a feeling I had picked the wrong fighter. Ken just seemed confident, while Kimo seemed like he was just there to pick up his cheque. He certainly didn't seem to try to keep fighting when he took that knee to the chin.

Anyway, bring on Pride.

 

[Asbel]

Wow. I didn't think Mir was ready to be champ yet. I hope he proves me wrong again and beats Andrie too. He's still the underdog even though he's the champ, heh. Tim is a maniac to take a broken arm and want to keep going. Nasty.

The fans were really loud and into the Baroni/Tanner match which was nice. UFC is at least trying to educated their fans with the armbar vid too. There will always be booers because there will always be betters who have a monetary stake in the fights.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

I take back every bad thing I've said about Quinton.

http://nike.s1.x-beat.com/2jigen/up/up0038.mpg

 

[Minotauro]

I take back every bad thing I've said about Quinton.

http://nike.s1.x-beat.com/2jigen/up/up0038.mpg

No shit. That powerbomb was absolutely sick.

In addition, how on Earth did Fedor survive that suplex? What does it take to beat that man? Shit, he didn't even look rattled.

 

[Boogie]

Woah. Pride delivers. If we had to compare the two, then Pride just picked up and slammed the UFC into a brutal KO.

Sakuraba's fight went pretty much like I thought it would, both fighters exchanging, and a stalemate on the ground, with Schembri only going for that damn gogoplata which he's never going to get.

And yeah, how about that Rampage/Arona fight? I was worried for my prediction, because Arona was schooling him. And then that slam. That beautiful, brutal slam. That may have been the most amazing finish to a fight ever. Rampage is the man.

Kharitonov has now, in my opinion, moved into the top 10 with his performance tonight. I foresee great things for him.

And I freaked out when Nogueira won his fight, using the exact same choke he won his last fight, and early in the second round like before, too! Crazy.

I think Mark Hunt looked impressive even in his loss. It looked like he really roughed Yoshida up.

As for the main event, well, just another notch in the win column for the world's best fighter. But oh, did it look brutal when Randleman slammed him on his head. But Fedor shrugged it off like nothing, and applied the kimura for the win.

And I went 7 for 8, making me feel much better after only going 50% yesterday with the UFC.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Did Sakuraba look like he should retire? I read he was in such back shape that he couldn't really train for this match. I know that he will eternally be a draw, but sondering if he should just stop.

 

[Boogie]

Well, I'd say he didn't look very good. He wasn't very aggressive, and didn't really want to engage on the ground at all with Schembri. Both fighters were fairly tentative though, I'd say.

It bears repeating though, that for a BJJ world champion, Schembri does dick all when a fight hits the ground.

 

[Asbel]

Since we're showing highlights, these were posted over at sherdog. Holy shit Fedor and Sylvia feel no pain.

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/mcray/mma/arm.wmv

Although my picks were wrong. That is far from a bad loss for Randleman and I will root for Rampage against Wanderlei.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Holy fucking shit...thats like a german suplex/ura-nage/dangerous backdrop.

fedor is inhuman to getup from that, and then win seconds later??? fuck...

edit: ugh at that bone break.

And Jackson is just so damn strong...I agree, Minotauro...it might be the best finish to a fight ever. Although I still love Igor's KO over Bueno or whatever his name was. But damn...CRITICAL!

 

[Fifty]

Holy shit! He also LANDED ON HIS HEAD! Insane.