UFC 134 Recap

UFC 134 Recap

So the night that UFC returns to its roots has concluded and it was an awesome night. Finally we did pretty good on our picks and Stephen DeRose’s debut went well also. So, before I get into the main card I want to talk about the hectic first prelim on Spike TV. It seems that whenever someone throws the Steven Segal front kick and lands, it almost always rocks or knocks out their opponent. Palhares threw the front kick halfway through the first round, landed perfectly and dropped Dan Miller. Then, with less then a minute left, Palhares drops Miller again, tees off on him and then just walked away without having Herb Dean intervene. Palhares celebrates before Dean brings him back and when they continue, Dan Miller instantly floors Palhares and nearly wins the fight. Even though Palhares ends up winning the fight by unanimous decision, Miller showed unbelievable heart in even going the distance.

Even though I called the first main card bout, I still didn’t expect Cane do so well. Cane was landing a ton of straight punches, bloodying Nedkov’s nose. Nedkov was throwing tons and tons of haymakers with very few of them even coming close to landing, but once he landed one, Nedkov rocked Cane and finished him off with a lot of brutal punches to finally have Yamasaki wave it off. Nedkov looked sloppy, but he did prove a point of not to mess with his power.

Ross Pearson looked really good against the prospect, Edson Barboza. I thought Barboza was going to easily run through Pearson to a unanimous decision but Pearson pressed through Barboza’s lightning fast spinning back kicks to the body. The fight could have gone either way in the end but Barboza rose as the victor by split decision. Be fore this event, I thought that Guillard was the fastest striker in the lightweight division but Barboza literally showed the fastest kicks I have ever seen. Barboza showed in this fight that he stills needs improvement, but one day, he will be a title contender.

If there was one fight that I would be okay with getting wrong, it would have been “Big Nog” vs. Brendan Schuab. I thought coming into this fight that Schuab was going to KO Nog early in the fight, adding another legend to his victim list. To my pleasant surprise, Nog won, and not only did he finish him, but he KO’d him, and not only did he KO him, but he KO’d him in the first round! I was so happy, I really hate watching Nog lose so that was really nice not only for me but for Brazil.

This was no surprise, Shogun dominated Forrest in a first round TKO in brutal fashion. I also don’t like to watch Forrest lose, he’s a really nice guy and has done more than you can imagine for this sport but Shogun is just simply a better fighter than him.

Now, I said that I would never regret calling Yushin to beat Anderson (and I still don’t) but that fight was just simply embarrassing for Okami. Everything that Anderson threw that landed, dropped or rocked Okami. Okami literally had no chance of beating Anderson. That was one of the more motivated Anderson’s I have seen in a long time, he really wanted to avenge his DQ loss to Yushin. After this fight, it is almost impossible to disagree that Silva isn’t the best fighter P4P, ever, and in combat sports history. You can never count him out

UFC 134 Predictions

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: This one is for the Middleweight Strap! I truly believe this will be a very stiff test for Silva. Although Silva was reportedly injured for his fight against Sonnen I still feel Silva showed his weakness against wrestling. Now, Okami isn’t as good at wrestling as Sonnen but he is a big strong middleweight who can wrestle. If Okami can get this to the ground and stay away from Silva’s submissions, just like their first fight, he can win this. However, voting against Silva at this point would be considered insanity. This fight has a really good chance of being a boring dud but this is a sport and not just entertainment so sometimes we gotta deal with that = Silva by unanimous decision.

Forrest Griffin vs. Shogun Rua: This is a very hard fight to pick for me. This fight could go two ways. 1) Forrest wins due to outwrestling and smothering just like he did to Rich Franklin. 2) Its an all-out brawl which ends with Shogun KOing Forrest into oblivion. = Shogun by KO in round 2.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub: Big Nog is one of my top 5 all-time favorite fighters but I can’t see him pulling this one off. Schaub is entering into his prime where as Nog left his behind awhile ago. Schaub has thunderous punches and Nog’s chin is long gone. What I would hope to see happen is Nog win by submission but in reality = Schaub by KO in round 1. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson: Barboza is a very exciting propect who will make his mark with this fight. Pearson has above average hands but Cole Miller rocked him and Barboza hits much harder than Miller. Plus, I have noticed that when Pearson starts to get overwhelmed he can wilt. = Barboza by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: This fight is a hard on to pick because Nedkov has yet to fight in the UFC and Cane has been inconsistent. Cane should have a decent reach advantage and has the experience but my gut tells me to pick Nedkov = Nedkov by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago Tavares: Fisher by split decision.

David Mitchell vs. Paulo Thiago: Thiago by submission. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos: Silva by split decision.

Dan Miller vs. Rousimar Palhares: Palhares by unanimous decision.

Felipe Arantes vs. Yuri Alcantara: Alcantara by unanimous decision.

Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland: Jabouin by split decision.

Raphael Assuncao vs. Johnny Eduard: Assuncao by submission.

Stephen DeRose’s Picks

Main card 

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: This I feel is a very important fight for the middleweight division. Anderson Silva for five years has dominated the division hands down. Love him for his famous knockouts or hate him for his boring decisions, he is in the top three pound for pound in the world. Okami on the other hand is a fighter that has gotten a bad reputation for being very conservative fighter that relies on decisions for the W. This is a very hard fight for me to pick and I do not take it lightly. I feel that Anderson will be able to knock him out standing, but he must watch for Okami’s counter-strikes that almost knocked out Mark Munoz. The only real danger for Anderson is Okami’s wrestling; many people think that his fight with Chael was a fluke, but I believe that the Brazilian may still have problems with it. = Anderson by second round KO (If it was to go to a submission who are we kidding? It would be submission of the night)

Maurício Rua vs. Forrest Griffin: Everyone knows the story of when these guys first met four years ago, Shogun was coming from PrideFC with a lot of talk about him and how he would dominate the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Leave it to the good Forrest Griffin of old to squash those plans. It is arguably (other than his first UFC bout) Forrest’s greatest UFC win, dominating shogun for three rounds and then securing the win with a rear naked choke. Yet most people forget that Forrest suffered a shoulder injury that still affects him to this day and probably kept him from being a long reigning champion. I may eat my words but I feel as though Forrest just does not have it in him to win this fight, with the barrage of injuries he has sustained; even recently with his foot. Don’t get me wrong I know Shogun isn’t at the top of his game and hasn’t been since he started in the UFC. Yet feel as though Shogun will be able to utilise his striking and dominate as Forrest once dominated him.= Shogun by decision or early KO


Brendan Schaub vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira: Brendan Schaub is one of my favorite young fighters in the UFC right now with his knockout power and his ability to move forward to utilise it. Big Nog is and will be one on my favorite MMA fighters. Brendan Schaub is trying to move himself up in the rankings and Nogueria is trying to win in his home country. With Schaub’s knockout power and Nogueira’s aging chin it is hard to call this fight any other way. Schaub, I feel, will again use a legend to earn an exciting knockout of the night win. = Brendan Schaub by first round KO. My Pick for Knockout of the Night!

Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza: Edson Barboza has impressed with his first two fights in the UFC and is someone to look out for in the future. He is able to utilise leg kicks that may even match the likes of Anderson Silva one day. Ross Pearson is also a fighter who seems to improve as time goes on who can bring his own exciting arsenal of strikes to the bout. This seems to be a very exciting fight and my pick for fight of the night. I think both men have the power to earn the knockout, but Edson will utilise his unique kicks and strikes to earn the win (my second choice for knockout of the night) = Barboza by third Round Decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: Nedkov seems to be a very exciting prospect coming into the UFC with an 11-0 record, with a majority of them by knockout. I believe he can utilize his boxing against Cane’s weak chin = Nedkov By K/O

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

 

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: I had a dream last night of this fight. It was extremely vivid and I woke up actually believing that it truly did happen. It was a very entertaining fight and close. A technical back-and-forth battle with striking and grappling all in the mix. Yushin ended up winning by unanimous decision and I actually remember him celebrating and getting the belt around his waist. All day I have been contemplating on how I am going to call this fight. I am actually a fan of Yushin, I like fighters who fight smart which is also why I like Jon Fitch. But who isn’t a fan of Anderson? He (almost) always finishes fights, usually in devastating fashion, and never gives up (Sonnen). You can call me crazy, and to be honest, I wouldn’t disagree with you but I do not regret saying this and I never will = Okami by unanimous decision.

Forrest Griffin vs. Shogun Rua: Ever since he lost the belt to Rashad, Forrest has looked really bad. He hasn’t evolved as a fighter. He got destroyed in an embarrassing fight against Silva, barely beat Tito, and laid on top of an aging Rich Franklin for three rounds. And since he’s joined the UFC, Shogun has been really disappointing. He got destroyed by Forrest Griffin when Griffin was at his peak, barely finished Coleman in one of the most embarrassing fights I have ever seen, knocked out Liddell who can be knocked with a slight breeze, and lost to Machida (which he should have won). His last fight was really hard to watch, it was brutal. I have never seen such an one-sided beating on the champ. I think Shogun is going to seek revenge from their first fight and come out stronger than before = Shogun by 2nd round TKO. My pick for KO of the night!

Big Nog vs. Brendan Schuab: After his KO loss to Roy Nelson, Schuab has looked amazing, a completely different fighter. His ground game needs work but his striking is crisp and powerful and I truly believe that this is the end of the road of Big Nog’s career = Schaub by 3rd round KO.

Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson: Barboza could very well be a champion in the next couple years. His striking is unbelievably impressive and I’m sure his ground game is good since he’s Brazilian. Ross Pearson is a mediocre fighter who isn’t going anywhere in the UFC. He is always just going to be someone fighting mid-tier fighters in the UFC till he gets cut = Barboza by unanimous decision. My pick for fight of the night!

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: Cane is a striker, he hasn't shown us much more and he had been KO’d by a BJJ guy and a striker (Lil Nog, Diabate), in a row. Nedkov has a lot of hype coming into this fight and I am falling for it. I think that he will be a great fighter in the UFC and his journey starts now = Nedkov by 2nd round TKO.

Prelims

Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago Tavares = Fisher by split decision.

Dan Miller vs. Rousimar Palhares = Palhares by 2nd round submission (leg). My pick for submission of the night!

Paulo Thiago vs. Dave Mitchell = Thiago by 2nd round submission (choke)

Raphael Assuncao vs. Johnny Eduardo = Assuncoa by unanimous decision

Erick Silva vs. Luis Romos = Silva by 1st round submission (choke)

Felipe Arantes vs. Yuri Alcantara = Alcantara by unanimous decision

Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland = Loveland by unanimous decision

A Bittersweet weekend, but Mostly Bitter

At the weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5, Chris Lytle announced that this fight with Dan Hardy would be his last. It was very nice to see him go out with a win, two more bonuses, giving him the most at 10, and having a beautiful moment with his family inside the cage. It was nice seeing a fighter retire before people started begging for him to retire, he did it on top. Although it was nice, it was also sad seeing one of the most entertaining fighters in the history of the sport retire.

During the broadcast of the card on Sunday, it was announced that Shawn Tompkins, one of the biggest coaches in the sport and a hero in Canada was found dead. It was reported that he simply just didn’t wake up. Tompkins was the head coach of Team Tompkins, training fighters such as Mark Hominick, Sam Stout, and Chris Horodecki. He and Hominick were the best of friends and Tompkins was the brother-in-law of Sam Stout. His death was very tragic and very sudden. It was reported earlier today that is was a heart attack that killed him in his sleep at the young age of 37.

R.I.P. Shawn Tompkins

UFC on Versus 5 Recap

Dave's Recap

Another decent night of fights but a horrible night of predictions for Sam and I. Sam and I usually go between 80-100% every event in our predictions and we are just on a bad streak lately. But let’s get to the fights. Duane Ludwig looked great against Amir Sadollah. From the moment the bell rang Ludwig was quicker to the punch and looked more confident. Amir looked as if he was fighting under water and looked lethargic early on. From here I could see Amir facing some really low level fighters and Duane should keep fighting other strikers to entertain the fans.

Donald Cerrone proved me wrong when he easily disposed of major prospect Charles Oliveira. I was very impressed with Cerrone’s confidence and how it played out in his approach. Cerrone was relentless and displayed some great takedown defense. From here I think Oliveira needs to fight someone a level lower than a Jim Miller or Donald Cerrone. But for Cerrone I think it’s time to step it up a notch. Cerrone needs to fight a guy like Jim Miller.

In one of the biggest upsets in a long time Ben Henderson destroyed Jim Miller. It was a major surprise for me as Jim Miller literally couldn’t mount any type of offense. Henderson used his superior wrestling to not just hold down Miller but beat him up with some serious ground and pound. Due to the fact that Jim Miller had been screwed by not getting a title shot a long time ago I still see him being a top contender. I think he should fight the winner of Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens. Henderson needs to fight either Clay Guida or Melvin Guillard.

In the Main Event Chris Lytle dispatched of Dan Hardy rather easily. Lytle was the more accurate boxer and also the smarter boxer. Hardy seemed very uncertain and failed to pull the trigger. Lytle retired after the fight and Dan Hardy lost his fourth in a row. However, they announced Hardy still has a job. I can tell you that is based on the revenue his name brings in from the UK and European markets. Hardy needs to either fight another midlevel fighter and risk getting fired or fight some can and get an easy win.