BJ "The Prodigy: Penn vs. Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk:
Penn is a better striker than Sherk, although Sherk's not horrible. We all know that Sherk is a cardio machine and wil have the pure strength advantage in this fight.
That being said, BJ can obviously handle himself on the ground in the event that Sherk can score a takedown. I see Penn utliizing his height and reach advantages to win the stand up battle, and if the fight goes to the ground I think Penns' jiu-jitsu will prevail over Sherks' wrestling—so long as BJ doesn't let the fight go on for too long.
End result: BJ win's by TKO late in the first or some time in the second round.
Wanderlei "The Axe Murder" Silva vs. Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine:
I think both guys will come out hard and fast, and land some shots in the early going. Jardine will look to mix it up with some punches and the kicks the were so effective in his fight against Liddell.
Wanderlei certainly has no quit in him, and I think we will see more of the real Axe Murderer in this fight. I see Wanderlei pushing the pace throwing those wild looping punches that we're all accustomed to seeing.
I think Wanderlei will be able to close the gap through Jardines' kicks, much like he did the first time he fought Mirko Cro Cop, and being able to land a number of good punches to the head and body.
End Result: We're going to see a vintage Wanderlei KO(TKO)! Wanderlei will win via KO/TKO in the middle-to-late second round, with a possibility that the fight goes to the third with the same result.
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Tito "The Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz:
I covered this fight in my last article, so I'll make this short and sweet. Tito has the pure strength and wrestling advantages while Machida is a better striker, a better jiu-jitsu fighter, and has a better all-around game.
End Result: As a credit to Tito's conditioning, I see him lasting until late in the second or sometime in the third round, only to fall victim to a Machida TKO.
Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes:
Mendes is a newcomer to the UFC, and thus most of us aren't particularly familiar with his fighting style. Mendes holds an MMA record of 14-2-0, with seven of his victories coming by way of KO/TKO. He is a Thai boxer who is also utilizes a solid submission game.
Thiago Silva holds an undefeated 11-0 record, and has been impressive in his last three fights defeating James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, and Houston Alexander—all by TKO! Silva is an agressive fighter, who does an excellent job of drawing his opponents to a clinch, eventually finishing them with a flurry of strikes.
End Result: Silva will bring the fight to a clinch, probably take it to the ground, and win with a ground-and-pound TKO.
Rameau "The African Assassin" Sokoudju vs. Kazuhiro "Kaz" Nakamura:
Nakamura is a solid, veteran MMA fighter whose specialties are takedowns and conditioning. Most of his victories have come down to a decision.
Sokoudju is a powerful fighter with explosive striking abilities. His last fight was a submission loss to Machida. Machida picked him apart and never allowed Sokoudju to land any harmful shots.
I look for Sokoudju to learn from that experience. I realy see him taking a more comprehensive approach to this fight.
End Result: Sokoudju is too powerful and explosive for Nakamura to handle, and will win via TKO (strikes) late in the first round.
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5 months ago
I cant wait for this weekends fight.
5 months ago
i don't like wanderlei's chances against jardine. Wanderlei will have a distinct size and reach disadvantage like he did against liddell.
Liddell was able to use his jab and keep wanderlei at a distance. To be effective wanderlei needs to get in close, clinch, and use his knees, however, it's impossible to do that against bigger guys like jardine and liddell.
He always has a puncher's chance, but i think this will be the fight that leads wanderlei down to 185 which is where, in my opinion, is the best place for him to be successful at this point in his career.
I agree with the rest of your predictions as far as the winners go.
5 months ago
Unlike Soko, Nakamura was able to take Machida to a decision. I think he has a better chance than he's being given here. Not to say that he's the favorite, but I think their judo is almost a stalemate and the secret is out on Soko's power. If he fights smart KazNak could wear him out and take a decision or possibly a sub late in the fight.
5 months ago
Tim: You do make some good points! I just think that Soko will land that big shot or 2 rather than let the fight drag on for too long!....but who knows.....
Derek: i also like you point regarding Jardine's size and reach advantages. However, though Jardine does have some power behind thos strikes, Jardine doesn't have the power that Liddell has and Wanderlei wne th the distance with Liddell. I don't think Jardine will hurt Wanderlei badly enough!
5 months ago
Good predictions :)
I agree with you on the Wanderlei - Jardine fight, however, I just have this horrible feeling in my tummy that Jardine could pull this one out. He has a lot of momentum at the moment and tons of confidence, not everyone can take punches from Chuck and not loose minutes of their life. However, that being said I feel that if Wanderlei comes out and pressures him straight away, Jardine may crumble under the pressure of successive blows ala Huston 'I had such high hopes for you' Alexander. You are right that we need to see the old Wanderlei - if only they allowed head stomps! ;)
Lyoto vs Brickhead - Jesus man, is it just me or does every site at the moment have Tito on it whining like a little b*tch? I have only seen Lyoto fight once, and he looked more impressive in that one fight than Tito has looked in years. Tito is a machine, I will give him that, but he needs to focus more on his game than his ego and how much he is being looked after. I have Lyoto surprising and outdated Ortiz on this one.
I don't know enough about the other fighters to be able to pass off a reasonable prediction, so I just wont bother :)
5 months ago
i like both jardine and wanderlie,yeah jardine has a size and reach advantage, but wanderlie was at a disadvantage with rampage twice and won both those fights, and his fight with chuck was very close, so many of either fighters punches were inches away from ending the fight,but i hope for the best man becuase they are both great fighters,its gona be a war if jardine wins he desrves a title shot which i think he could beat either forrest of rampage.for the tito lyoto fight i think tito wins by decision or ground and pound,thiago silva will win by knockout and so will wilson,i think the main event will either be 5 rounds or submission bj penn
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