Tag: Urijah Faber (Page 2 of 3)

UFC 132 Recap & Review – Too Much To Cover

July 3, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null Well, where do I begin?

UFC 132 took place last night and was one of the most entertaining PPV’s I have seen in quite some time.

There were so many storylines that emerged from the event, but I guess I will have to start with the main event.

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber put on quite a show, proving that bantamweights can headline a PPV. In the end, Cruz won a close unanimous decision that had Faber crushed and Cruz looking very joyous and relieved (AP Photograph).

I personally felt Cruz won 48-47 based on scoring rounds, but I don’t feel like the fight had a true winner or loser. I didn’t think Faber did enough to warrant winning the title, but I think he should be considered for an immediate rematch.

Faber’s quickness did nullify some of Cruz’ movement, but Cruz still seemed to dictate the pace and style of the fight. The ground scrambles were really impressive from both men and that essentially made the fight a standup battle, where Cruz landed a lot more strikes.

In the co-main event, Chris Leben defeated Wanderlei Silva by KO in just 27 seconds. Coming in, many thought Tito Ortiz would be fighting his last fight, but it may have been Silva that did, as he suffers another big time KO and is just 2-6 in his last eight fights.

Events, Fighters, News, Results, UFC

Carlos Condit Chris Leben Dennis Siver Dominick Cruz Dong Hyun Kim Matt Wiman Melvin Guillard Ryan Bader Shane Roller Tito Ortiz UFC 132 Urijah Faber Wanderlei Silva

UFC 132 Picks & Predictions

July 2, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC 132 takes place Saturday night from Las Vegas with a stacked card.

The main card features five exciting bouts and here are my picks for the contest.

UFC Bantamweight Championship – Dominick Cruz (17-1) vs. Urijah Faber (25-4) – In this rematch I see Cruz winning by unanimous decision. His movement and wrestling will be too much for Faber to deal with. Cruz is a much different fighter than the one that met Faber before and I expect his footwork to pose problems for Faber and his explosive takedowns will be too much for Faber to stuff.

Middleweight Bout – Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) vs. Chris Leben (21-7) – In this battle of strikers, I like Silva as I think his striking is a little more diverse. I think Silva’s chin is a little weaker, but I expect Silva to land the big punch first. Leben has a big heart, but he has struggled against strikers in the past. Look for Silva to win by second round TKO.

Light Heavyweight Bout – Tito Ortiz (16-8-1) vs. Ryan Bader (12-1) – This should be Ortiz’ final bout with the UFC as I see Bader winning by decision. I think the fight should be competitive, but Bader’s athleticism and combination of wrestling and striking should be too much for Ortiz, who will have to score takedowns in order to win.

Welterweight Bout – Carlos Condit (26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1) – This should be a very close fight, but I like Kim to remain unbeaten. His size and strength should be too much for Condit. I see Kim putting his weight on Condit against the fence and then scoring some judo throws and takedowns to control Condit. Look for Kim to win by decision.

Lightweight Bout – Dennis Siver (18-7) vs. Matt Wiman (13-5) – Siver is a short, compact striker that is hard to get to the ground because of his low center of gravity. I see Wiman struggling to get the fight to the ground, and that will allow Siver to out-point Wiman with his striking. My pick is Siver by decision.

Events, Fighters, Predictions, UFC

Carlos Condit Chris Leben Dennis Siver Dominick Cruz Dong Hyun Kim Matt Wiman Ryan Bader Tito Ortiz UFC 132 Urijah Faber Wanderlei Silva

UFC 132 Preview: Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber

June 28, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Can Dominick Cruz learn from past mistakes or is history doomed to repeat itself?

That’s the main storyline heading into Saturday’s UFC Bantamweight Championship bout.

Faber beat Cruz by submission in just 1:38 back at WEC 26 on March 24, 2007. Cruz is now a much different fighter, but will it matter against his rival?

Here is a breakdown of both fighters and my pick for this contest.

Dominick Cruz (17-1) – The bantamweight champion has won his last eight bouts since the loss to Faber. He has been on a tear as of late, dominating each of his opponents. Cruz uses a lot of footwork with his striking as he keeps his opponents from being able to settle in. Cruz also has very explosive takedowns, which he likes to use late in rounds to put an exclamation point on his dominance. Cruz has managed to easily defeat strikers and grapplers in his recent string of wins.

Urijah Faber (25-4) – Faber is one of the all-time greats for the lighter weight fighters. He has very quick hands and a strong wrestling base. He also has developed solid submission skills over his storied career. Faber has had 20 of his 25 wins come by stoppage with 13 coming by submission. Typically Faber likes to use his quick hands to work jabs and combinations. If the fight goes to the ground, Faber uses his strength to control the fight and usually finds a way to work in a submission.

Who Will Win – Both men are unorthodox, but I don’t see a scenario where Cruz isn’t able to use his style and make Faber have to take chances. That will open the door for Cruz to get his takedowns and control the fight. Faber may have the quickest hands Cruz has ever faced, but Faber has yet to fight someone that has the style that Cruz currently has. It was a problem for his teammate, Joseph Benavidez, and I see it being a problem for him as well. I will take Cruz to successfully defend his title by unanimous decision.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Dominick Cruz Joseph Benavidez UFC 132 Urijah Faber

Your weekly MMA TV schedule update

June 27, 2011 / Drew Ellis

A Sunday UFC event threw off our weekly TV update, so here it is on Monday night.

This week, the TV focus is solely on UFC 132, as the premiere MMA organization puts on a pretty strong card on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

– On Wednesday, the Countdown to UFC 132 premiers on SpikeTV at 1:12 p.m. ET. The UFC lists the time, which seems like an odd time to begin a show. The show will go in depth about the key bouts of UFC 132. It will re-air on SpikeTV on Thursday at 11 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. It will also re-air on Versus on Thursday at 7 p.m.

– Prior to the UFC PPV on Saturday, SpikeTV will air UFC 132 Prelims Live at 8 p.m. The two free prelims on SpikeTV are expected to be a pair of lightweight showdowns as Melvin Guillard faces off with Shane Roller and George Sotiropoulos takes on Rafael Dos Anjos.

– At 9 p.m. ET, UFC 132 airs live on PPV. The main event of the card features a bantamweight championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. In the co-main event, strikers Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva meet in a middleweight clash. Light Heavyweights Tito Ortiz and Ryan Bader will also face off in a featured bout.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Chris Leben Dominick Cruz Ryan Bader Tito Ortiz UFC 132 Urijah Faber Wanderlei Silva

Early UFC 132 Betting Odds: Cruz Favored over Faber

June 27, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC 132 takes place this Saturday night from Las Vegas and our friends at BetOnFighting.com have released their odds for six of the bouts on the card.

In the main event, UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz is a slight favorite to beat challenger Urijah Faber. Cruz has odds of -130 while Faber has a money line of +100.

Faber is the only blemish on Cruz’ record, but Cruz is a much different fighter now and Faber has somewhat underwhelmed in his short time at bantamweight.

In the co-main event, Wanderlei Silva (-185) is favored to beat Chris Leben (+155) in what should be a slugfest in the middleweight division. Both men are standup fighters that like to trade punches. You would expect someone to get KO’d in this one.

Silva has the more impressive wins list, but his chin is not nearly as strong as it once was. Leben isn’t a great technical striker, but when he hits you, it does a lot of damage.

In what could be Tito Ortiz’ final bout with the UFC, he is a heavy underdog (+365) in his contest with wrestling standout Ryan Bader (-465).

Bader has just one loss in his career, to current champion Jon Jones. Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since beating Ken Shamrock in October of 2006. He hasn’t beaten anyone currently relevant since he beat Forrest Griffin in a close decision in April of 2006.

Check out all the current odds for UFC 132 after the jump.