Strikeforce - Fedor v. Roger Preview

On Saturday, November 7th, the number 1 MMA fighter of all-time Fedor Emelianenko will be fighting rising top 10 heavyweight Brett Rogers. Rounding out the card is a 185 pound title fight between Jake Shields and Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Gegard Mousasi, Fabricio Werdum and Jeff Curran. The card unfolds at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois and will be broadcast live on CBS.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers- Finally we get to see Fedor fight after he was MIA from MMA action since a KO win over Andrei Arlovski in January. Also, Brett Rogers will be returning since his June beatdown of the aforementioned Arlovski.

Fedor (30-1) is an absolute beast, dismantling former UFC champs, massive brawlers and NCAA champs at ease. He owns wins over a staggering group of fighters including everyone from Antonio Nogueira, Tim Sylvia, Mark Coleman, Matt Lindland, Kevin Randleman and Ricardo Arona.

Look for Fedor to bring Rogers to the mat and take him to school with his amazing grappling aresenol. If the fight stays standing, I would expect Fedor to look to use his quickness against Rogers power punching.

(Fedor Emelianenko pictured)

Brett Rogers (10-0) is a rising star in the mixed martial arts world. He started his career training working full-time in Sam's Club's tire department and training in a 5 car garage. He has awesome power, standing 6'5" and weighing 265+ pounds. Expect Rogers to keep the fight standing, hunting for a knockout.

During his brief MMA career, Rogers has finished every fight with 9 TKO/KO's and 1 submission, albeit via a punches. Besides Arlovski, Rogers has taken out James Thompson, Jon Murphy and Ron "Abongo" Humphrey.

(Brett Rogers pictured)

Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields- After the extremely entertaining Cung Le decided to vanquish his middleweight belt, Strikeforce has handed the title shot to two of the best American fighters outside the UFC. The grappling wizards will be fighting five rounds to determine the new champ.

Mayhem Miller (22-6) has used his "unique" personality to host the show Bully Beatdown and launch various other endevors. With an underrated submission game, Miller will look to defend Shields submission attempts while looking to punish the jiu-jitsu blackbelt.

Miller has fought in Hawaii, Japan and the continental US during his long career, with wins over Kala Hose, Robbie Lawler, Niko Vitale, Tim Kennedy and Ron Jhun.

(Mayhem Miller pictured)

Jake Shields (23-4) was the first and only Elite XC 170 pound champ, a Shooto champ and two time Rumble on the Rock tournament champ. He is currently riding a 12 fight win streak. Shields grappling has looked flawless during that stretch. Expect Shields to look for takedowns early and often, and then try for a submission.

Shields won the 170 pound Elite XC belt over Nick Thompson and defended against Paul Daley. He would then beat Robbie Lawler at a 182 catch weight in his first Strikeforce fight. Shields has other career victories over Carlos Condit, Mike Pyle and Dave Menne.

(Jake Shields pictured)

Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou- Gegard Mousasi (26-2), the Strikeforce 205 pound champion, will be taking on the uber athletic Sokoudjou in this non-title match. Expect Mousasi to use his precision kickboxing to neutralize Sokodjou's power. Mousasi is on a 13 fight win streak with victories over Babalu Sobral, Melvin Manhoef, Denis Kang and Jacare.

Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum- The winner of this heavyweight clash will find himself in a potential showdown with the winner of Fedor v. Rogers. Both fighters are excellent grapplers, and this fight will likely be determined on the ground. Werdum is coming of a 2009 ADCC HW championship.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Marloes Coenen vs. Roxanne Modafferi- CBS Swing Bout
Jeff Curran vs. Dustin Neace
Shamar Bailey vs. John Kolosci
Deray Davis vs. Mark Miller
Nate Moore vs. Louis Taylor
Jonatas Novaes vs. Christian Uflacker

WEC 40 Chicago - Preview

WEC 40 takes place April 5th at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois. There is a solid lineup of fights that will take place. The undercard is stacked with Wagnney Fabiano, Eddie Wineland, Manny Tapia, Bart Palaszewski and Rafeal Dias. Expect to see some quick and exciting action.

Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki- This fight is for the 135 pound bantam weight title. Torres (35-1, 4-0 WEC), won the BW belt at WEC 32 over Chase Beebe and has defended against Yoshiro Maeda and Manny Tapia. Torres is a relentless, creative and entertaining fighter who has an endless supply of energy. Expect him to go big in this fight in his hometown.

(Miguel Torres pictured)

Takeya Mizugaki (11-2, 0-0 WEC) is a late replacement for Brian Bowles, who had to withdraw due to injury. Mizugaki is a veteran of the Japanese Shooto and GCM promotions and is currently riding a 5 fight win streak. He was a Shooto rookie of the year in 2003.


Joseph Benavidez vs. Jeff Curran- This match sets up nice to determine a number 1 contender for the BW Title. Curran (29-10, 2-2 WEC) has had a tough past two fights losing via guillotine against Urijah Faber and a decision to Mike Thomas Brown. Curran should look to take the fight to the ground to utilize his submission game. He has fought in the UFC, IFL and Pride with big wins over Rafael Assuncao, Wagnney Fabiano, Jason Dent and Bao Quach.

(Jeff Curran pictured)

Joe Benavidez (9-0, 1-0 WEC) is an up and coming prospect who trains with Urijah Faber. Benavidez fought in local promotions before being called to fight in Dream, defeating Junya Kudo (7-2) at Dream 5. In his lone WEC fight, Benavidez seemed tenantive at times, but was crisp in his striking. He notched a unanimous victory over Danny Martinez.

(Joe Benavidez pictured)

Ben Henderson vs. Shane Roller- Ben Henderson (8-1, 1-0 WEC) has six submission victories on his resume. In his last two fights he won via decision over Diego Saraiva and won his WEC debut over Anthony Njokuani via guillotine choke. Shane Roller (5-1) is a top level wrestler with 3 submissions and 2 TKO's on the win list. Roller won his two WEC fights over Mike Budnick and Todd Moore with the guillotine choke.

Rafael Assuncao vs. Jameel Massouh- Rafeal Assuncao (12-1, 0-0 WEC) is a BJJ blackbelt that some circles put in the top ten at 145. He has 8 submission wins on his resume with victories over Joe Lauzon, Jorge Masvidal and Joe Pearson. Massouh (21-4, 0-0 WEC) has fought many times out of Wisconsin's FCC promotion. Recently, Massouh has fought in Pancrase.

UNDERCARD

Anthony Njokuani vs. Bart Palaszewski
Dominick Cruz vs. Ivan Lopez
Diego Nunes vs. Cub Swanson
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Fredson Paixao
Eddie Wineland vs. Rani Yahya
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Manny Tapia
Mike Budnik vs. Rafael Dias

WEC 31 Results

Results WEC 31 - MMA Blaster

Urijah Faber defeats Jeff Curran - RD 2 Guillotine Choke
Jens Pulver defeats Cub Swanson - RD 1 Anaconda Choke
Paulo Filho defeats Chael Sonnen - RD 2 Armbar
Doug Marshal defeats Ariel Gandulla - RD 1 Armbar
Brian Bowles defeats Marcos Galvao - RD 2 TKO
Charlie Valencia defeats Ian McCall - RD 1 Choke
John Alessio defeats Todd Moore - UD
Brian Baker defeats Eric Schambari - SD
Ed "9MM" Ratcliff defeats Alex Karelexis - RD 2 TKO

Overall an exciting show. Faber was probably down until he wobbled Curran and secured the choke. Pulver dominated Swanson, looks like they will be squaring off for the FW title in a couple months.

Sonnen was dominating the fight until Filho he was able to get an armbar. Sonnen was screaming and yelling as the armbar was sunk, and the ref stopped the fight. If you do that, the ref will think you are in pain. Sonnen protested and insists he was saying "no" but his argument fell on deaf ears. The stoppage was not controversial.

I told everyone to watch out for the "9MM" Eric Ratcliff, he TKO'd former TUF contestant Alex Karelexis.


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Alessio v. Moore pic from Sherdog

WEC 31 Preview

WEC Preview by the MMA Blaster

I was actually a little sad that there was no more Ultimate Fighter until next April. That is, until I saw the card for WEC 31. The first three bouts could just as easily be on a UFC ppv, and there are an amazing seven undefeated fighters on this card. While many are prospects, it is always nice to get a glimpse at the start of something big. Here is the fight card for Wednesday's action:

Urijah Faber (19-1) v. Jeff Curran (28-8) - FW Belt
Cub Swanson (11-1) v. Jens Pulver (21-8)
Paulo Filho (15-0) v. Chael Sonnen (19-8) - MW Belt
Doug Marshal (6-2) v. Ariel Gandulla (4-0-1) - LHW Belt
Brian Bowles (3-0) v. Marcos Galvao (6-1)
Charlie Valencia (8-3) v. Ian McCall (6-0)
John Alessio (20-10) v. Todd Moore (9-0)
Brian Baker (5-0) v. Eric Schambari (7-0)
Alex Karelexis (9-2) v. Eric "8MM" Ratcliff (3-0)

Faber v. Curran- Faber has been the face of the WEC since Zuffa acquired the organization and this is his biggest fight to date. Faber has been building popularity in recent years, successfully defending his featherweight title three times in 2007. Curran is a well experienced veteren (10 years) who has fought much larger and experienced opponents in his day.

Curran has notable wins over Wagnney Fabiano (9-1), Krazy Horse Bennett (19-14), Jason Dent (15-9) and Rafael Assuncao (11-1). Faber is wins over Chance Farrar (5-1), Dominic Cruz (9-1), Joe Pearson (20-9) and Naoya Uematsu (14-7).

Swanson v. Pulver- Pulver is trying to bounce back from losses to Joe Lauzon and BJ Penn and establish him in the 145 pound class. Swanson is looking to push his way into title contention. I'm guessing the winner of this bout gets an immediate FW title shot.

Most fans seem to forget that Pulver has an extensive career with wins over Joe Stevenson (26-7), Caol Uno (22-14), Stephen Palling (11-7), Cole Escovedo (11-4), BJ Penn (11-4), Dennis Hallman (38-12) and Joe Jordan (38-12). Swanson's last two wins in the WEC came over Tommy Lee (20-6) and Micah Miller (8-1).

Filho v. Sonnen- Filho is the legit number 2 middleweight in the world. Despite his undefeated record, he has chose to stay in the WEC. He is friends with Anderson Silva and has stated that he won't fight him unless the conditions are right. I hope to see Filho use all his skills to defeat Sonnen. Then Silva v. Filho, maybe I am dreaming.

*Watch for Ed "8mm" Ratcliff on the undercard, who will use his style of Tae Kwon Do and Karate.



Photo of Urijah Faber found on Photobucket, used incidentally to story