UFC 102 Preview

UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira will take place this Saturday, Aug 29, 2009 in Portland, Oregon's Rose Garden. MMA legends Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira will be looking for a victory to potentially push them into title contention. Meanwhile, Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt are looking to get a crack at the seemingly invincible Anderson Silva. The rest of the card is fairly stacked.

(Randy Couture inducted to the UFC Hall)

MAIN CARD

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera

UNDER CARD

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow
Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague
Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham
Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson


(Demian Maia pictured)

UFC 95 Review

UFC 95 may not of had a title fight, but the card delivered. In what was the most entertaining card of 2009, we saw 6 KO's, 2 submissions and only one decision in the 9 fights that aired on Spike TV.

Mike Ciesnolevicz def Neil Grove via sub (heel hook)- R1, 1:03- Mike C tried for a takedown, but was unsuccessful with Grove landing in top position. From there both fighters went for leg locks, with Grove looking for a straight ankle lock. Mike C got a heel hook close to his body and when he torqued it the knee appeared to pop and the fight was over. Hopefully Grove didn't suffer a bad knee injury.

Evan Dunham def Per Eklund via TKO, R1, 2:13- Dunham took a punch or two before unloading a left hand to the face of Eklund. After Eklund went down, Dunham continued delivering punishment until the ref called the fight.

Junior dos Santos def Stefan Struve via TKO- R1, 0:54- The tall Struve looked like a kid facing an adult in his match with dos Santos. When dos Santos was able to get inside on the taller Struve, it was all over as dos Santos landed a left and right crumpling the bigger fighter.

Terry Etim def Brian Cobb via TKO- R2, 0:10- Terry Etim put on a dazzling striking display as he dominated late replacement Brian Cobb. Etim looked good with varying kicks and punches. Cobb was able to get takedowns on Etim, but couldn't do anything in top position. In the second, Etim landed a kick to Cobb's face then finished him off.

Paulo Thiago def Josh Koscheck via TKO, R1 3:29- In the upset of the night, Paulo Thiago made a name for himself by knocking out heralded fighter Josh Koscheck. Entering the fight as a huge underdog, Thiago took a couple clean shots from Koscheck as the fight began. Kos seemed to be getting the better of Thiago, stalking him around the cage. However, Kos was caught by a nasty uppercut and then clipped with a hook before hitting the ground. The ref stepped in as Thiago knew it was over. Koscheck disputed the stoppage, but the replay showed it was the correct call.
*KO of the night bonus awarded to Thiago.

Demian Maia def Chael Sonnen via Sub (Triangle Choke) R1, 2:37- Demian Maia continued to dazzle as he submitted Chael Sonnen. Maia threw Sonnnen with a lateral throw landing in top position. From there, he locked in a triangle, rolled, and then had Maia tapping.
*Submission of the night bonus awarded to Maia.

Nate Marquardt def Wilson Gouveia via TKO (Knee and Punches) R3, 3:10- Marquardt was in his element as he had his way with Gouveia throughout the fight. Marquardt consistently landed push kicks, leg kicks and attempted high kicks. Marquardt was able to get a couple takedowns as well. In the third, Marquardt landed a jumping knee and straight punch. With Goeveia backing up, Marquardt threw kicks, a spinning backfist, knees and punches before the ref jumped in to stop the action. Marquardt looks poised for a title shot.

Dan Hardy def Rory Markham via KO (Punch) R1, 1:09- Markham came in looking for another knockout of the night bonus, but that didn't happen. Markham threw a huge overhand right which was countered by a left hook from Hardy. Markham protested the stoppage, but it was justified.

Diego Sanchez def Joe Stevenson via Dec (Unanimous)- In what turned out to be a close fight, Sanchez and Stevenson spent most of the fight trading punches. Diego did enough to win, landing more strikes overall. The closest Stevenson came to victory was a second round attempt at a guillotine choke.
*Sanchez and Stevenson win fight of the night bonus.

(Diego Sanchez pictured)

Un-aired bout- Paul Kelly def. Troy Mandaloniz via Dec (Unanimous)

UFC 91 Recap

The Brock Lesnar era has officially begun as the behemouth secured his first MMA title in the form of the UFC heavyweight title belt. The card scored a live gate of 4.8 million in a sold out MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I'll keep you posted on the ppv numbers, I believe it will probably break the mma record. I was happy each fight made it to air, as only one fight went to decision. UFC 91 turned out a very good card with exciting fights.

(Brock Lesnar pictured)

Matt Brown def Ryan Thomas via Submission (Armbar), R2 0:57 - Ryan Thomas was consistently able to get takedowns on Matt Brown throughout the fight. However, Brown was able to continue to work his submission game and eventually got Ryan Thomas to over commit on the ground. Thomas ended up in a tight armbar, and was unable to slam his way out of it.

Mark Bocek def Alvin Robinson via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R3 3:16- Bocek out grappled Robinson throughout the fight, keeping Robinson in bad positions. Bocek landed hard punches throughout the fight and it was only a matter of time before he locked up the choke after being extremely calm while having Robinson's back.

Jeremy Stephens def Rafael dos Anjos via KO (uppercut), R3 0:39- This was an awesome fight as Stephens came back from after losing the first two rounds. Dos Anjos had Stephens in near submissions. In the third round, Stephens loaded up a massive uppercut that found its mark directly to dos Anjos jaw droppin gthe fighter to the ground.
*Given KO of the night fight bonus.

Aaron Riley def Jorge Gurgel via Decision (Unanimous)- This fight was shown after the Lesnar v. Couture fight. The fight boiled down to a kickboxing match and both fighters were content to stand and trade. Riley was a little more crisp with his punches, many of which found their mark. Gurgel scored consistently with body and leg kicks. Riley had a couple takedowns and controlled the fight more than Gurgel. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Riley.
*Both fighters awarded fight of the night bonuses.

Demian Maia def Nate Quarry via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R1 2:13- Maia put on yet another awesome display of ju-jitsu against the hard hitting Nate Quarry. Maia pulled guard, executed a sweep and then eventually got Quarry's back. From there it was only a matter of time before Maia secured the rear naked choke. Maia now has 4 straight submission wins in the UFC and is 9-0 overall. Maia is rumored to be a possible coach for the next TUF reality show.

Gabriel Gonzaga def Josh Hendricks via KO (Punches), R1 1:01- Gonzaga was just too much for Hendricks in this heavyweight clash. Hendricks and Gonzaga clinched before Gonzaga landed a hook and then put a perfect right straigt to Hendricks to drop him. Gonzaga put a couple more punches before the fight was called. Gonzaga has two straight quick victories since his back to back defeats to Couture and Werdum.

Dustin Hazelett def Tamdan McCrory via Submission (Reverse Armbar), R1 3:59- Hazelett withstood an early McCrory flurry to throw a nice high kick that partially connected. When the fight went to the mat, Hazelett looked slick. Hazelett transitioned from an omaplata to a reverse armbar for the finish. Hazelett stated he wanted to be the top BJJ guy in the 170 pound division. That was Hazelett's second win in a row since a loss to Josh Koscheck. Both came via submission.
*Hazelett awarded submission of the night.

Kenny Florian def Joe Stevenson via Submission (Rear-naked choke), R1 4:03- Florian continued on his dominant run imposing his will on Joe Stevenson. Landing some strikes, Florian was taken down, but got back up. Once up, Florian got his own takedown before delivering a nasty right hand. He next mounted Stevenson and eventually got the rear naked choke. With the victory, Florian has set himself up for a title shot against BJ Penn. Florian now has 6 wins straight in the UFC since a title loss to Sean Sherk. All wins have come via submission or TKO.

(Pictured Kenny Florian)

Brock Lesnar def Randy Couture via TKO (Punches), R2 3:07- This fight lived up to the hype as it had everyone in the bar I was at on their feet. Lesnar, an NCAA champion in wrestling, has legitimized his status of an elite mixed martial artist with the win. Lesnar used his size to his advantage in the first round, as it appeared Couture was using more energy in the first. Lesnar and Couture each threw knee's from the clinch, but Lesnar landed them more effectively. Couture punched well in the clinch, sneaking a couple in to Lesnar's face.

In the second, Lesnar landed a punch and elbow in the clinch dazing Couture. From there he threw a massive overhand right that hit Couture near the back of the head. Lesnar followed Couture to the ground and unleased about 10 or more hammerfists to the face before the ref stopped the fight. Lesnar captures the UFC HW belt. "I can't believe it" proclaimed the new champ.

*Lesnar will face the winner of Frank Mir v. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira next.
*I still can't believe that people don't arrive till the 3rd or 4th fight in Vegas.

UFC 91 Preview

UFC 91 will be held in Las Vegas on November 15, 2008. I'll probably be watching at a local watering hole here in Chicago. With the drawing power of Lesnar and Couture, the ppv buy record for an MMA broadcast will probably be shattered. All fighters made weight with Randy Couture tipping the scales at 220 pounds. Brock Lesnar weighed the max at 265. In the other HW clash, Gabriel Gonzaga came in at 256 while Josh Hendricks came in at 238.

Randy Couture (16-8, 13-5 UFC) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1, 1-1 UFC)- This is the main event for the UFC Heavyweight title. Couture has been absent from the cage for 14 months while involved in a contract dispute. It is still unclear what Couture will do after this fight as he wants a fight with Fedor.

Couture beat Tim Sylvia to win the HW belt and defeated Gabriel Gonzaga in his title defense. Prior to that fight Couture had lost to Chuck Liddell at 205 pounds in 2006. Couture has been fighting since 1997, winning a four man tournament at UFC 13 in his debut. Couture's big wins have been against Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Pedro Rizzo, Kevin Randleman, Maurice Smith and one victory over Chuck Liddell (2 losses to Liddell).


Lesnar is a NCAA HW Champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota and placed second in his junior year. Lesnar destroyed Min Soo Kim in his debut with K-1 Hero's(now Dream) with a takedown and ground and pound. He lost his UFC debut to Frank Mir, despite laying a beating on Mir for the first 1:15 of the fight. Unfortunately, Brock got a little overconfident and lost via kneebar. In his last fight he dominated veteran fighter Heath Herring in a decision.

Both fighters are legit wrestlers with power. Couture has a big advantage in terms of experience, but on the flipside is 45 year old and not getting any younger. Couture will look to use dirty boxing in the clinch to win. He will also have to be ready to fight off his back as Lesnar has excellent takedowns.

Lesnar will look to use his speed to get a takedown. From there he has to make his punches count and defend submissions against the cagey veteran. Lesnar will come in with a sizable weight advantage, probably 40+ pounds. Lesnar is also deceptively quick and athletic for his size.


Kenny Florian (10-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (29-8)- This fight will be for a shot at BJ Penn's 155 pound crown. Expect Florian to try to keep the fight standing where he has been improving his Muay Thai game. Expect Stevenson to attempt to get the fight to the ground where he can try to utilize his ground game. Stevenson received his BJJ black belt recently.

Florian is on quite a roll in his UFC career since his loss to Sean Sherk for the 155 pound title. He has beaten Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Alvin Robinson, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon and Roger Huerta. Stevenson recently defeated Gleison Tibau via guillotine choke. Stevenson also holds wins over Yves Edwards, Kurt Pellegrino and Melvin Guillard and Luke Cummo in the UFC.


Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) vs. Josh Hendricks (15-4)- Gonzaga is coming off a kimura win over Justin McCulley after back to back TKO losses to Randy Couture and Fabricio Werdum. Gonzaga is 5-2 in the UFC with wins over Cro Cop, Carmelo Marrero and Fabiano Scherner. Hendricks is a two-time All American wrestler who has won his past 10 fights. His best wins have come against Todd Brown (4-1) and Steve Conkel (13-4).

Demian Maia (8-0) vs. Nate Quarry (10-2)- This is the classic grappler v. striker match-up. Maia has some of the best BJJ on the planet. He has submission wins over Jason MacDonald, Ed Herman, and Ryan Jensen inside the UFC. Look for Maia to do everything in his power to get the fight to the ground.

Quarry on the other hand will look to keep the fight standing. Quarry is coming off a lackluster win over Kalib Starnes and a KO of Pete Sell. Quarry also has wins over Lodune Sincaid and Shonie Carter on his resume.

Dustin Hazelett (11-4) vs. Tamdan McCrory (9-1)- I'd really like to see this bout make the televised portion of the event. Hazelett is a BJJ black belt who is a master on the ground. He has submissions over Josh Burkman, Steven Lynch and Jonathan Goulet in the UFC. McCrory is a young up and comer, having beat Pete Spratt and Luke Cummo in the UFC.

Undercard

Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley
Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Mark Bocek vs. Alvin Robinson
Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas

Nick Catone (5-0) vs. Amir Sadollah (1-0)- Unfortunately, this bout was scratched as Amir Sadollah has a leg infection.