Bellator 65 Predictions

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Champ Zach Makovsky vs. Eduardo Dantas: Makovsky by unanimous decision.

Mike Corey vs. Daniel Straus: Straus by unanimous decision.

Marcos Galvao vs. Ed West: Marcos by split decision.

Luis Nogueira vs. Alexis Vila: Alexis unanimous decision.

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Champ Zach Makovsky vs. Eduardo Dantas: Makovsky by split decision.

Mike Corey vs. Daniel Straus: Straus by 1^st round submission.

Marcos Galvao vs. Ed West: Galvao by unanimous decision.

Luis Nogueira vs. Alexis Vila: 2^nd round TKO.

You can catch the main card on MTV2 and the under card on Spike.com! Should be a great night of fights!

XFC 17: Apocalypse Predictions and Interview with Rising Star Nick Newell!

XFC 17: Apocalypse 

Is Friday April 13^th at the Oman Arena in Jackson, Tennessee. Everyone can watch it on HDNet.

It is a card filled with amazing young talent looking to make a name for themselves. It will be a great night of fights and you should all watch it.

                                                                                           Photo by MMAjunkie.com

We were very blessed to be able to get time with XFC 17 fighter Nick Newell. He has made headlines around the world because he only has one full functioning arm and is 6-0 with all of his wins ending in the very first round! He is an incredible talent and he is taking on a serious opponent in Chris Coggins Friday night in Jackson, Tennessee.  

He was incredibly gracious to take time out of his grueling weight cut to talk to us on the phone. He was a great interview and a very interesting guy. Check it out!

Sam: “Hey Nick thanks so much for doing this! So you said before the weight cut was intense how are you feeling right now?”

Nick Newell: “Feel fine…I just have to make weight. It’s a normal (state of) health for me. But I feel fine”

Sam: “So your upcoming opponent is Chris Coggins, what do you believe are his strengths and weaknesses?”

Nick Newell: “He’s a well rounded, explosive and athletic guy. But I’m better than him anywhere the fight goes.”

Sam: “And what have you done in your training camp to prepare for him?”

Nick Newell: “Same thing I do every time I work really hard to get ready. Sometimes it is different from one fighter to the next. Anything that happens will be something I have done a thousand times before.”

Sam: “Do you believe that public opinion has changed about you since you first started to now that you are 6-0 with all of your wins coming in the first round?”

Nick Newell: “Some people support it, some don’t but the fact of the matter is I am 6-0. I have to just keep winning, keep working hard, keep doing what got me to where I am right now.”

Sam: “What is the one thing that really motivates you to get in the cage?”

Nick Newell: “I like it. It is just fun for me. That is why I fight. If it wasn’t fun I wouldn’t do it. No one is making me fight. It is something I choose to do. I train hard and I’m good at it because I train hard and love it.”

Sam: “What is one of the main goals you plan on accomplishing in your MMA career?”

Nick Newell: “You do this sport and you give it everything you’ve got and you need to believe in yourself. If you do, you can be the best in the world. That’s my goal. That should be everyone’s goal.”

We thank you again Nick for taking the time to talk to us. We have been and will continue to root for you in the future. Everyone should keep their eye on this young and very promising fighter.

Now for our predictions!

(The main card can be watched on HDNet)

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Luciano Dos Santos vs. Eric Reynolds: Eric Reynolds by unanimous decision.

Charles Blanchard vs. Johnny Davis: Blanchard by split decision.

Chris Coggins vs. Nick Newell: Newell by 2^nd round heel hook.

Felice Herrig vs. Patricia Vidonic: Herrig by 2^nd round TKO.

Jarrod Card vs. Marlon Moraes: Marlon by 3^rd round TKO.

Joel Cooper vs. Amaechi Oselukwue: Amaechi by unanimous decision.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Luciano Dos Santos vs. Eric Reynolds: Eric Reynolds by unanimous decision.

Charles Blanchard vs. Johnny Davis: Blanchard by unanimous decision.

Chris Coggins vs. Nick Newell: Newell by submission in the 3^rd round.

Felice Herrig vs. Patricia Vidonic: Herrig by split decision.

Jarrod Card vs. Marlon Moraes: Marlon by 1^st round submission.

Joel Cooper vs. Amaechi Oselukwue: Amaechi by TKO in round 2.

Make sure you tune into HDNet to see this great card! And thanks to XFC and Nick Newell for their participation!!!

2012 NCAA National Wrestling Championsips Prediction Results and Other Info

Results to my picks:

125: Matt McDonough, Iowa = 1^st Place. His relentless pace helped him cap off an amazing season with an incredibly dominating trounament. He won his first two by pin, his third and fourth by major decisions and a solid 4-1 victory to capture the 125 title.

133: Jordan Oliver, Oklahoma St. = 2^nd Place. He won it last year as a junior and was poised to seize the title once again as a senior but surprisingly fell short to freshman and #2 seeded Logan Stieber in a somewhat controversial 4-3 decision loss. It looked like Oliver had a takedown in the last seconds but the ref called it a neutral position. Either way watch for Oliver to do big things soon. I could see him being great for MMA but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him capture gold at some point. He has been one of my favorites to watch the last few years and I wish him luck!

141: Kendric Maple, Oklahoma = 4^th Place. Maple in my mind was one of the stronger picks I had this season but fell apart at the end there. He started the tournament with a pin and two major decisions but then lost two overtime decisions to grab 4^th place. But he is only a junior and will be a favorite next year.

149: Frank Molinaro, Penn State = 1^st Place. Molinaro has been one of my favorite wrestlers for the last few years and this year he got the title. I like watching him wrestle because he wrestles so maturely. He picks his shots so well and never forces shots. He has impeccable defense as well. He had a great tournament with 2 major decision and 2 shutouts. Plus, a solid 4-1 title victory. He graduates this year but I really hopes he goes to MMA. His strength is insanely impressive and he could be an absolute force at either featherweight or lightweight.

157: Kyle Dake, Cornell = 1^st Place. Is Dake the best talent we have ever seen? Possibly. This year he became the first ever to win a third national championship in three different weight classes!! Yes, you read that right! He has outscored his opponents 48-3 in his first three years in the National Championship tournaments. Are you kidding me?!! Let us see if he can make it four years in a row next year! Wow!

165: David Taylor, Penn State = 1^st Place. Taylor had the most dominant National Championshiop title run I have ever witnessed and may be the most dominant ever. Taylor had 4 straight pins and then a technical fall; which means he is up by 15 points and automatically wins. For those who do not know how amazing this is take my word it is a big deal and almost never happens at this level and especially never happens in the finals!!! By the way Taylor is only a Sophmore!!! Wow! This kid is unbelievable and his future could resemble Kyle Dake’s success.

174: Chris Perry, Oklahoma St. = 3^rd Place. Perry started off pretty strong but fell short to a formidable Nick Amuchastgui. He is only a sophomore and under the tutelage of my favorite coach, John Smith, he will capture the title in the next two years.

184: Steve Bosak, Cornell = 1^st Place. Bosak was my major underdog pick but I saw him being too experienced to lose to some of the younger guys at 184. He started the tournament with three straight shutouts and then finished with two 4-2 overtime decisions. I think his experience truly helped him in those tight overtime periods. I don’t think he has the ability to do a whole lot of the world level but I think his mat IQ and experience could help him be very successful in MMA; like a Chris Weidman who is also at 185.

197: Christopher Honeycutt, Edinboro = 2^nd Place. Honeycutt was an underdog but his record was 40-1 and he is a humongous 197 pound man. He must cut roughly 30 pounds at least. And although I usually pick the lankier and lighter guys I just couldn’t ignore Honeycutt’s strength, experience and beautiful record. He must come to MMA. I think he would be unbelievable at it.

285: Anthony Nelson, Minnesota = 1^st Place. The heavyweight tournament this year was a great one. Ryan Flores seemed destined to win it all by being seeded #1 and starting out the tournament with 4 straight pins! But last year’s champion, Zachery Rey from Lehigh, beat him by a somewhat dominate 6-2 decision. My underdog pick in Anthony Nelson seemed like a pick that was destined to fail on paper. He is a small heavyweight and only a sophomore. Everyone said I was wrong with this pick and that either Flores or Rey could wipe the floor with him but they were soooo wrong! In the finals Rey looked like he had about 40 – 50 pounds on Nelson. And Rey started off strong but Nelson was able to avoid losing any points and then at the last seconds of the match scored an incredible takedown right on the edge of the mat. It was a great and exciting heavyweight tournament with a new star being born in Nelson. Also for all of our MMA fans out there other Minnesota heavyweight National Champs are Current Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar! Watch out big guys!!

Thanks so much for reading this article on our blog! We truly love collegiate wrestling and it is easily the most unappreciated sport on the planet. There is no doubt that the best athletes in the world come from wrestling and this sport holds dear to my heart. If you are a true hardcore MMA fan you have to watch collegiate and Olympic wrestling! Stop by at the blog soon for the ADCC (Abu Dahbi Combat Club) coverage plus future UFC events as well!

NCAA Wrestling Championships

The tournament just started minutes ago!! One of my favorite times of the year is watching these warriors go to battle! Here are my picks in each weight class:
Dave's picks for NCAA Wrestling Championship.

125: Matt McDonough, Iowa
133: Jordan Oliver, Oklahoma St.
141: Kendric Maple, Oklahoma
149: Frank Molinaro, Penn State
157: Kyle Dake, Cornell
165: David Taylor, Penn State
174: Chris Perry, Oklahoma St.
184: Steve Bosak, Cornell
197: Christopher Honeycutt, Edinboro
285: Anthony Nelson, Minnesota

Lets see how I do!

Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Champ Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey (for female bantamweight title): Rousey by 1^st round submission.

K.J. Noons vs. Josh Thomson: Thomson by unanimous decision.

Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki: Daley by split decision.

Bristol Marunde vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza: Jacare by 1^st round submission.

Lumumba Sayers vs. Scott Smith: Smith by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman: Kaufman by unanimous decision.

Caros Fodor vs. Pat Healy: Caros split decision.

Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun: Conor by 2ndround submission.

Roger Bowling vs. Brandon Saling: Bowling by unanimous decision.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Champ Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey (for female bantamweight title): Rousey by 2^nd round submission.

K.J. Noons vs. Josh Thomson: Thomson by split decision.

Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki: Daley by TKO in round 2.

Bristol Marunde vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza: Jacare by submission in round 2.

Lumumba Sayers vs. Scott Smith: Smith by TKO in round 2.

Prelims

Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman: Kaufman by submission in round 3.

Caros Fodor vs. Pat Healy: Fodor by split decision.

Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun: Conor by split decision.

Roger Bowling vs. Brandon Saling: Bowling by TKO in round 2.

UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card 

Martin Kampmann vs. Thiago Alves: This is a great welterweight fight to have one of these guys back up in the title contention talks. Alves just easily won a fight against the completely overmatched Papy Abedi in a fight that was very unfair but the fight before that he got absolutely destroyed by Rick Story for 15 minutes. Kampmann, on the other hand, is doing a lot better. He looked really good against Story and loss two highly controversial decisions to Diego Sanchez and Jake Shields. Kampmann has looked really good in his last three fights, leading me to believe he will eek out a decision victory = Kampmann by unanimous decision.

Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani: Urishitani will have a good UFC career ahead of him but Benavidez is way too hard to beat. I mean, he’s only lost twice and they’re both to Dominick Cruz AND he’s fighting at his natural weight class of 125 pounds = Benavidez by unanimous decision. My pick for FOTN!

Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall: This fight is much harder to pick than the other semi-final. McCall is used to the underdog status and has pulled through to upset victories like his stunning win over the highly favored (and someone who should come to the UFC NOW) Jussier da Silva. Johnson, however, is much harder to bet against and did very well against the much. Much larger, Dominick Cruz. This fight isn’t going to be as exciting as most would hope because Johnson is most likely just going to outwrestle him = Johnson by unanimous decision.

Court McGee vs. Constantinos Philippou: This is a barn burner. They both come to fight and slug it out, which is going to be a huge deciding factor in this fight. Philippou has a lot of power in his hands as we saw in his brutal KO over Jared Hamman. McGee’s chin isn’t the best which is why I think Philippou will win this one = Philippou by 2nd round TKO. My pick for KOOTN!

Prelims

Aaron Rosa vs. James Te Huna = Te Huna by split decision.
Nick Penner vs. Anthony Perosh = Perosh by 1st round submission (choke) My pick for SOTN!
Cole Miller vs. Steven Siler = Miller by 2nd round submission (choke).
Andrew Craig vs. Kyle Noke = Noke by 1st round TKO.
Jake Hecht vs. T.J. Waldburger = Hecht by split decision.
Daniel Pineda vs. Mackens Semerzier = Semerzier by 3rd round TKO.
Shawn Jordan vs. Oli Thompson = Thompson by split decision.

Dave’s Picks

Main  Card

Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann: Very very tough fight to pick. I can see two possibilities play out. 1) Kampmann gets overwhelmed and gets KOed or Kampmann outpoints Alves to a decision. If Alves is smart he will come out guns blazing…this is sooo freaking hard! = Alves by split decision.

Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (flyweight-tourney opening round): Sadly this fight will be a one sided beating with Benavidez eventually winning the title = Benavidez by submission in round 1. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall (flyweight-tourney opening round): With this fight I am going against my gut. Ian McCall is a little monster. He is amazingly fun to watch and is currently unbeatable. In my gut I see him winning. But I can’t help but vote for Mighty Mouse. Johnson beat Torres, Yamamoto and went to a decision with 135 champ Cruz. Such a hard fight to call but I’m with Mighty Mouse = Johnson by unanimous decision.  My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Court McGee vs. Constantinos Philippou: These tough picks just won’t stop! Phillippou can be a beast at times but can be very underwhelming. H lost to Nick Catone and barely beat Jorge Rivera and KOed glass jawed Jared Hamman. That resume just doesn’t impress me. On the other handCourt McGee has only lost once and is looking very impressive in the UFC. But Philippou’s power could end this fight at any moment. This is a tight one. = Court by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Aaron Rosa vs. James Te Huna: Huna by KO in round 1. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Nick Penner vs. Anthony Perosh: Perosh by submission.

Cole Miller vs. Steven Siler: Miller by unanimous decision.

Andrew Craig vs. Kyle Noke: Noke by TKO in round 3.

Jake Hecht vs. T.J. Waldburger: Hecht by split decision.

Daniel Pineda vs. Mackens Semerzier: Mackens by submission in round 3.

Shawn Jordan vs. Oli Thompson: Jordan by TKO in round 3.

Enjoy the fights!