UFC on Versus 6 Preview: Johnson vs. Cruz Posted by Drew Ellis (09/27/2011 @ 3:53 pm) The main event of UFC on Versus 6 is for the UFC Bantamweight Championship with Dominick Cruz defending his UFC title for the second time against Demetrious Johnson. The fight is a rare championship bout on free television, as the card airs on Versus this Saturday at 9PM ET. Here is a look at both fighters heading into this title bout. Dominick Cruz (18-1): The bantamweight champion is coming off his toughest fight to date, a unanimous decision win over Urijah Faber at UFC 132 back in July. The fight was exciting and very competitive, but allowed the champ to avenge his lone loss in his career. Cruz’ style is very difficult to prepare for as he uses very elusive footwork to work in a combination of punches and kicks and then get out of danger. He also has a very explosive wrestling background, which he tends to use late in rounds to secure 10 points with the judges. Cruz has shown the ability to take a punch when hit, and stuff opponents takedowns with great ease. Demetrious Johnson (9-1) – Johnson has quickly surged up the bantamweight rankings, winning his last four fights in the Zuffa Organization since losing his debut with the brand to Brad Pickett back in April of 2010. His win streak has included the likes of Damacio Page, Kid Yamamoto, and Miguel Torres. Johnson has a strong wrestling base that has worked to his advantage, as he has been able to keep opponents on their back. While he has some good striking, he has a very short reach and probably will struggle to land clean strikes on the mobile champion. Johnson’s best bet to win will be to get Cruz against the cage and use his strength to force him to the ground. The more this fight is fought with distance, the worse his chances are. Who will win? – I think Johnson has some promise, but this is not a good matchup for him and I am not quite sure he is ready for a title shot. He has not beaten any of the top four bantamweights in Cruz, Faber, Joseph Benavidez, or Brian Bowles. This is a big step up in competition and the fight is on a big stage. I see Cruz controlling the fight with his style and winning by decision once again. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Predictions, UFC Tags: bantamweight division, cruz vs. Johnson, Demetrious Johnson, Dominick Cruz, mma matchups, mma picks, mma predictions, mma preview, UFC Bantamweight Championship, ufc matchups, UFC on Versus 6, ufc picks, ufc predictions, Urijah Faber
UFC 135 Picks and Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (09/24/2011 @ 2:00 pm) UFC 135 kicks off an amazing two-month span for the premiere MMA organization. The card features a light heavyweight championship bout and a number of exciting fights. Here are my picks for the main card bouts. UFC Light Heavyweight Championship – Jon Jones (13-1) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-8) – Jones faces his biggest challenge to date in his young MMA career while Rampage is looking to stay in the spotlight of the UFC. There are some big questions here as Jones has yet to face any adversity in the octagon or really have his chin tested. Jackson has big power in both his hand, and if he can get inside the reach of Jones, he can knock him out. However, Rampage is somewhat one dimensional, using just boxing to win fights. I have no doubt that Jones has the ability to get Jackson to the ground if he so chooses. I think he will use his kicks and jabs to keep Jackson uncomfortable in the beginning and then eventually get the fight to the ground where I see him finishing Jackson with ground-and-pound strikes. Look for Jones to win this one in the third round. UFC Welterweight Bout – Matt Hughes (46-8) vs. Josh Koscheck (17-5) – Hughes was originally scheduled to face Diego Sanchez, but an injury forced Koscheck into the mix. Hughes had a better chance of beating Sanchez in my opinion as I don’t see him being able to wrestle Koscheck to the ground. Koscheck seems to be the better wrestler and the better striker in this fight. Koscheck’s only issue is that he is a wild striker, so he could leave himself open to a counter by Hughes. Hughes doesn’t have great power, but Koscheck doesn’t have a great chin. Still, I see Koscheck doing enough to earn a decision win over the UFC Hall of Famer. UFC Heavyweight Bout – Travis Browne (11-0-1) vs. Rob Broughton (15-5-1) – Browne appears to be a rising star in the heavyweight division. He has some great striking as he uses his powerful fists and mixes in nice leg kicks. Broughton is tough, but I think he is the sacrificial lamb in this fight to push Travis Browne into the MMA spotlight. Look for Browne to win by TKO in the first round. UFC Lightweight Bout – Nate Diaz (13-7) vs. Takanori Gomi (32-7) – Gomi fought Nick Diaz years ago in an amazing fight and I see this bought being just as exciting. The big issue with Gomi is that he tires easily and that will allow Diaz to get him to the ground and secure a choke. I like Nate Diaz to win by rear-naked choke in the third round of this one. UFC Heavyweight Bout – Ben Rothwell (31-7) vs. Mark Hunt (6-7) – Hunt was promising back in the day, but he just doesn’t have the skills to compete with most in the UFC. I see Rothwell overwhelming him early in the fight and getting a TKO finish with a flurry of punches in the first round. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Predictions, UFC Tags: Ben Rothwell, browne vs. broughton, diaz vs. gomi, fight picks, fight predictions, Hughes vs. Koscheck, Jon Jones, Jones vs. Rampage, Josh Koscheck, Mark Hunt, Matt Hughes, mma matchups, mma picks, mma predictions, Nate Diaz, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rob Broughton, rothwell vs. hunt, Takanori Gomi, Travis Browne, UFC 135, ufc light heavyweight championship, ufc matchups, ufc picks, ufc predictions
UFC 135 Weigh-In Results – All Fighters Make Weight Posted by Drew Ellis (09/23/2011 @ 6:47 pm) The fight card for UFC 135 is official as all 20 fighters came in on weight on Friday for Saturday’s card. The main event of Jon Jones vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had a little intensity added to the anticipation of the fight as the two had an intense stare down after each weighing in at 204 pounds for their UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout. Jones, who typically looks off to the side during a stare down, looked right in the eyes of Jackson, which led Rampage to look back and tell him “I’m going to end your hype.” Jones kept yelling “Let’s Go” back, but nothing physical took place. Both men looked in good shape and ready for a war on Saturday night. Matt Hughes weighed in at 170 pounds for his welterweight showdown with Josh Koscheck, who came in at 170.5 pounds. There wasn’t much added by their stare down, as they stayed pretty distant from each other. Koscheck had a very intense and focused mindset, as he looked like he was ready to get into the cage as soon as possible. For the full weigh-in results for Saturday’s UFC 135 card, check out the jump. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Results, UFC Tags: Ben Rothwell, browne vs. broughton, diaz vs. gomi, Hughes vs. Koscheck, Jon Jones, Jones vs. Rampage, Josh Koscheck, Mark Hunt, Matt Hughes, mma matchups, mma picks, mma predictions, mma weigh ins, mma weigh-in results, Nate Diaz, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rob Broughton, rothwell vs. hunt, Takanori Gomi, Travis Browne, UFC 135, ufc light heavyweight championship, ufc weigh ins
UFC Fight Night 25 Picks & Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (09/17/2011 @ 2:00 pm) UFC Fight Night 25 takes place on Saturday night from New Orleans with a solid card of four free fights. Here is a look at which fighters I like on Saturday, and why. UFC Welterweight Bout – Jake Shields (26-5-1) vs. Jake Ellenberger (25-5) – Shields is coming off the loss of his father, which may affect his performance, but I think this is his fight to lose. Ellenberger is a rising star and clearly the better striker, but he is taking a big step up in competition. I see Shields being able to work in his takedowns and grappling control to earn a tough decision victory. UFC Middleweight Bout – Court McGee (12-1) vs. Dongi Yang (10-1) – This is a classic striker vs. grappler match up, and I like the grappler to prevail. Yang has big punching power, but I see McGee getting this fight up against the cage where Yang will be neutralized. From there, look for McGee to grind out a few takedowns and eventually secure a choke in the later rounds. UFC Featherweight Bout – Jonathan Brookins (13-3) vs. Erik Koch (12-1) – Koch is considered the favorite according to the oddsmakers, but my pick goes with Brookins. He needs a lot of work in his striking, but his grappling takes a back seat to nobody in the division. I see Brookins taking a few punches early, but eventually getting inside Koch and using a judo throw or roll to get the fight to the ground. From there, I expect Brookins to work in a choke to get the win. UFC Middleweight Bout – Alan Belcher (15-5) vs. Jason MacDonald (26-14) – Belcher makes his return after more than a year off and he has a lot to fight for. He was a rising star in the division prior to his eye injury and he should have the skills to get past MacDonald, who is somewhat one dimensional, with a great submission skill set. Look for Belcher to pick apart MacDonald on his feet and avoid the ground game as he gets a decision win. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Predictions, UFC Tags: Alan Belcher, Battle on the Bayou, belcher vs. macdonald, betting lines, brookins vs. koch, court mcgee, dongi yang, Erik Koch, Jake Ellenberger, Jake Shields, Jason MacDonald, jonathan brookins, mcgee vs. yang, mma betting odds, mma matchups, mma odds, mma picks, mma predictions, mma welterweights, shields vs. Ellenberger, spike tv, top 10 welterweights, ufc betting odds, UFC Fight Night 25, ufc matchups, ufc odds, ufc picks, ufc predictions, UFC welterweights, Ultimate Fight Night
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Picks & Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (09/10/2011 @ 11:00 am) The semifinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix take place on Saturday night and also a pair of intriguing side bouts. Here are my picks for the four bouts that will be featured on tonight’s Showtime card. Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals – Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov – I think Barnett will be smart and handle Kharitonov similar to how he did Brett Rogers. Look for Barnett’s wrestling to eventually lead to a submission finish in the second or third round. Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinals – Antonio Silva vs. Daniel Cormier – Silva vs. Overeem would have been a bigger draw for Strikeforce, but now their champ is with the UFC. Still, Silva has shown some improving skills and I think he will be able to handle Cormier, who is still developing his skills. Cormier can wrestle, but Silva is stronger and should have better conditioning. I look for Silva to out-strike and out-grapple Cormier to earn a decision victory. Strikeforce Middleweight Championship – Ronaldo Souza vs. Luke Rockhold – Rockhold is a nice little fighter, but Souza should have no trouble with him. The submission wizard should find a way to work his magic in this fight and force a tap. Rockhold hasn’t faced a lot of tough talent and is just proof that Strikeforce doesn’t have much of a middleweight division. Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Bout – Muhammed Lawal vs. Roger Gracie – King Mo hasn’t fought in over a year and young Roger Gracie is off to an impressive start to his career, submitting the likes of Trevor Prangley and Kevin Randleman. Lawal is going to want to keep this fight standing, but he has a strong wrestling background that may ultimately lead to his demise. I see the better-conditioned Gracie using his skills to get the fight to the ground and choking out the former Strikeforce champ. Posted in: Events, Fighters, News, Predictions, Strikeforce Tags: Antonio Silva, Barnett vs. kharitonov, Daniel Cormier, grand prix semifinals, heavyweight division, heavyweight semifinals, Josh Barnett, luke rockhold, MMA heavyweights, mma picks, mma predictions, muhammed lawal, roger gracie, Ronaldo Souza, Sergei Kharitonov, silva vs. cormier, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, strikeforce light heavyweights, strikeforce middleweight championship, strikeforce picks, strikeforce predictions
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