Another good night of free fighting courtesty of the Versus channel and Zuffa. I don’t know how long it will last, but get your fight on while you can. Beebe and McCullough will defending their belts.

Richard Crunkilton Jr. Vs. Rob McCullough
(McCullough wins via TKO Round 1 at 1:29)

RESULTS: McCullough has heavy hands. He came out and just caught one of Richards kicks like it was nothing. He then started to blast his face with strikes, but all the while still be smart and cautious and keeping just enough distance. Then he closed the distance by cage and dazed him. The dude pretty feel three times from strikes and finally the ref I think just decided to stop it since it was so one sided.

Rob will be defending his title against Richard. Both of these guys are pretty hard strikers and put people away with there fists. Both of there records are almost identical. Both of them finish most of their fights striking with a TKO or KO. Neither of them have lost a fight unless it was a decision. I don’t know about most people, but I don’t tend to count decisions against fighters unless it is how they end every fight. This is almost a perfect match up. It will probally come down to styles and which persons matches up better with their opponents. They will probally feel each other out the first half of the round to get a good read on each other and then start banging hard. I think this will be a lot of up and downs against the cage with takedowns. True to their records I think it will go to a decision with the current champ McCullough winning it.

Rani Yahya Vs. Chase Beebe
(Beebe wins via unanimous decision after 5 rounds)

RESULTS: This fight pretty much went how I though it would right up until the point that Beebe switched into a higher gear and Yahya switched into a lower gear. Beebe can fight all five rounds like it is the first 30 seconds of a fight. The kid is phenominal and can weather any storm in my mind. Yahya caught him in a vicious knee bar and Beebe’s face was in sheer pain, but the kid would tap. He had to have gotten some damage from not tapping but he rolled out and fought for another FIVE rounds. Yahya pretty much gased out and just survived with BJJ the rest of the match and Beebe took him down at will and blasted his face at will. I dont think Yahya threw one punch the whole fight. These sick BJJ guys need to start doin this. It reminded me of the Crane Huerta fight. I think Beebe will hold this belt for a while.

Beebe just won the belt in his last fight in a decision that noone expected him to win and showed a lot of experience for someone his age. He showed that he is really tough and was very impressive to say the least. Yahya is a slick little Brazilian with sick submission skills. Beebe needs to be careful and stay out of Yahya guard and I think he may be ok. Both of these guys seem to know the submission game, but I would give Yahya the favor in that respect. This one will be hard, but if I had to guess I would say Yahya catches Beebe in a submission in the second round.

Jeremiah Billington Vs. Brian Stann
(Stann wins via TKO Round 1 at 3:07)

RESULTS: Stann is pretty much a bad ass. Everyone of his fight ends in a TKO in the first round with little or no fighting back. Billington threw one uppercut. Hmm one punch. Stann needs a title fight next. This guy does not need to work his way up the ladder.

The experience factor goes to Billington, but Stan is a maniac. This dude hits and he hits hard. In Stann’s last fight he jut blasted this guy into a TKO. All of his fights have ended in the first round TKO. That’s not good for Billington, but he isn’t a slouch either with being accredited with a few TKO’s himself. I just think a fighter like Stann has been tested yet because he is blowing through all the competion in the WEC in the light heavyweight division. I think this is an easy one, Stann is a pipe to the knee kind of guy. Im going with Stann via TKO in the first round.

Jeff Bedard Vs. Miguel Torres
(Torres wins via submission (triangle choke) Round 1 at 2:30)

RESULTS: This fight pretty much went how I though it would but I did think Miguel would punch a little more. As he said after Bedard took him down, ” I stayed with him on top for a while and waited for him to make a mistake. I think this guy will be around of a while.

Both of these guys are pretty bad, but Miguel knows how to finish a fight. Not only can Miguel maul someone standing up but he can cripple you on the ground. Miguel is a brown belt under Carlson Gracie. Jeff has some good wrestling skills and can hold his own to eek out a decision, but I think this is the hardest guy he has had to fight so far. Miguel via TKO in the second.

Wow what a great fight event in Dallas Texas only four hours away from my home town Houston. I should be there, but there other things in life more important right? Hmmm yeah ok whatever. Anyways there will be a couple of big names and alot of other good fighters. Here are a couple predictions on the big name fights:

Jeff Monson 24-6-0 vs. Pedro Rizzo 15-7-0
(Rizzo defeats Monson at 2:40 of Round 3 via TKO)

Monson does not get the credit he deserves. I think the only reason he lost to Tim Sylvia was because of his fighting style and giving little resistance to go to the ground. I think if it was a bar room brawl Monson would have wrecked him. I would also like to see him go against Randy before both of them retire. Jeff was scheduled to fight on August 17th in the Global Fighting Championship with Chris Guillen Global Fighting Championship but it got cancelled due to a lot of the fighters not being cleared. If Jeff fought at GFC and would not have been cleared for this one then Ricco Rodriguez would have been his alternate. Jeff has been on a major winning streak despite the decision loss to Sylvia. Rizzo will be the toughest fighter Monson has had to fight in a while. This one will be a cool one to watch I think. I think this because Monson has one of the toughest chins in MMA and Rizzo has never been submitted. Both of their strengths in finishing fights are their opponents best defensive strength. I would guess that Rizzo will win just on decision by landing a few more punches and getting a take down or two more. Pretty much a repeat of the Sylvia fight less the extra rounds.

Jeremy Horn 79-15-5 vs. Jorge Santiago 13-7-0
(Santiago defeats Horn at 3:02 of Round 1 via Triangle Choke)

Wow, can you guess what the trivial tidbit of this fight will be? Can’t figure it out? It will be Jeremy Horn’s 100th professional fight in MMA. Good for him and I am excited to see him still out there competing. He was submitting people in the old days before they really knew what it was. Jorge is getting better, but I think Horn will be able to shut down any all parts of his game. Jorge has been KO’ed a lot lately and I think Horn will either get him with a flurry TKO or he will flurry him until Jorge gets frustrated and put his body in a bad position for a submission Ala Gumby style.

This event will be at the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, LA on Saturday September 1st. I don’t know where this organization came from, but alot of these fighters fought in Renegades. It might have been called Revolution then it changed to IXFA. It wasn’t easy to find the fight card but here is. Some of these fighters might have been swapped around or changed before this fight, but here is what I think it still is:

Tim Credeur Vs. Brandon McDowell
(Tim wins via Triangle Choke 1:35 of 1st round)

This fight seems to be the main card. Tim has fought on Bodog before Losing by TKO, but other than that he tends to finish fights quick in the first round. His trademark for finishing tends to be an armbar. Brandon is more of a road warrior fighting when and how ever much he can at anytime anywhere. He tends to fight hard, but a little careless getting caught in submissions. He is coming of a loss so he might be fighting a little smarter and try to go the distance or grab an opportunity if one comes up. I think ole Timmy will win this one with a submission maybe in the third.

Micah Lopez Vs. Kirk Gibson
(Micah wins via KO 1:34 in 1st round)

Both of these guys are relatively new in the professional circuit. Micah is coming off a loss to another fighter fighting this night, Matt Warner. Kirk is undefeated with a 2-0 and seems to like the submission game. This one will tough to call, but I am gonna go with the new guy Gibson getting a submission.

Lane Yarbrough Vs. York Ash (Matt Warner was injured)
(Yarbrough wins over Ash via submission in 1st round)

I wish I could be there to see this one. Matt Warner is a local guy and I had the pleasure of rolling with him. He has a never say die attitude when it comes to submissions so I don’t think Lane will get him in anything he won’t be able to get out of. Lane doesn’t seem to be to good at finishing fights according to his record so I think Matt will probably pull off a Submission or a TKO on this guy maybe second round.

Jesse Vasquez Vs. Jarred Taylor (Dallas Mabry was injured)
(Vasquez wins via TKO in 1:40 of 2nd round)

Jesse is a brawler who likes to bang. Maybe he will change his game a little since he is coming off a loss from a choke, but either way he is good with his hands. Dallas is a newcomer with not much experience in the cage. I am sure with Jesse’s experience and height advantage he will dominate the fight. Probably a TKO in the second with Jesse out on top.

Antonio Flores Vs. Jody Draper
(Flores wins via Unianomous decision)

Flores is not a well known fighter, but Jody Draper is another local guy from my town Cypress, TX! I’ve never met him but he is coming off a loss from another local guy Todd Moore. I think Todd trains at the Houston Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club. It almost a year and half ago so hopefully he will be able to come with it. I am going with the local guy Jody in the third with a submission.

The Rest of these fighters are not well known and this will probably be their first professional fight.

Paul Ascherl Vs. Kyle Miers - (Miers wins via submission due to strikes 2:04 in the 1st round)
Matt Rangel Vs. James King - (Rangel wins via Arm Bar submission in 3rd round)
Chris Reed Vs. Ricky Arvie - (Arvie wins via TKO in 2nd round)
Joey Gale Vs. Aaron Davis - (Davis wins via unianimous decision)
Brian Lightfoot Vs. Mitch Sawyer - (Sawyer wins via verbal submission due to strikes in 2nd round)
Jesse Seay Vs. Blake McDaniels - (McDaniels wins via KO at 1:19 of 1st round)
Justin Timpa Vs. Brian Brady - (Timpa wins via submission of 1st round)
Anthony Barbier Vs. Ralph Kelly - (Kelly wins via leg kick at 25 seconds into the 1st round)
Brandon Farran Vs. Marcelo Lumakang - (Farran wins via TKO 1:54 in 1st round)

First of all I can’t believe some of the fights on the card that are no going to be televised. Some of the people fighting in the under card are very good with explosive fighting and entertaining personalities. I hope some of the fights are fast so we can see some of the other fights on the card for August 25th.

Randy Couture Vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
(Randy Couture def. Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO (strikes) in Round 3)

RESULTS: Randy dominated Gonzago start to finish with his patented drain them against the cage technique. Gonzaga at one point asked Herb Dean to stop the match because he couldn’t see with the blood in his eyes. Herb was like, “I cant stop the fight”. He was bloody because on one of the takedowns Randy’s head popped him in the nose and as Randy said, ” I heard a crunch”. It looks like Randy’s new strength coach might get a pat on the back when Randy gets back into the gym because he exhibited alot of overpowering strength over Gonzaga. This was a perfect example of someone breaking the other persons will to get the TKO.

Who knows on this one. Some of the match ups this day are so good it is hard to tell. Both of these guys are great on the ground and standing up. Gonzaga showed a big improvement standing up against Cro-cop. We didn’t get to see a lot of Gonzaga’s clinch skills in the Cro-cop fight so it will be hard to tell if Randy will be able to use this to his advantage. The one thing that will be a big factor in this fight will be the five rounds at five minutes a piece. Randy is a veteran to these, but Gonzaga hasn’t even had one fight go this long in his MMA career. I think Gonzaga will come out fast and try to finish the fight while Randy will have a “drain em” strategy and end up getting a TKO on him in the later rounds. I am going with experience over youth on this one.

Roger Huerta Vs. Alberto Crane
(Roger Huerta def. Alberto Crane via TKO (strikes) in Round 3)

RESULTS: I really thought Crane would pull this off with a surprise submission. He got Huerta in a lot of bad spots, but forgot that he was wearing punching gloves instead of a GI. Huerta also became the first UFC fighter to use the big screen to punch his opponent. He was looking up at the big screen while Crane had his back and Huerta would strike with his elbows on whichever side Cranes head was on. I have a new respect for Huerta’s ground game and think he should be the next in line for the title shot. If Sherk gets his belt taken I hear BJ Penn and Joe Stevensen will fight for it. The winner of that should fight Huerta.

Huerta is at it again with another no name MMA fighter with an undefeated record. I am sure he won’t take his opponent lightly like he did with his last fight. Huerta came out on his last fight during the first round and was dominated by Doug Evans. It doesn’t sound like Crane’s striking is in the top ten, but his jiu jitsu is stellar. He has been there and done that in the grappling world and his MMA record says he might have a knack for this as well. Huerta seems to have a few holes in his clinching, but he reminds me of a MMA transmission. Every time he needs to do something in another direction BOOM there he goes with lots of energy. I am gonna go out on a limb and say this will be the upset of the night. I am going with Crane getting a submission in the second round.

Josh Koscheck Vs. Georges St-Pierre
(Georges St. Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via Unanimous Decision after 3 Rounds)

RESULTS: Whoaaa, Pierre dominated Koscheck. Pierre took Koshcheck down at will. Koscheck had nothing to threaten Pierre with at all. I though Koscheck had more power than that. Maybe he should go back to weight lifting a bit instead of relying only on training as he says. I am glad to see Pierre back to himself. I knew he was the great fighter that he displayed Saturday night. Side note: Sanchez was watching the fight like a hawk.

I just love the welterweight class. With as many fighters the welterweight class has you think they would have had at least two fights on this card. Anyways the only one they have makes up for it. These two fighters are gonna go go go I think. This will be a really good three round war. Both of these guys fight on another level and three rounds just isn’t enough for them to burn up the energy they bring in to the ring. I think this will be a fast paced fight. Pierre will be a little cautious at first since he is coming off a devastating loss, but Kos won’t let it go slow for two long. I am really interested in seeing how Kos will do against a fighter like Pierre. I don’t think he has ever faced a guy quite like Pierre’s style. Koscheck will probably as always be more dominant on the ground, but hopefully Pierre will keep distance and sprawl on him and keep the fight up and fast. I think if Kos can overwhelm Pierre he could pull off something, but in the back of my mind I keep thinking Pierre is coming into this thing with nothing to lose. Fighting a guy with nothing to lose is purty dangerous. I will have to go with Pierre out performing Josh in the stand up with a barrage of leg kicks and punches and wearing him down to get a win decision in the end.

Kurt Pellegrino Vs. Joe Stevenson
(Joe Stevenson def. Kurt Pellegrino via Unanimous Decision)

RESULTS: I really though Joe would catch Kurt in something. It was weird it was like Joe had a game plan and he was only gonna stick to it. Kurt was clearly tired by the middle of the second round, but Joe just didn’t seem to want to finish it when he could have.

This will be a great ground fight between two great BJJ guys. I am sure the crowd will probably boo a little bit not fully comprehending the fighting style. Kurt has been around and won some good fights, but let’s face it Joe “Daddy” Stevenson is one bad mamma jamma. I think Kurt will last a little while with a few stall stay alive tactics, but Joe will burn through them and get a submission in maybe the second or third round.

Patrick Cote Vs. Kendall Grove
(Patrick Cote def. Kendall Grove via TKO (strikes) at 4:45 of Round 1)

RESULTS: This one played out pretty much like I thought it would. Cote has some heavy hands and all he had to land one. Grove probally needed a loss to get him to come up with new training stuff. He is still young and is on his way up. Cote got saved by this one because he was one his way out if he didnt win this one.

Grove is on a roll these days training harder and trying to stay away from the temptations in life. He is winning some good fights as of late. Cote has been too so both of these guys are cruising though some good wins on the big UFC stage so they seem to be in the same fight mentally. Physically Cote has been banging with some good stand up while staying balanced with some submissions. Kendall is a wiry tall dude with a similar arsenal. Kendall is still learning a lot of new stuff which can be dangerous because you don’t know what to expect sometimes. Some fighters can study a veteran and know what to expect, but who knows what new moves Kendall will have up his sleeve this night. I think Cote might have a chance getting a TKO on Kendall, but Kendall is coming with something new every fight. Unless Cote gases out I think he will push the pace and TKO Kendall in the third.

Ryan Jensen Vs. Thales Leites
(Thales Leites def. Ryan Jensen via Submission (armbar) at 3:47 of Round 1)

RESULTS: This was pretty cool for a BJJ match. Leites will go for the first submission he can get. He threatened Jensen with a Kimura, but when Jensen did a forward flip to get out of it he landed square in an arm bar.

Leites still has a lot to learn, but I think he is slowly working his way up the ladder. Jensen is also a submission master so I am sure this will be a boring fight to the fans and just be a chess match the whole three rounds. Probably be a decision going to Leites as the winner.

Renato Sobral Vs. David Heath
(Renato “Babalu” Sobral def. David Heath via Submission (anaconda choke) at 3:30 of Round 2)

(For all you PPV that were wondering where all that blood came from on the canvas, click HERE for this fight)

RESULTS: Babalu dominated the whole fight pretty much and elbowed Heath into a bloody pulp. Then when he let Heath up he sunk in a choke, but when Steve (REF) told him to let go after Heath tapped Babalu keep it on until Heath went to sleep. “I just thought that I needed to teach him respect after he showed me so much disrespect, I think that you can be fearless and tough and still maintain sportsmanship. He needed to be taught a lesson.” The athlectic commssion is considering holding his win amount (Half) for the fight. I think they should regulate it how they deem necessary that is why they are in charge of it. Alot of people are giving Sobral flack for this, but I think Heath should have relized who he was talking to during the weigh ins when he started acting like a smart ass. I guess Sobral did not stray to far from UFC 74 theme respect because he imposed it on Heath and hopefully he will get it from at lest one guy. Side Note: Was it just me or did Sobral seem really lean? Maybe a new Middleweight?

Maybe this one should be called Mr. Bubble Gum Versus David the “Dan Henderson look alike” Heath. All kidding aside I am really happy to see Sobral fight again. He is one of those guys that walks into the ring and makes you feel bad for the other guy just because of the look on Sobral’s face. He looks like he just killed your dog and he is coming for you next. Sobral has fought the baddest guys in the MMA world. Even though Sobral is coming off a loss I don’t give Heath really a chance on this one. This fight should not be an under card fight. Maybe they are doing this because they expect it to be a thirty second block for later. I am going with Sobral winning in a horrific fashion over whats his name.

Frank Mir Vs. Antoni Hardonk
(Frank Mir def. Antoni Hardonk via Submission (armbar) at 1:17 of Round 1)

RESULTS: Still haven’t found the tape on this, but I was sure Frankie would tag him quick. Frank was funny in his post fight interview. He sounded more like an announcer commenting on someone elses fight.

Yet another fight that deserves to be a main card. I know Mir has been out of the win column and people doubt he will ever get back to his winning ways, but he is looking good these days. He looks to be in good shape and I think he will probably blow this guy out with the technical grappling he does. Hardonk will use some of his strength early on to stay out of trouble, but in the end Mir will land one of his, “What the hell was that” submission moves and leave the crowd in awe. He is back; I really think so this time. I am going with Mir winning via Submission in the second or third.

Clay Guida Vs. Marcus Aurelio
(Clay Guida def. Marcus Aurelio via Split Decision)

RESULTS: Didn’t get to see this one either. Another undercard fight that should have been on the main card. Maybe the UFC is getting so many good fighters? Lets hope that is the case.

Guida is coming off a controversial loss to Tyson Griffin. A lot of people thought he should have won it. I think this will be a great fight between a never say die Guida and a Pride Veteran Aurelio. Both of these guys can go the distance in a hard and fast fashion. I want to say that we will see another PRIDE fighter will come in and whoop on the UFC guy, but I think it is Guida’s time. He really wants this win and the growing fan base thinks he deserves it. I am going with Guida escaping a couple of submission attempts by Aurelio, but in the end winning the decision on takedowns and points.

These are the current odds for the fights (The minus number means the favored to win guy)

Randy Couture +105 vs. Gabriel Gonzaga -135
Georges St. Pierre -220 vs. Josh Koscheck +180
Kendall Grove -260 vs. Patrick Cote +200
Renato Sobral -210 vs. David Heath +170
Clay Guida -130 vs. Marcus Aurelio EVEN
Frank Mir -170 vs. Antoni Hardonk +140
Thales Leites -270 vs. Ryan Jensen +210
Joe Stevenson -295 vs. Kurt Pellegrino +235
Roger Huerta -450 vs. Alberto Crane +300

Carlos Condit Vs. Brock Larson
(Condit wins by Arm-Bar at 2:21 in 1st Round)

This fight is going to be impossible to predict. This is a good headliner because it will be back and forth with the winner? Probably a split decision, maybe Larson.

Paulo Filho Vs. Joe Doerksen
(Filho wins by TKO at 4:07 in the 1st Round)

Everybody is talking about Paulo and how he is the guy to watch in the middleweight class in the WEC. This fight will be for the middle weight title so that will be cool to watch. Paulo is from Brazil with a perfect undefeated record. So he will be fighting for a belt and to keep his record clean. Joe has an impressive record as well with his losses going only to some big dog names. I am pretty sure these guys will trade a few and neutralize each other on the ground. Probably a decision going to either guy, if I had to pick it would be Doerksen.

Stephen Ledbetter Vs. Jeff Curran
(Curran win by Decision)

This one will be fun to watch, a newbie vs a road warrior. Jeff will probably put on a clinic with this guy ending in the first round if he chooses to do so.

Sherron Leggett Vs. Jamie Varner
(Varner wins by TKO at 4:08 in the 1st Round)

Varner can hang with just about anybody. He stood almost three rounds with Franca only to slip into an armbar. Leggett is gonna have to land some bombs much like he has in the past to knock this guy down because Varner has a great chin. Varner is well rounded with an arsenal of multiple submission so I am thinking Leggett will get tired and make a mistake and land in a submission of Varner’s. Varner get submission in the second.

Fernando Gonzalez Vs. Hiromitsu Miura
(Miura wins by Submission at 3:35 in the 2nd round by strikes)

Not really familiar with either of these guys. Fernando appears to be the better of the two. Miura has fought with Miller once in the WEC not putting up much of a fight so I would have to go with Fernando getting a quick TKO or submission.

Justin Robbins Vs. Antonio Banuelos
(Banuelos Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round)

Anonio - o - o - o as the Tapout guys would say on the show. Antonio was recently shown on the show Tapout where he trained at the PIT with Chuck Liddell and lived with him as well. He appeared to be a good fighter and as Chuck said, “just got caught”. I think he has a good chance against Robbins. Maybe a submission in the third.

Logan Clark Vs. Eric Schambari
(Eric Schambari Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round)

This will be a good light heavyweight fight between two new up and comers. Both of these guys are undefeated, but I think Clark will come away with the win since he is the better striker.

Blas Avena Vs. Tiki Ghosn
(Avena wins by Rear Naked Choke Submssion at 1:01 in the 1st Round)

Tiki fights with alot of intensity and that will make for a good fight between him and Avena. Tiki really needs this win to get him the the next round in his career or to have another round in his career I should say. I think Tiki will probably get a TKO.

Steve Cantwell Vs. Justin McElfresh
(Steve Cantwell Wins by Technical Knock Out at 0:47 in the 1st round)

This is another hard one to predict so lemme guess. Steve takes Justin down and Justin gets a triangle choke. MMmm? Sound good?

Nate Marquardt Vs. Anderson Silva
(Anderson Silva defeats Nathan Marquardt via technical knockout in round one)

This fight will be a good title fight for the middleweight class. Silva is very dominant with his strikes and control in the octagon. Nate is a seasoned veteran though and has won every fight in the UFC thus far. Nate said in a recent interview that he thought his stand up was better. He didn’t sound arrogant or of someone being smart, but he said it matter of factly. I hope he is as good as he is confident because he will need it against this KO monster with the last 5 out of 7 of Silva’s fights ending in a TKO/KO. Nate has been doing good lately, but most of his fights going to the judges which can be an indicator of a cautious strategy. This is going to be a tough one to call with Nate’s experience and Silva’s tough hands/knees. Unless Silva makes a mistake and gets submitted by Nate I think the champ will end up winning in the end by way of decision.

Alvin Robinson Vs. Kenny Florian
(Kenny Florian defeats Alvin Robinson via submission strikes)

I know there is a lot of talent on this card so a lot of good fighters will not be on the main card, but I can think of a few that should be in place of this match. Not that Kenny isn’t a killer but I think he is going to walk though Alvin probably with a first round submission.

Rashad Evans Vs. Tito Ortiz
(Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans fight to a draw)

I can’t wait for this one. Tito hasn’t really fought anybody or won in a good way for sometime now. He TKO’ed Ken Shamrock twice, a 43 year old and other than that he has either lost to Chuck or eked out split decisions with Forrest Griffin and Vito Belfort. I really think Rashad is going to make Tito pay for any trash talk he will bringing into the public the week before. You can also bet Tito will probably pull some sort of stunt at the weigh-ins. In my opinion these guys have similar fighting styles so it will be fun to see those styles clash together in the octagon. I am going to go with Rashad Evans in the third round by way of TKO.

Hermes Franca Vs. Sean Sherk
(Sean Sherk defeats Hermes Franca via unanimous decision)

This is going to be another awesome fight I think. Franca is a loose cannon in the Octagon and is a little sloppy. None of his opponents has been able to capitalize on any of his standing mistakes yet and Sherk probably won’t be able to do it since he isn’t the fastest on his feet. The George St.Pierre fight still haunts me with Sherk because he just seemed to let go once Pierre landed a few punches on his head. Franca is a sloppy bomb swinging for the fences striker so Sherk better go in like a dozer and scoop this guy up and try to keep it on the ground. Even though Franca is no slouch on the ground I think Sherk will take him down control some of the fight and Franca will probably bust loose and TKO Sherk with a little ground and pound in the second or third.

Heath Herring Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira defeats Heath Herring via unanimous decision)

This will be another neat fight. Even though Heath hasn’t showed much in the showmanship category with his last few fights it will be cool to see two ex-PRIDE guys duke it out in the heavyweight class. If Herring trains hard and really wants it bad enough I think he will put on a great show and duke it out with Nogueira. I think there will be a little ground movement, but for the most part it should be a striking war going to the judges. After three round I believe it will end up like they did last time they fought with Nogueira the”Minotauro” getting the decision.

Mike Nickels Vs. Stephan Bonnar
(Stephan Bonnar defeats Mike Nickels via submission (rear naked choke) in round one)

This will probally be a 50/50 good striking with a ground war also between two good submission guys. Both of these guys are tough so I don’t think either of them will go down, but I think Bonnar will eventually overwelhm Nickels and get a submission after Mike makes a mistake. I will have to go with Bonnar going to war, but getting a submission on Mike in the second round.

Mark Bocek Vs. Frank Edgar
(Frank Edgar defeats Mark Bocek via technical knockout strikes in round one)

I think this fight is gonna be fast. These two are super fast fighters with lots of speed. Frank has gotten through the first time UFC jitters and has a very powerful ground game. Mark is also strong on the ground and has been cross training as of late at none other than the great, “Greg Jackson’s” in New Mexico. I hope nothing rubs off on him because I think Frank Edgar is going to catch Mark making an early and land a Guillotine ending this one early in round one.

Roger Huerta Vs. Doug Evans

Evans came out hard with take downs and gave Huerta a lot of trouble in the beginning. Huerta had some good defense. Evans got Huerta’s back and dominated him alot in the first round. Huerta came out pissed at the beginning of round two and came with it and even though Evans showed to be really strong Huerta got a take down and went from back to side and ground and pounded into a TKO.

Floyd Sword Vs. Thales Leites

Well, Leites finally got his Arm Triangle Choke. This was the same choke he tried to get at UFC 69 when he fought Pete Sell, but was unable to do it. As soon as he landed it on Sword he pulled out of half guard and went to 45 degrees and that was it.

Rob Emerson Vs. Gray Maynard

Emerson came out with a bald head which was different, but he fought a little better on the ground. Other than that he was about the same and was dominated by Maynard. Round one ended with Maynard on top pounding on him. Emerson limped to his corner because of an apparent rib injury on his right side. Maynard took Emerson down and left his head down in Emerson’s arm. Emerson came down and was wrought with pain and tapped out on Maynard’s arm, but Maynard rolled off in a haze. The docs said Maynard was unconscious too so they ruled it a no contest. It was weird and Maynard freaked out and said he wasn’t out. I don’t think he was completely out, but he was differently hazy because at one point when he rolled of he stuck his face deep in Emerson’s crotch.

Brandon Melendez Vs. Joe Lauzon

Joe had good take downs and Melendez wasn’t able to do much. Melendez gave up his back alot, but Joe wasn’t able to land any submissions. Round one ended with Joe having Melendez in a heel hook. Brandon finally fell into a triangle of Joe’s after rolling Joe off his back in round two and tapped out.

Manny Gamburyan Vs. Nathan Diaz

Manny came out strong and took the fight to Nate. the fight was pretty much Manny being on top and Nate trying for submissions. Round two started and immediately Manny went for a take down and popped his shoulder out of socket. He was quick to say that it happened in the fight with Joe. He was out of MMA for two years because of shoulder problems so hopefully he can keep them from happening again or the cards will be stacked against him.

Andy Wang Vs. Cole Miller

This one went about like I thought with Cole dominating from trh get go. Wang just doesn’t bring anything to the MAM world even though he is supposed to be a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. Cole kicked Wang in the head and finish him with a TKO. The ref stopped it a little quick, but my crystal ball says he wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

Jens Pulver Vs. BJ Penn

Man I expected Jens to land a couple of punches, but other than that his defense on the ground was good. BJ was on him the whole fight mostly on the ground. BJ did a cool transition from a side back control to an arm bar, but Jens kind of fought and BJ let it go quick. BJ then got Jens in a good Triangle Choke, but it didnt even phase Jens somehow ad he got out of it. Round two started and Penn got his back and sunk a rear naked choke in quick and Jens tapped. BJ didn’t want to let the choke go and the ref had to fight his hands loose. They hugged and all that stuff and split way with BJ wanting to go back up to 170 and Jens headed to the WEC to fight at 145. Prety much went like everyone expected.

Jens Pulver Vs. BJ Penn
(B.J. Penn def. Jens Pulver via submission rear naked choke at 3:12 of R2)

Well the Saturday night fight between Jens and BJ is highly anticipated for a lot of reasons. Since the TUF show aired these two have been shown a lot on TV. BJ Penn is favored to win as he was the first time these two matched up. Vegas odds show Penn as a favorite to win. This fight should be pretty easy to guess I would think for people. Unless BJ doesn’t show up to fight and makes a horrible mistake I think he will catch Jens quick in a submission. Jens better hope he can catch and stun BJ before BJ takes him down because I think that will be his only prayer at this point. BJ has never been knocked out, but Pulver is a KO king over the past with his fights. Who ever can showcase their main talent will be able to pull this one out. I am really sure this will not go to the judges. I am going with BJ getting a submission in the first round.

Manny Gamburyan Vs. Nathan Diaz
(Nathan Diaz def. Manvel Gamburyan via injury dislocated shoulder at 0:20 of R2)

I am so excited to see this fight. The three guys I have been pulling for since episode 1 were, Diaz, Manny and Lauzon. Two out of three ain’t bad I guess. These two fight hard and powerful. Manny lives up to his name pit-bull when he fight and Nate can take anything that someone dishes out to him. I hope Manny doesn’t sit on Nate and ride out the clock. It seems like a family tradition to go to the judges. I really can’t guess who is going to win this one, but I will go with my favorite of the two Nate with a triangle choke in the second round.

Roger Huerta Vs. Doug Evans
(Roger Huerta def. Douglas Evans via TKO strikes at 3:30 of R2)

Huerta will out skill Evans from start to finish if it last longer than one round. Evans is a MMA fighter with only fights in Alaska. This isn’t a good mixture for facing an MMA experienced fighter like Huerta. I have never heard of him nor seen Evans fight, but I did see Huerta at UFC 69 go to war for three solid rounds. I think I am going to have to go with the Matador on this one winning by TKO in the first round.

Floyd Sword Vs. Thales Leites
(Thales Leites def. Floyd Sword via submission arm triangle choke at 3:50 of R1)

This fight will probably be a good grappling fight on the ground. Both of these guys are good with submission and will be a good match-up. I saw Leites at UFC 69 try to get his opponent Pete Sell in some sort of triangle for like 3 minutes straight. Once he sees a submission he keeps going for it. Hopefully Leites will not eat up the clock with attempts. I think this one will be hard to call, but I am going with Leites with a submission in the third round.

Well I don’t want to brag, but I was 3 out of 4 for my UFC 72 predictions. Might even been 4 out of 4 because of a close split decision that could have went either way. Lets get to it.

Rich Franklin Vs. Yushin Okami

Pretty surprised by how this went down. Not alot of clich take down wars like I anticipated or the fact that Rich was flatter than I thought he would be. I thought Rich was trying to prove himself with this fight. He did by winning, but he seemed to crutch through it with Okami. I really thought we were gonna see the old Rich, but I don’t thin he is back in the Octagon yet. This fight may look good a year from now on his record, but not for those that paid to see it. Rich needs to get up on his striking because Forrest and Fisher seemed to have found out the secret and are raising the UFC bar. Rich eeks out a decision.

Forrest Griffin Vs. Hector Ramirez

Forrest must have been imagining this fight during all the months of training. He came out like he had fought Ramirez before. His combos were firing on all cylinders and his striking was all pro. Reminding me of Fisher’s performance in a recent UFC Fight Night against Stout. I love to see leg kick chop a bad ass down and Griffen did just that. For those of you at home that think these shouldn’t‘ hurt that bad, do me a favor and go to your local MMA school and have someone leg kick you with there shin at medium power and just maybe you might fall down without screaming. Griffen came to this fight with the whole MMA package. All he needs to do is to get better at finishing and he will hit it big. He has already, but people dont like decisions as much as Ko’s. I.E. Karo still trying to get a title shot. Griffen in my mind gets a dominant decision.

Jason MacDonald Vs. Rory Singer

Well the winner of this one was like I expected, but not what led up to the win. Singer came to finish this fight quick, but Jason was able to defend well with his Jiu-Jitsu experience and a well timed bell in his favor. The triangle at the end of round two by Singer must have woken Jason up because he came on hard and strong and eventually gave Singer a ground and pound he could not recover from. Jason wins with a TKO.

Tyson Griffin Vs.Clay Guida

I am glad I didn’t bet on this fight because I would be going looney tunes right now. Back and forth war. All things aside I was so happy to see a knee bar used in a UFC main card event. Who would have known this would be the fight of the night. Both of these guys dominated hard on each other with in my mind Clay coming out on top with the decision. Turns out though Tyson wins by split decision. Eddie Bravo scored Clay winning at 29-28. I think I am gonna go with Bravo on this one. I think the Jiu-Jitsu legend might have the scoring advantage.

Some words to describe the UFC Fight Night card on 6-12-07 were lackluster, boring, filler card fighters. If you watched the fights they were anything but that. It was a KO clinic and an all out WAR between fighters.

Sam Stout Vs. Spencer Fisher

This was an all out war between these two guys. Fisher pointed at Dana White when he entered the octagon and was feeling pretty good. He even got on his tippy toes as a joke when Big John McCarthy did the center ring introduction. He must have known something we all didn’t. What he knew was how great his striking would be tonight. They both opened up round one with a few mutual flurries, but when that subsided Fisher effortlessly striked Stout apart. Fisher did not stick with one combo alone as he went down a list of jabs, crosses, knees, leg kicks and body shots. For some reason Fisher’s face looked the worst of the two, but Stout was the one taking the beating. This rematch Fisher was obviously not effected by the weight cutting like he had been the first time. He out struck Stout in every round making him look really slow. I started counting the left jabs he was landing in the third round just for fun and he was up to nine good ones. Stout remained up and with his face looking good even though he must have caught three hundred punches. He got dazed one time at the end of the first round by a left from Fisher. Fisher was humble in his victory saying it was a draw. All I gotta say is, “Fisher watch the tape!”

Roan Carneiro Vs. Jon Fitch

I was excited to see the fight between Jon and Roan. It was filled with action, but with all the KO’s and wars it actually was the slowest. Roan came out strong in the first and got two takedowns and tried to land an Anaconda choke, but Jon defended well. He did say that he saw some tweety birds right before he pulled out of it in the last moment. He defended well against this ex Pan American champ. In the second though Jon caught Roan with a couple of cross jab combos and ended up getting his back. Roan was rocked so Jon slowly crept the rear naked choke in and got Roan to tapout.

Jordan Radev Vs. Drew McFedries

Jeez these guys gave some sleepy pre fight interviews. Turns out McFedries was the sleeper. He came out and uppercutted Radev into an oblivion. One he knocked Radev out in the first he rained down some of the hardest post knockout punches I have ever seen. I felt bad for Radev. I am sure he will feel those all the way back to Romania. After the KO, McFedries was so excited he threw the ref Jorge Alonso to the side. No points for the refs Drew! He knocked Radev out in 33 seconds of the first round.

Jason Black Vs. Thiago Tavares

Jason Black came out all bad as the urban legend from the Miletech camp that hadn’t been in the UFC yet. Well he showed why he hadn’t been in the UFC yet. He got dominated for two rounds. He spent the whole time defending as Thiago put on a Jiu Jitsu clinic for the fans as he went for a few submissions. Thiago kept the pressure on the whole fight with relentless ground strikes as he kept Black on the canvas. He worked Black until he got him in a triangle and sunk the head in to have Black tapout in the second round. This guy Tavares is now 16-0 in the lightweight division. I don’t know either to laugh that his English is so bad that they had to use subtitles on him or to laugh that he looks like the 70’s guy. Either way this guy doesn’t need to work on much of his game because it is polished.

Anthony Johnson Vs. Chad Reiner

This was fight was so fast I don’t know if I should even try to do a blow by blow. Johnson came out with a left hook and then finished him with a second left hook and dropped Reiner flat. This was done in 13 seconds. Oh and by the way, Johnson is undefeated.