Anderson Silva sparring w/ Ryan Bader

Anyone Else Think Anderson Silva Needs to Move Up to 205?

(via cagepotato.com)

UFC 142 Predictions (main card)

Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes

This is (another) classic striker vs grappler matchup. Since coming to the UFC, Aldo has shown a much more cautious and refined strking game. Gone (at least temporarily) is the guy that knocked out Cub Swanson with two flying knees in eight seconds. I believe he is fighting safer due to the prestigious UFC belt. His fight with Mark Hominick was a great one but he visibly gassed in the last round due to an illness suffered before the bout. His lackluster win against Kenny Florian had more to do with Florian’s gameplan than Aldo. Mendes trains with Team Alpha Male with guys like Joseph Benavidez, Urijah Faber and Danny Castillo. Translation = his wrestling is top notch. He’ll look to close the gap, clinch and shoot for takedowns for five rounds. He has also shown great cardio in the past so this is also in his favor. This fight is difficult to predict. As much as I can visualize Mendes trying to grind and wear Aldo down for 5 rounds, 25 minutes is a LONG time to be in the cage with Aldo without Aldo landing something significant.

Prediction: Aldo by TKO

Vitor Belfort vs Anthony Johnson

This promises to be an explosive matchup. Belfort will rely on his boxing and hand speed and look for the knockout. Which Johnson will show up? The dominant wrestler or the striker? Belfort has had problems with wrestlers in the past, Randy Couture and Dan Henderson come to mind. If Johnson tries to strike with Belfort, I see a knockout victory for Belfort. If Johnson tries to clinch and wrestle with Belfort, it’s anybody’s fight.

Prediction: Belfort by TKO.

Mike Massenzio vs Rousimar Palhares

This is the fight I’m most looking forward to on this card. Why? Simply, Palhares is unpredictable, violent and dangerously skilled. The guy has vicious, vicious leg locks and kneebars and has a great ground game. He also has a tendency to do wild things in the cage like when he celebrated about winning his fight over Dan Miller. The problem? The ref hadn’t stopped the fight and the fight was re-started. Palhares ended up winning a 3 round decision but it was bizarre to say the least. Massenzio was recently triangled by Brian Stann (with due respect, a grappler not on Palhares’ level) so I see a submission win for Palhares followed by him celebrating his win AFTER the fight has been officially stopped by the referee and for him to continue to climb the contender’s list at middleweight.

Prediction: Palhares by submission

Carlo Prater vs Erick Silva

Silva electrified the Rio crowd in August with a blistering knockout of Luis Ramos in just 40 seconds. As exciting as that was, hopefully we can see more of the Brazilian this time around. This proves to be an excellent matchup. Can Prater strike with Silva? Can Silva showcase more than a big overhand punch this time around? Look for Silva to find his range and go 2 for 2 fighting in his home country.

Prediction: Silva by TKO.

Edson Barboza vs Terry Etim

Joe Silva really did an unbelievable job here. This is another fight that will be fireworks. Barboza has a very clear mission in fighting: keep the fight standing so he can unleash his vicious muay thai. His fight with Anthony Njokuani back in March was an amazing back and forth battle that led him to getting the nod. His fight with Ross Pearson was also a barnburner. Etim is no slouch on the feet but will be looking to take this to the ground immediately, where he should have a distinct advantage. This should be another explosive matchup for Rio.

Prediction: Barboza by decision

Strikeforce Fight Card: Rockhold vs Jardine

Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine headlines the Strikeforce fight card on Jan. 7 at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

"Rockhold vs. Jardine" is the first of up to eight events in 2012 under Strikeforce's new deal with Showtime. Under the new agreement, preliminary bouts will air on Showtime Extreme, while the main card bouts will remain on the standard Showtime channel.

This particular card will be free for cable viewers as it takes place during Showtime's free preview weekend beginning Friday, Jan. 6 and through Sunday, Jan. 8.

The complete lineup is below.

Showtime Bouts
Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine
Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov
King Mo Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin
Tyron Woodley vs. Jordan Mein
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson

Showtime Extreme Preliminary Bouts
Alonzo Martinez vs. Estevan Payan
James Terry vs. Nah-Shon Burrell
Gian Villante vs. Trevor Smith
Ricky Legere vs. Chris Spang


(via mmafighting.com)

2011 Best Of MMA KO's

What do you think were the best KO's of 2011?  I've posted a list of some of our favorites, in no particular order.


Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort at UFC 126
Silva defeated Belfort via KO (front kick and punches) at 3:25 of round 1 to retain the UFC Middleweight Championship

Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida at UFC 129
Machida defeated Couture via KO (flying front kick) at 1:05 of round 2 

Cheick Kongo vs Pat Barry at UFC Live on Versus
Kongo defeated Barry via KO (punch) at 2:39 of round 1 
Some say this is the craziest come-from-behind victory in UFC history. 

Nick Diaz vs Paul Daley, Strikeforce Welterweight Championship

Diaz defeated Daley via TKO (punches) at 4:57 of round 1 to retain the Strikeforce WW Championship

Jon Fitch vs Johny Hendricks at UFC 141

Hendricks defeated Fitch via KO (punches) at 0:12 of round 1

Chris Leben vs Brian Stann at UFC 125
Stan defeated Leben via TKO (knee and punches) 3:37 of round 1

GSP and the unknown

2011 was a forgettable year for Georges St Pierre. He last defended his title in April of 2011 against former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields. To say that the fight was not a good one would be an understatement. GSP fought very cautiously and with poor technique (winging overhand rights that were missing by a mile) and Shields gave up on his bread and butter (takedowns) in the first round. What we were then treated to was a sloppy kickboxing fest by both fighters, highlighted by either an eye poke or knuckle to the eye that blurred GSP’s vision. The shame is that this was a great fight card from top to bottom and Shields/GSP as a headliner left everyone at the party at my house with a bad taste in their mouth. Granted, everyone can have a bad night and this seems to be the case for both gentleman.

Dana White then decided to bring over Nick Diaz from Strikeforce to challenge GSP. After a crazy turn of events, Diaz faced BJ, Diaz re-gained his title shot, Condit lost his title shot against GSP, GSP tore his ACL and then Diaz/Condit was announced as an interim bout. Confused? You should be. Moving on, GSP will be out of action for a while. There are varying time speculations but most believe he’ll be out for all of 2012. My question is what type of division will GSP be returning to? We’ve already seen Johnny Hendricks with a spectacular knockout of Jon Fitch in 12 seconds, Jake Ellenberger with a fantastic knockout of Jake Shields in the first round and the eventual winner of Condit/Diaz for the interim strap. With due respect to GSP, what type of fighter will he be when he returns? He’ll be coming off major knee surgery, will be looking at roughly a year and a half out of the cage and will (obviously) be a year and a half older. I’m not convinced he’ll have the same explosiveness that he had prior to the surgery and I believe ring rust will play a major role in him struggling. GSP has become a fighter that relies on exploding through takedowns and using his footwork to avoid punches. How big of a factor will surgery on his knee play in him slowing down? Will his age (roughly 32 when he returns) also be a determining factor in his recovery time and success? That being said, if anyone could overcome these obstacles it’s GSP but at what point does Father Time take over and override your mental fortitude?

I think it’d be a shame for any fighter to face what GSP is facing but he is facing dire circumstances in his return. I’m not the biggest fan of GSP but I do hope he is able to return at 100% to defend his title. Nobody wants to see Ellenberger/Hendricks/Condit/Diaz beat a GSP that is not at full strength. Best of luck to GSP in his recovery and I can’t wait for a wide open welterweight division full of nasty fighters in 2012.

Bellator Open Tryouts In Philadelphia

CHICAGO, Ill. (December 30, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that it will host an open tryout on Saturday, January 28th that will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an undiscovered professional fighter to possibly earn a spot in one of the organization's upcoming events.

The tryout will take place at Daddis Fight Camps in Philadelphia on January 28th, with registration starting at 1 p.m. EST and tryouts beginning promptly at 2 p.m. EST. Tryouts are completely open to media.

“We’ve had tremendous success with our open tryouts in the past, and I expect the same type of talent to come out on January 28th,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This is an organization that rewards fighters that have earned their spot, and that’s what these tryouts are all about.”

Earlier this year, Ailton Barbosa realized a dream when he was discovered at Bellator’s open tryouts in Florida. Shortly after his impressive showing at tryouts, Barbosa was inside the Bellator cage, collecting a submission victory at Bellator 50 in Florida.

Daddis Fight Camps is located at 1719 Washington Ave Philadelphia, PA 19146. The tryouts are open to any fighters and they must be prepared to present their MixedMartialArts.com ID. Fighters must also be unrestricted free agents and cannot have any contractual obligations to another mixed martial arts promotion.

In addition to ID, fighters must also bring MMA gloves, boxing gloves, a cup and a mouth piece. The tryout will consist of a grappling session followed by a striking session. Pad holders will be provided but fighters are encouraged to bring their own pad holders for optimum performance.

Bellator’s open tryouts have produced a number of fighters that have appeared at Bellator events, including Kenny Foster, Bryan Goldsby, Giedrius Karavackas, Jeremy Spoon, Ailton Barbosa, Gregory Milliard, Tyler Stinson, James Krause, and many others.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator


(via mmanews.com)

Will Cerrone/Diaz equal Condit/Diaz?

Per my predictions before UFC 141, I picked Donald Cerrone to win a decision over Nate Diaz. As we all know now, Diaz won the fight fairly easily. Honestly, Cerrone looked out of it from the start. As I watched the fight unfold, it became very clear to me that Diaz had gotten into Cerrone’s head. Instead of fighting a calculated and measured fight utilizing distance and leg kicks, Cerrone was lulled into a standup war that both Diaz brothers seem to thrive in. This fight baffled me so much that I’m now re-thinking my initial thoughts of how the Carlos Condit/Nick Diaz fight will unfold. Condit also seems to be a good style fight for Diaz. The pre-fight (and during) sh** talking and antics by Diaz seemed to get Cerrone fired up and pulled him out of his fighting style.

It’s been noted many times that both of the Diaz’s struggle with wrestlers. Nick had problems in losses to with Sean Sherk, Diego Sanchez and Karo Parisyian (a judo player who also excels in takedowns). Nate has recently had troubles in losses to Joe Stevenson, Dong Hyun Kim and Clay Guida. That being said, Nate landed an astounding 258 strikes in the three round war that he was in with Cerrone. The main difference in my opinion is that Cerrone never shot in for a takedown, even though Greg Jackson was pleading for him to between rounds. With no threat of a takedown, Diaz was able to stalk Cerrone and land punches at an alarming rate.

And so this leads us to Condit/Diaz. Condit is a great striker no doubt but he doesn’t seem to have a great wrestling base. If there is no threat of a takedown, shouldn’t we expect a similar fight to Diaz/Cerrone? Aren’t these fights very similar on paper? Granted, Condit is very dangerous and can win this fight but this now seems like Diaz’s fight to lose. Neither man will gas but Diaz’s volume punching and gas tank seemed to overwhelm past opponents and break them down. I’m not going on the record as of yet but this now clearly seems to be a great stylistic matchup for Diaz. I don’t believe Condit will want to go to the ground with him so this seems to be a likely stand up war. Can Condit resist the urge to brawl? Will he fight in control and measured? Can Diaz also get in Condit's head pre-fight? I guess we will find out soon what the older brother from Stockton has up his sleeve.