However, Starnes has vehemently argued against Shamrock’s analysis, and virtually every fighter to go up against Okami has been shocked at his strength. As for the cut loss, well, Starnes himself said it best when his corner tried to admonish him for quitting and he yelled, “He said he could see my ****ing skull!” Frankly, I tend to believe that the criticism is undeserved.
What we do know is that even though Quarry trained quite a while with Team Quest and has wins by submission, meaning his ground game is most likely solid, he has shown very little willingness or desire to use it. Which is probably just as well since Starnes has a high submission percentage and (I believe) a black belt in BJJ under Royce Gracie.
What I think will be the deciding factor in this fight is that while Starnes seems to have trouble with dynamic and explosive strikers like Belcher, he lasted all three rounds with Chris Leben and won the decision, which leads me to believe that he can handle a fighter who hits hard but doesn’t possess a great variety in his strikes. In fact, it also speaks of that “lack of heart” I’ve been hearing about. I’m taking Starnes by decision.
185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (15-1) vs. Charles McCarthy (10-4)
Michael “The Count” Bisping drops to the middleweight division after losing a contested split decision to Rashad Evans, and looking at the number of times he has been outsized in the 205-lb. division, it was a long time coming. Bisping had a long streak of success fighting overseas in his native England, and enjoyed more of the same coming up through TUF, but has been seeing more narrow escapes and close decisions in the UFC, finally leading to his first loss and his decision to drop down.
“Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy has only two official UFC fights, one ending a spectacular body shot knockout delivered to him by former contender David Loiseau, and the other ending by a rear naked choke victory over Gideon Ray. The main problem McCarthy faces in this bout is inactivity. His fight against Ray was in late 2006, and he has not fought since.
Bisping is unknown at 185, but he appears to be taking the weight off the right way, reportedly just watching his diet more and cutting some excess bodyfat, and McCarthy himself is known for being forced to cut excess weight at the last minute. One would assume that Bisping will enjoy a cardio and power advantage at a lower weight, as well as a marked overage in striking skills.
McCarthy has not looked comfortable on the feet in a single fight I have ever seen him in, and tends to simply walk into his opponents while covering up and work for the takedown, but it is undeniable that he makes the odd approach work for him; he has only one TKO loss on his record and all ten of his wins have come by first or second round submissions.
While McCarthy’s recent claim that his submissions are the best in the middleweight division are a bit far-fetched, he is very dangerous on the ground and has shown a great knack for finding a way to his opponent’s backs. Also, even though he has not fought in nearly eighteen months, who knows what skills he has been honing in that time? McCarthy has a chance, but Bisping has never been submitted and frankly I don’t see this as much more than a showcase for the Brit.
Admittedly Bisping has taken a few lumps in supposed “showcase” matches before, but with his improved wrestling (he now trains with Rampage Jackson) I think he can keep the fight on the feet and notch a TKO or a decision. As a side bet, I will say that if McCarthy wins it will be due to an arm bar during some overzealous ground and pound by Bisping.
155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (17-4-1) vs. Mark Bocek (5-1)
Danzig comes off the most recent season of TUF as a winner at welterweight. Mark Bocek is 1-1 in the UFC and seems to be used as a test for newcomers. This fight breaks down fairly easily in my opinion. Bocek is larger and has impressive submission grappling credentials, but has not shown an ability to apply them as well at the UFC level as he did in smaller shows. Not to mention that Danzig, a natural lightweight, ran through an entire season of (admittedly less experienced) welterweights, some of them much larger than him.
Danzig appears to be the much more well-rounded fighter, even if he is the proverbial “good at everything but not great at anything,” and has also never been submitted. Bocek was TKO’d by Frankie Edgar who is a dazzling wrestler but doesn’t pack a lot of power in his hands. I don’t see a submission happening this time around for Bocek, as Danzig notches a TKO win.
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