Bleacher Report - Articles by Joshua Carey

WEC 42: Brian Bowles "Bowls" Through Miguel Torres to Gain Banamweight Belt

Joshua Carey — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:37:59 -0400

WEC 42 just finished up moments ago with a huge upset that the MMA world will be talking about for a while. Brian Bowles plowed through Miguel Torres to gain the Bantamweight Championship.

Main Event: For the Bantamweight Championship

Brian Bowles def. Miguel Torres—KO

Dominick Cruz def. Joseph Benevidez by Unanimous Decision

Danny Castillo def. Ricardo Lamas by TKO (Strikes)

Takeya Mizugaki def. Jeff Curran by Split Decision

Leonard Garcia def. Jameel Massouh by Split Decision

Prelims

LC Davis def. Javier Vasquez by Split Decision

Cole Province def. Fredson Paixao by Unanimous Decision

Shane Roller def. Marcus Hicks by Unanimous Decision

Ed Ratcliff def. Phil Cardella by Unanimous Decision

Rani Yahya vs. John Hosman by North-South Choke

Rnd—1 Diego Nunes def, Rafael Dias by Unanimous Decision

The results of the main event will for sure shake things up in the pound-for-pound standings, as most sites had Torres at the three or four spot.

Shogun Rua to Lyoto Machida: Undefeated? We'll See About That

Joshua Carey — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:21:44 -0400

As reported by mmaweekly.com and mmajunkie.com, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has verbally agreed to face newly-crowned light heavyweight champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

Shogun is coming off a very impressive win over Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. The win was impressive in the fact that the agile Shogun took Liddell down twice, which very few people have been able to do, and finally finished him off with strikes.

The undefeated Machida (15-0-0) just captured the title by knocking Rashad Evans into la la land. Evans never looked like he stood a chance.

The first title challenger was all but set to be Quinton "Rampage" Jackson but Jackson stated that he wanted to finish the feud with Evans and hone his skills to get back to the old Rampage.

The Machida versus Shogun bout is rumored to be in the fall and will probably take place around UFC 103-04.

UFC 99: Cro Cop's Return

Joshua Carey — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:48:11 -0400

Pride and K-1 superstar Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (24-6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) says he is making his return to the UFC following a 20-month hiatus from the sport's biggest organization.

Filipovic stated in his MMA-ID Blog that he was hoping for three fights this year in the UFC, and a subsequent press release from the Croatian striker's official website confirmed the news.

Filipovic claims he will be fighting Mostapha Al Turk (6-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 99 in Germany, and an additional report from The Wrestling Observer cites UFC President Dana White as having confirmed the bout.

Al Turk had originally been slated to meet debuting American Top Team heavyweight Todd Duffee (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the preliminary card of the June 13th event in Cologne, Germany.

The official fight card for the event on the UFC's website still shows Al Turk versus Duffee on the evening's schedule.

Article Courtesy of MMAJUNKIE.com

NFL Offseason Thoughts: Draft and Free Agency

Joshua Carey — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:04:38 -0400

First of all, let's cover some free agent signing and trades:

Denver Broncos first-year coach runs Jay Cutler out of town for Kyle Orton, two first-round picks and a fifth rounder. Cutler brings "Da Bears" the legitimate quarterback they've lacked for years. The Bears have holes on both sides of the ball, but bringing in Cutler and teaming him up with last year's rookie sensation Matt Forte, Devin Hester, and Greg Olsen should bring them seven to 10 more points a game while allowing the defense to get some more time on the sideline.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks. Matt Hasselbeck says he feels great and the team report said wide receiver Nate Burleson is running pass patterns again. They drafted Aaron Curry and signed Ken Lucas as a free agent, so the defense will help complement the high-powered offense.
Terrell Owens to the Buffalo Bills. Well, it is what it is, a one-year deal and T.O. is teamed up with Lee Evans, so he's not going to get 100 catches this year. T.O. has talked his way out of every system in the league, but the Bills only have him for a year and he seems to be a good fit for a year. He should be able to help take some of the offensive load off Evans and Marshawn Lynch.
Tony Gonzalez to team up with Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, and Roddy White. Sounds like a headache for NFC teams this year. Ryan had a solid rookie year given the track record for rookie quarterbacks. Now having Gonzalez to throw to will only help his progression as Gonzalez is still an excellent tight end.
The New England Patriots, this team is just loaded with veteran talent. I know, they always do. But this year they brought in a ton of very talented players. Joey Galloway, Shawn Springs, Leigh Bodden, Fred Taylor, and Chris Baker. They also drafted strong safety Pat Chung, defensive tackle Ron Brace, and cornerback Darius Butler, so they have some much needed pieces on the defensive side of the ball.

Now, let's cover some draft day surprises and pick ups:

The Oakland Raiders do it again, Darius Heyward-Bey over Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin? Because he ran a faster 40-yard time? He can run by people, but what if he can't get open and catch the pigskin? As of now, terrible move and terrible draft. Al Davis has seen his better days and he now needs to retire his duties and just be the owner.
New York Jets traded up to get Mark Sanchez. Sanchez is a bit raw, but in New York you need a strong-willed guy to run the offense and to take the media scrutiny. Sanchez played for the biggest program in college football nowadays in USC, so he's faced some pressure. The Jets gave up several players/picks combined, but they got the face of their franchise and to them it's worth it. Now, get Thomas Jones and Leon Washington in camp!
The Cleveland Browns drafting an offensive lineman? I know they had the need, but they have lots of needs with much better players out there. They could use a wideout because Donte Stallworth won't be there and Braylon Edwards is disgruntled. Clay Matthews, Vontae Davis, Rey Maualuga and James Lauranitis were all still on the board and they need to upgrade their defense. I think it's a bad move, but maybe Mangenius knows something I don't.
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafting a defensive tackle when their offensive line was horrible last year. They picked up offensive tackle Kraig Urbik in the third round and center A.Q. Shipley in the seventh round. It doesn't look like they did much to improve it from last year, but they are the defending Super Bowl Champs, so we'll see.

Finally, here are a few teams I think we should watch out for this year to make big improvements.

The Philadelphia Eagles addressed the offensive side of the ball finally with a solid draft and brought in two starters on the offensive line, with one of them being left tackle Jason Peters.
The Seattle Seahawks signed a legit No. 1 wide receiver, have healthy quarterback, and had a good draft.
The New York Giants signed several solid defensive players plus they get back Osi Umenyiora and drafted two big wide receivers.
The Chicago Bears got Jay Cutler and signed offensive tackle Orlando Pace to help protect their new quarterback. Cutler, Matt Forte, Greg Olsen, and Devin Hester should provide them with a much needed spark.

Machida Vs. Evans & Summer Matchups

Joshua Carey — Wed, 13 May 2009 09:41:20 -0400

For this article, I'm going to switch it up a little and preview some matchups throughout different organizations. Fighters from the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, and Dream will be featured in this article. This will feature bouts that I see as significant in their respected divisions.

First up UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida

Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar - If Sherk wins this contest then he will more then likely face Diego Sanchez as I believe Sanchez beats Guida in his next fight. Both Sherk and Edgar have strong wrestling and solid standup.

Sherk will no doubt have the size advantage and will probably deploy the same gameplan that Gray Maynard used successfully against Edgar. Sherk by Dec.

Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida - "Sugar" against "The Dragon" on paper that sounds terrible! Both fighters are counter strikers which may lead to a boring contest. However, I believe that Rashadwill end up chasing Machida and end up on the mat. Machida has very good takedowns from the clinch as we seen when he dumped Tito Ortiz on his head.

Rashad fights traditional stance with Machida squaring off southpaw. Rashad will have the better power and wrestling while Machida possesses strong jiu-jitsu and very solid striking. Machida by Sub.

Dream 9

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller - This bout will be for the Dream Middleweight championship. Jacare and Mayhem have fought previously with Jacare grinding our the Decision victory.

Jacare no doubt has the edge in grappling while Mayhem may have the more well rounded game. The winner of this bout should crack the Top 10 in the Middleweight division. Jacare by Sub.

Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields - Strikeforce is loving their catch weight fights right now as this is the second one of the same card. A top 10 Middleweight in Lawler vs. a top 10 Welterweight in Shields.

Lawler's standup power should play the difference in this bout as Shields hasn't fought anyone as big and explosive as Lawler is. Shields has the edge on the ground but getting Lawler there is a big task. Lawler by TKO

Nick Diazvs. Scott Smith - Diaz moves up again to face a tough Middleweight contender in Smith. This will be another catch weight fight as Diaz moves up to 179lbs for the second straight fight. Diaz has the huge edge in Jiu-Jitsu and Smith will have the huge edge in power.

Diaz is more technical than Smith and Smith will more then likely end up of the receiving end of a Diaz takedown and submission.

WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber II

Mike Brown(Champ) vs. Urijah Faber - Current Champ Mike Brown will make his second title defense after coming off a impressive win over Leonard Garcia as he steps in to face former Champion Urijah Faber. Brown stunned the world by KO'ing Faber in their first bout.

Both fighters are extremely well rounded and this one is hard to call. Brown probably has the edge in power but everything else seems pretty even. Brown by TKO

UFC 99: Silva vs. Franklin

Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy - Wow, haven't heard trash talk between two fighters this much since Ali and Frazier. Both fighters have a solid game with Davis having the edge in power and technique in striking.

Hardy moved to California to work with Freddie Roach for this bout. Ground games are probably close to being even so the question will be does Hardy overcommit with his overconfidence in his new boxing skills under Roach?

I say yes, and Davis counterpunchs his way to another KO victory. With a win both fighters will move their way into top matchup. Davis by KO

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva - Former Middlweight Champion Rich "Ace" Franklin takes on Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva at 195 lbs. Catch weights don't happen a lot in the UFC but both fighters are in a rut and Franklin wants to make a permanent move to 205 while Silva wants to drop to 185lbs, so this matchup let's both test the waters of cutting and gaining weight.

Franklin hasn't done well against Brazilian strikers, as he has been KO'd by Anderson Silva (2x) and Lyoto Machida (1x).

On paper this bout looks bad for Franklin in that aspect. However, Wanderlei has fallen on tough times but he just changed his striking coach and moved most of his training to his own gym.

Silva also has brought in a lot of tough fighters to mimic the old Chute Boxe style. I'd give the advantage to Silva in this matchup but Franklin is tough as nails and is a legend in this sport. Silva by KO

I'll start another matchup preview as UFC 100 nears and I'll do a special on UFC 100 by itself since it's a historic event.

UFC 98: Evans Vs. Machida

Joshua Carey — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:39:56 -0400

UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena

The main card of the event features the following competitors:

Champ Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida (light-heavyweight title match)

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra

Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs. Drew McFedries (main card status could change)

Dan Miller vs. Chael Sonnen

Frank Edgar vs. Sean Sherk

This card features two potential number one contender matchups if Sherk and Okami get pass their opponents. Then we have the light heavyweight matchup rounding out the final bout of the card.

Rashad Evans makes his first title defense agaist Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. Machida is undefeated and is coming off back to back wins over Tito Ortiz and Thiago Silva. Machida features a Karate style with a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Machida also has shown to possess solid wrestling when needed. Evans will be making his first title defense after victories over the fallen Chuck Liddell and former champ Forrest Griffin.

Evans has powerful hands and solid wrestling. The big question would be what level is his jiu-jitsu on if he's on the ground his a black belt? I'd say it's fairly good on the defensive side as we haven't seen Evans submit very many people. The winner of this matchup will be squaring off against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and it's no secret that Rampage wants Evans. Prediction: Machida by Sub

Further Predicitons:

Matt Hughes

Chael Sonnen

Sean Sherk

Xavier Foupa-Pokam

Undercard Predictions:

Brock Larson vs. Chris Wilson

Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague

Kyle Bradley vs. Phillipe Nover

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao

Brandon Wolff vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

David Kaplan vs. George Roop

Note: James Irvin,Yushin Okami, Houston Alexander have both been forced to withdraw from their respected bouts due to injuries. Chael Sonnen steps in to face Dan Miller and Irvin is moved to UFC 102 against Wilson Gouveia.

Cutler Leaves Denver For Chicago

Joshua Carey — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:12:47 -0400

Breaking news brings us the trade that Jay Cutler asked for.

The Denver Broncos just completed a trade with the Chicago Bears to bring Cutler to Chicago and send Kyle Orton to the Broncos.

The Bears get Cutler and a fifth round picks. The Broncos get Kyle Orton, Chicago's 2009 first round pick, their 2010 first round pick, and this year's third round pick.

The Bears haven't had a quarterback worthy of mentioning since the '80s and have now obtained a 25-year-old Pro Bowler. Now, Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels is faced with running a team with Orton, Chris Simms, or packaging one of them with a draft pick to move up in the draft to take a shot at Mark Sanchez.

UFC Welterweights

Joshua Carey — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:35:23 -0400

This will start off my rankings of each division in the UFC. For this, I start off with the UFC's welterweight division led by current Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre.

10. Matt Serra - Serra gets the 10 spot because he hasn't fought for a while, and he has to make the top 10 because he's a former champion and most major outlets have him ranked in the top 10.

9. Matt Hughes - Everyone knows how dominating Hughes used to be; lately Hughes has fallen on tough times getting submitted by St. Pierre and TKO'd by Thiago Alves. Hughes has a summer matchup against Serra which will keep one in the top 10 and the other dropping out.

8. Dustin Hazelett - Hazelett has been nothing short of exciting in his fights. Securing multiple submission of the night bonuses. Hazelett had ACL surgery @ the beginning of the year and will be out until this fall or winter. Hazelett has tons of upside & he's only around 22 yrs old.

7. Mike Swick - Swick hasn't been that active but he's coming off a quick KO of Jonathon Goulet and a decision win last summer of Marcus Davis. Swick has a upcoming bout with Ben Saunders.

6. Carlos Condit - Condit at the six spot is kind of rough because I think he beat Kampmann and could be Koscheck. But, the judges gave it to Kampann so Condit falls here at 6. Condit had a big string of wins prior to the Kampmann bout and was the WEC champion.

5. Martin Kampmann - Kampann dives into the top 10 by beating Condit @ UFN 18 earning a decision victory. Kampann has a solid game and is fresh off the win over Condit. Kampann has looked solid in the UFC and even better since dropping to the welterweight division.

4. Josh Koscheck - Kos is coming off a huge disappointing loss to Paulo Thiago and prior to that has fought a lot of top competition in the weight class by defeating Yoshida, Lytle, Hazelett (No. 8), and now top 10 lightweight Diego Sanchez.

3. Jon Fitch - Fitch had reeled off eight straight victories inside the Octagon prior to losing to St. Pierre. Fitch has since then came back to look very impressive in dominating Akihiro Gono. Up next is Paulo Thiago.

2. Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves - Alves has reeled off seven straight victories, five of which have ended by TKO/KO. Alves recently defeated Koscheck (No. 4) and has victories over Matt Hughes (No. 9) & Karo Parisyan. The Muay Thai machine gets his shot at St. Pierre this summer at UFC 100.

1. Georges "Rush" St. Pierre - St. Pierre has looked nothing short of dominating since being KO'd by Matt Serra. Beating the best of the best and now faces No. 2 ranked Thiago Alves in what should be a fireworks matchup.

St. Pierre has five straight victories over four top 10 ranked fighters and the lightweight champion in BJ Penn. St. Pierre defends his belt @ UFC 100.

UFC: Fight Night 18

Joshua Carey — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:21:33 -0400

Last night the UFC held it's eighteenth Ultimate Fight Night and not without controversy.

To start off the judging in the Rafael Dos Anjos versus Tyson Griffin fight was bad. The judges gave Griffin the unanimous decision 30-27 on all three cards. Dos Anjos clearly won the first round nearly taking Griffin's left leg home with him while having his back. The second round was close and the third round went to Griffin.

A unanimous decision?

No, it should've been 29-28 or a split decision but Griffin shouldn't have been awarded a clear cut unanimous decision.

The major disappointment in my eyes was the Carlos Condit versus Martin Kampmann bout.

I had the fight two rounds for Condit and one for Kampmann that being the 3rd round.

The judges however gave Kampmann the split decision. Condit busted up Kampmann in the 1st round and landed the crisper punches. Kampmann did have a tight Guillotine in the 1st, but Condit escaped the attempt.

The 2nd round saw Kampmann work on top of Condit while Condit possessed a active guard attempting sweeps and submissions. Condit also landed a few standing elbows in the clinch and kicks outside of the clinch.

Towards the end of the second round Condit transitioned to Kampmann's back and tried transitioning to full mount as the round ended. Finally, the 3rd frame saw Kampmann work a takedown and keep Condit on his back for the majority of the round where Condit caught Kampmann in a tight guillotine as the bell sounded.

The fight was close enough that it could have went either way, but I felt that Condit was the more active fighter that landed the crisper strikes and possesed the more active ground game. Overall, the fight card was good and it broke the attendance record for a Ultimate Fight Night.

Judging in mixed martial arts isn't up to par by any means.

For instance, take UFC 75 when Michael Bisping was awarded a split decision over Matt Hamill. Hamill clearly dominated the first two rounds both standing and on the ground. The 3rd round saw Bisping out strike Hamill, but that wasn't enough to award him the victory as the judges saw it differently.

When announced the victor, Bisping was booed in his home country. Judges don't seem to award points for submission attempts, which in my eyes are more work than taking a guy down and holding him with no intention of trying to advance the position. I'm sure that there are more fights that judges have gotten terribly wrong.

At last, if you leave it up to the judges, then you can't expect a win no matter what. We all know this. If a fighter wants to win, then they no doubt have to finish the fight and not expect the judges to get it right.

I may be wrong, but I felt the judging for UFN 18 was off and is off quite often. Feel free to critique this and speak your mind on what you think of officiating in combat sports.

Up next for the ZUFFA brass UFC 97: Silva vs. Leites, which I would imagine won't go to a decision.

UFC 99 "The Comeback" Marks Next Step in Global Expansion

Joshua Carey — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:13:27 -0500

UFC 99: June 13, 2009
Venue: Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany

Paul Taylor vs. TBA

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva

Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno

Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy

Ben Saunders vs. Mike Swick

Heath Herring vs. Cain Velasquez

Mustapha al Turk vs. Todd Duffee

Stefan Struve vs. TBA

Mirko Cro Cop vs. TBA

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday announced its next step in global expansion. UFC 99 "The Comeback" extends the company's reach in the European Union landing on June 13 in Cologne, Germany.

As originally reported by MMAWeekly.com, the main event will feature a unique 195-pound catchweight bout between former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former Pride 205-pound champion Wanderlei Silva.

"June 13, 2009, is a huge day in the history of the UFC," stated company president Dana White. "It has been a long time coming, but the best fighters on the planet are finally heading to Germany for our first event ever in mainland Europe.

“We are coming with a stacked card and a unique main event. Rich Franklin versus Wanderlei Silva is another of those dream fights fans never thought they’d get to see...but we are making it happen in Germany.

“Everyone knows Rich moved up to light heavyweight a couple of fights ago, while Wanderlei is planning on fighting at 185 pounds from now on, but this fight is too exciting a match not to happen and both these guys deserve a ton of credit for taking this fight at 195 pounds.”

White, along with UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta, and MLK CEO Marek Lieberberg, with whom the UFC has partnered for this event, at a press conference in Cologne confirmed UFC 99 will take place at the Lanxess Arena.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 13, but UFC Fight Club members can begin buying tickets on Monday, March 9.

Commenting on the UFC’s first ever event in mainland Europe, UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta said, "Our vision for the UFC has always been global. Following on from our successes in the United Kingdom and Ireland, our first card in mainland Europe is another significant step towards making the UFC's brand of mixed martial arts the biggest sport in the world."

The UFC has long been working on other territories across the globe—including Mexico, the Philippines, France, Dubai, Australia, and several other territories—so it is likely that there will be several other announcements of expansion in the near future.

Courtesy of mmaweekly.com.

UFC 96: Rampage vs. Jardine

Joshua Carey — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:55:37 -0500

UFC 96: MARCH 7, 2009
Venue: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio

Main Card Bouts

Quinton Jackson (4th Light Heavyweight in the World) vs. Keith Jardine (8th Light Heavyweight in the World)
Gabriel Gonzaga (8th Heavyweight in the World) vs. Shane Carwin
Matt Hamil vs. Mark Munoz
Gray Maynard vs. Jim Miller
Matt Brown vs. Pete Sell

Preliminary Bouts

Brandon Vera vs. Mike Patt
Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day
Tim Boetsch vs. Jason Brilz
Tamdan McCrory vs. Ryan Madigan
Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson

UFC 96 comes to us live from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. This event features former light heavyweight champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, as he steps back into the octagon versus Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine.

Rampage is one win away from fighting for the championship, as he looks to regain the belt that he lost last summer. Jardine looks to build himself up to the upper echelon of the division.

Rampage comes off of a devastating knockout of nemesis, Wanderlei Silva—the same man who viciously KO'd Jardine. Jardine himself is coming off of a decision victory over Brandon Vera.

The co-main event brings us Gabriel Gonzaga versus Shane Carwin in a heavyweight matchup. Gonzaga could be one win away from challenging the winner of Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar for the championship.

This matchup features two of the UFC's biggest heavyweights—both fighters are around the 255 lb mark. Gonzaga brings in vicious leg kicks and upper echelon jiu-jitsu, while Carwin brings in solid wrestling and much improved boxing skills.

Matt Hamill takes on UFC newcomer Mark Munoz who sports a 5-0 record with three TKO's. This will no doubt be a step up in competition for Munoz who spent all of 2008 competing in the WEC's light heavyweight division. Hamill comes back off of an impressive TKO of Reese Andy back at UFC 92.

Gray Maynard steps back into the octagon, after defeating Rich Clementi in his last showing to take on Jim Miller. Maynard will look to grind out another victory against the very tough Jim Miller. Miller is 13-1, hasn't lost since 2006, and comes off of a very impressive victory over Matt Wiman.

Ohio native Matt Brown will face Pete Sell in a welterweight showdown. Brown has looked solid in his post TUF outings and now looks to take down Sell. This will mark Sell's second outing at 170 lbs., since dropping down from 185 lbs. Both fighters come in off of a victory and will look to make it two in a row.

Predictions

Quinton Jackson - KO

Gabriel Gonzaga - Submission

Matt Hammil - TKO

Jim Miller - Decision

Pete Sell - Decision

UFC 95: Demian Maia Vs. Chael Sonnen

Joshua Carey — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:03:06 -0500

On Saturday, Feb. 21, Demian Maia steps back into the Octagon with a undefeated record standing at 9-0. His opponent being the former WEC Middleweight Champion Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen has gone 7-1 since leaving the UFC back in 2006 and a overall record of 21-9-1. Five of Sonnen's nine losses have come by submission and that doesn't seem to fair well for him against JiuJitsu phenom Maia.

Maia will need to pay full attention to Sonnen’s rough ground-and-pound because Maia will more then likely be working from his back during this fight, Team Quest is known for their superior wrestling and Sonnen is know different.

Maia will need to keep Sonnen from passing his guard at all costs and work for sweeps or subs. A big difference in this fight may just be who has the more developed standup. Sonnen has improved his standup over the past year or two and Maia has been working diligently with Wanderlei Silva and Xtreme Couture.

Finally, I see this fight as Sonnen wanting to stand and trade with Maia much like he did in his bizarre second bout with Paulo Filho. However, Maia will have none of that and this fight ends up on the ground as Sonnen will lose via submission to Maia's superior submission game.

Fights for the Fans

Joshua Carey — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:29:45 -0500

First of all, as we all know there are some pretty big matchups that the UFC can make this year. The matchups aren't limited to just a weight class or two, arguments can be made that good matchups can be made at any weight. So, here we go. I've compiled a list of fights that I'd like to see happen in '09.

Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida - at 205, a fellow bleachereporter brought this to my attention. The UFC is in the business of building superstars and that is exactly what they're doing with Machida. This matchup would give Machida sure star power if he could get past the master of gameplans in Couture.

Sean Sherk vs. Diego Sanchez - Two top fighters with incredible cardio, relentless ground games, and much improved stand up. Diego was succesful in making his lightweight debut and Sherk faces Frankie Edgar coming up soon. Sherk vs. Sanchez would definately be fireworks given Sherk's relentless style to push the pace in every fight.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brock Lesnar/Frank Mir

Gonzaga, if he gets past Shane Carwin @ UFC 96 should be the #1 contender. Gonzaga is as big a heavyweight as they come. He posseses top level jiujitsu and very solid striking. Gonzaga would present a big challenge to Lesnar or Mir.

Jon Fitch vs. Carlos Condit—Recently added to the UFC's roster. Condit makes his much awaited debut into the UFC's welterweight ranks. Both are top 10 fighters and this fight could produce some fireworks. I would imagine that the UFC will pit Condit versus one of Fitch's teamates before they would make this matchup though. Condit faces Martin Kampmann first on April 1.

Yushin Okami vs. Nate Marquadt - Okami's earned it. I see a Okami vs. Marquadt matchup being pretty interesting. I'm not really feeling Marquadt, but Okami has earned the right to fight a top contender and earn himself a title shot. Both fighters would present some danger zones to the other. There are 3 middleweights in my mind that are #1 contenders. The top 4 middleweights to challenge to Silva are Okami, Marquadt, Maia, and newly signed Yoshihiro Akiyama. If anything have a 4-man tournament to determine who faces the pound for pound king in Anderson Silva.

Those are some matchups that I'd like to see. What is a matchup or matchups that you a fan would like to see? Thanks for reading this and giving the matchups you'd like to see.

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva and B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian

Joshua Carey — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:41:47 -0500

According to multiple sources, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva are set to collide at UFC 99 and serve as half of the co-main events of the night. Here is some more information on the fight and card courtesy of mmajunkie.com

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (24-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former PRIDE title-holder Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1 MMA, 2-4 UFC) have agreed to meet at UFC 99. The event will take place June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.

A source close to one of the competitors told MMAjunkie.com that the fight has been agreed upon, but not signed, and both competitors are open to fighting at a catch-weight between 185 and 205 pounds.

The source also said the Franklin-Silva fight is expected to take the night's co-main event slot, possibly under a headline bout between UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn and top-contender Kenny Florian.

Wanderlei Silva signed with the UFC in 2007, after a long and successful run in PRIDE. Returning to the UFC for the first time since a UFC 25 loss to Tito Ortiz in 2000, Silva faced Chuck Liddell at UFC 79 in late 2007. He suffered a unanimous-decision loss, but Silva rebounded with a dominating 36-second knockout of Keith Jardine five months later.

Silva most recently fought at UFC 92 in December and suffered a first-round knockout loss to Quinton Jackson.

After the fight, Silva said he was planning to drop to the middleweight division, a weight class Franklin recently left.

Franklin returns to competition for the first time since a UFC 93 main-event loss to Dan Henderson. Henderson won a split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28) over Franklin, who was competing for the second time since he moved from middleweight to light heavyweight last year. The move came after two losses to current 185-pound champ Anderson Silva.

Franklin suffered a deep, eye poke in the final minute of the Henderson fight and was diagnosed with a severely scratched cornea. As we reported last week, he underwent surgery to remove scar tissue that had accumulated near the injured area of his right eye, and near the area where the eyelid meets the cheek.

He's expected to be fully healed in time for the June event.

UFC 99 marks the UFC's first-ever trip to Germany.

While the UFC has yet to announce the event or any match-ups for the fight card, MMAjunkie.com first reported earlier this week that UFC lightweight Spencer Fisher (22-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has agreed to meet Caol Uno (27-11-4 MMA, 3-3-1 UFC), who returns to the UFC for the first time in nearly nine years, for the June event.

Marcus Davis is also expected to be part of UFC 99. Despite reports putting Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic on the card, the Croatian fighter is still in negotiations with multiple organizations, including the UFC.

Rumored bouts:

B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva - catch weight

Spencher Fisher vs. Caol Uno

Mirko Cro Cop vs. TBA

Marcus Davis vs. TBA

UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson

Joshua Carey — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:48:15 -0500

UFC 95: Feb. 21, 2009
Venue: O2 Arena in London, England

Main Card Bouts

-Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson in a lightweight bout
-Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago
-Nathan Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia
-Chael Sonnen vs. Demian Maia
-Dan Hardy vs. Rory Markham

Preliminary Bouts

-Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve
-David Baron vs. Per Eklund
-Justin Buchholz vs. Terry Etim
-Neil Grove vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz
-Paul Kelly vs. Troy Mandaloniz

This card will be featured for free to the public on SpikeTV and will air on what I believe to be a taped delay at around 9 PM Eastern Standard Time. The following are some predictions that I have for the fights featured on the main card:

Diego Sanchez - Diego wins this fight plain as day to me. Given, every fight can go either way with single mistake. However, Diego possesses better overall standup as of late and far superior ground skills than Stevenson. Stevenson has some solid but great boxing and solid ground skills as well. There are levels in jiujitsu and I'm a firm believer that Sanchez is a step above Stevenson. Sanchez reportebly came into this camp around 190 so the weight drop may pose a problem for the relentless style he likes to use. Diego by Submission

Josh Koscheck - "Kos" takes on a UFC newcomer in Brazilian Paulo Thiago. The casual fan won't know of Paulo until weigh-ins and fight night. However, Paulo's record stands at 10-0-0 with 7 via submissions. Koscheck will need to play this fight out much like he did against Yoshida and use his standup to win. Koscheck wins this fight by TKO-Strikes

Nate Marquardt - Nate Marquardt is the safe bet for this fight. I want to pick Wilson and I actually hope he does win this fight. Marquardt has been settled into some serious training within the past year training along Rashad Evans and GSP. Wilson's cardio has been a issue in past bouts but I believe that he knows with this win he may become the number one contender especially if he wins in spectacular fashion with a trademark knockout. Both fighters have solid standup with edge in power going to Wilson and both also have solid ground games with edge in wrestling going to Marquadt and JiuJitsu going to Wilson. I'll go with Marquardt by decision but don't be suprised for Wilson to suprise and win by Knockout.

Demian Maia - Maia has been red hot and sporting a perfect 9-0-0 record with 7 wins by submission. Sonnen comes into this bout being the former WEC middleweight champion which he brings a 2 fight win streak. Maia poses some serious problems for Team Quest's Sonnen, 5 of Sonnen's losses have come by submissions and Maia has top tier jiujitsu that poses a problem for anyone in the world. Sonnen's strength in this fight will be his wrestling so he should use that to avoid being taking down and being submitted. Maia on the other hand has being working non-stop with Xtreme Couture so his wrestling should he ever improving. As we all know, styles make fights I believe that this fight hits the ground and Sonnen won't be able to keep up with Maia's transitions. Maia wins by submission Round 2

Dan Hardy - Hardy brings a 4-fight win streak into this contest with Markham. Hardy brings in a record of 20-6-0 with 10 via strikes. Markham's losses have been by TKO and I don't expect this fight to play out much differently. Markham is a tough as nails fighter and will look to bring it when he steps into the cage. I'll go with Hardy by TKO

NFL Mock Draft: Version 2

Joshua Carey — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:31:43 -0500

As we know, the NFL Draft is rapidly approaching and I would like to introduce my first round mock draft. I will revise this a few times in the weeks leading up to the draft.

1. Detroit Lions - Jason Smith: OT-Baylor

2. St. Louis Rams - Eugene Monroe: OT-Virginia

3. Kansas City Chiefs - Aaron Curry: LB-Wake Forest

4. Seattle Seahawks - Mark Sanchez: QB-USC

5. Cleveland Browns - Brian Orakpo: DE-Texas

6. Cincinnati Bengals - Michael Crabtree: WR-Texas Tech

7. Oakland Raiders - Jeremy Maclin: WR-Missouri

8. Jacksonville Jaguars - Matthew Stafford: QB-Georgia

9. Green Bay Packers - B.J. Raji: DT-Boston College

10. San Francisco 49ers - Andre Smith: OT: Alabama

11. Buffalo Bills - Aaron Maybin: DE/OLB-Penn State

12. Denver Broncos - Rey Maualuga: ILB-USC

13. Washington Redskins - Brian Cushing: LB-USC

14. New Orleans Saints - Chris Wells: RB-Ohio State

15. Houston Texans - Michael Jenkins: DB-Ohio State

16. San Diego Chargers - James Lauranaitis: ILB-Ohio State

17. New York Jets - Josh Freeman: QB-Kansas State

18. Denver Broncos via Chicago Bears - Tyson Jackson: DE-LSU

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Vontae Davis: DB-Illinios

20. Detroit Lions - Everette Brown: DE-Florida State

21. Philadelphia Eagles - Michael Oher: T-Ole Miss

22. Minnesota Vikings - Percy Harvin: WR-Florida

23. New England - Clay Matthews: OLB-USC

24. Atlanta Falcons - Peria Jerry: DT-Ole Miss

25. Miami Dolphins - Darrius Heyward-Bey: WR-Maryland

26. Baltimore Ravens - Sean Smith: S/CB-Utah

27. Indianapolis Colts - Larry English: OLB/DE-Northern Illinois

28. Philadelphia Eagles - Knowshon Moreno: RB-Georgia

29. New York Giants - Hakeem Nicks: WR-North Carolina

30. Tennesee Titans - Kenny Britt: WR-Rutgers

31. Arizona Cardinals - Lesean McCoy: RB-Pitt

32. Pittsburgh Steelers - The NFL Champions take - Alex Mack: C-Cal

Jay Cutler has been traded to the Chicago Bears and the Broncos will be drafting at the number 19 spot as well.

UFC 93: Franklin v. Hendo, Shogun v. Coleman

Joshua Carey — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:55:02 -0500

Saturday, JAN. 17, 2009
Venue: O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland

Main Card Bouts

-Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson @ light heavyweight
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman @ light heavyweight
-Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher
-Rousimar Palhares vs. Jeremy Horn
-Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

Preliminary Bouts

-Martin Kampmann vs. Alexander Barros
-Ivan Serati vs. Thomasz Drwal
-Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway
-Nate Mohr vs. Denis Siver
-Eric Schafer vs. Antonio Mendes

Dan "Hollywood" Henderson will step back into the Octagon to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich "Ace" Franklin in a light heavyweight bout as both fighters try to place themselves into contention in the 205lb. division. Franklin 24-3 is coming off a TKO(Body Kick) of Matt Hamill while Henderson recently defeated Rousimar Palhares by Decision. Franklin v. Henderson is interesting in several aspects including the fact that both fighters will be fighting @ 205 instead of 185. Will that affect either fighter? Henderson said that he feels more comfortable at light heavy and Franklin due to his losses to Anderson Silva needed to move up. This matchup will be a southpaw striker & Brown Belt in JiuJitsu in Franklin against a wrestler with a piston of a right hand in Henderson. Look for this bout to end with Henderson being the victor by TKO.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark "The Hammer" Coleman(UFC Hall of Famer) will be Coleman's return to UFC action where he first started his career. This will be a grudge-match between the two after Shogun broke his arm attempting to stop a Coleman takedown. Moments after the injury a mele began between both competitors camps. In this bout, Coleman will make a drop in weight class to Light Heavyweight from Heavyweight and this should make him quicker and give him an advantage in size/strength. On paper, Shogun Rua should win this matchup as he's some 17 years younger then Coleman. Shogun will be making his return to action after some 2-3 knee surgeries in the last 15 months. Coleman an old school ground-n-pounder versus a young Muay Thai & JiuJitsu practitioner. This bout ends with a Shogun TKO of the UFC Hall of Famer

Denis Kang(31-10-1)makes his awaited debut into the UFC's Middleweight division after competing over seas for many years. Kang faces young Muay Thai fighter Alan "The Talent" Belcher. Kang has fought tougher competition than Belcher has and is a more talented fighter anywhere the fight goes. Kang by TKO early

Rousimar Palhares by Submission

Marcus Davis by KO

Anderson Silva Tops the MMA 2009 P4P Top 10 (Revised)

Joshua Carey — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:22:22 -0500

10. Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves

Alves is on a red-hot seven-match win streak featuring devastating knockouts of Karo Pariysan, Matt Hughes, and a dismantling of another Top 10 Welterweight Josh Koscheck. Next up, St. Pierre for the welterweight title in July.

9.Forrest Griffin

Griffin's back-to-back wins over Rampage Jackson and Shogun Rua, Griffin’s run as the sport’s 205-pound king came to a halt at UFC 92. Although, Griffin looked like every bit the man who defeated Shogun & Jackson through the fighter 10 or so minutes of his title defense, Evans took his crown. Despite that hiccup Griffin has still earned himself a spot in the top 10.

8. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

Undefeated at 14-0 and impressive victories over Rich Franklin, Sokoudjou, Tito Ortiz, and Thiago Silva. Machida moves himself into the Top 10. Machida’s fate is now in the hands of number 6 ranked Rampage Jackson. If Rampage beats Keith Jardine in March then he fights for the title but if he slips up against Jardine then Machida will fight for the title early this summer.

7. "Sugar" Rashad Evans

Light heavyweight champion! Even though many believe that Evans was getting beat by both Liddell and Griffin before capturing victories, he still became the champion. "Sugar" Rashad Evans undefeated and the world champion.

6. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Jackson after moving to the Wolfslair to train with the guys over seas and good buddy Cheick Kongo looked great in knocking out Wanderlei Silva. Rampage with a win of Keith Jardine in March will of earned himself a crack at his old Championship belt, which I believe he will win back.

5. B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn

Penn previously ranked number 3 in these rankings drops two spots to number 5. Penn is the current UFC lightweight champion and will next defend his belt against Kenny Florian. Penn is the type of fighter that will always remain a mystery. I think Penn is best served at 155 and not 170. At, 155, he has to stay in great shape in order to make weight and he’s more explosive with sharper cardio.

4. Miguel Angel Torres

Torres not known by the casual MMA Fan is crushing everyone in his weight class. Torres known for his ground fighting abilities just dismantled Manny Tapia by only using his standup which is Manny's strength. Torres 35-1 is hard to argue against being in the Top 10.

3. Georges St. Pierre

After the Jan. 31 megafight with St. Pierre beating Penn even with the controversy of St. Pierre getting greased up. The question remains is how much did the grease keep Penn from using his world renowned jiujitsu? Only St. Pierre and Penn know the true answer. Anyway, St. Pierre won and in pretty dominant fashion. St. Pierre is in the 3 spot now looks forward to a matchup with welterweight Muay Thai wrecking machine Thiago Alves in July.

2. Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko

After his win against Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski some could have a very valid point in saying the Fedor should be ranked number one p4p. However, In my p4p rankings I’m going to go by the top 3 ranked fighters last 5 performances and I see Silva finishing all of his opponents by submission or tko while St. Pierre has seen 2 decisions with Fedor winning all 5 by submission or tko like Silva. I’m putting Fedor at this spot above St. Pierre until both of them compete against their next challengers. If Silva slacks off in his title defense then Fedor could very well move into the 1 spot.

1. Anderson "The Spider" Silva

Silva is the owner of wins in his last nine bouts, all in impressive fashion! The Spider owns the best Muay Thai in the sport and also a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. His next opponent, Thales Leites, is in for a world of hurt and he hasn't even received the first strike from Silva. The Spider stays in the top spot slighty because he’s finished 3 top ten middleweights and Fedor has finished two top ten heavyweights in his last five fights. Silva has completely cleaned out his division and Fedor still has Josh Barnett left to beat. Number 1 and 2 really could flip flop and some may even say GSP is number 1. For this list, I’m going with Silva having a slight edge over Fedor and Fedor over GSP.

Dustin "McLovin" Hazelett

Joshua Carey — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:07:04 -0400

The Ultimate Fighter Seven Finale Saturday, at the Palms in Las Vegas didn't show the Fight of the Night/Submission of the Night fighter.

However, Harley-Davidson endorsed that the UFC show the fight on ufc.com for free.

Hazelett used solid kicks and extremely slick submissions to obtain the win by Armbar. He also earned $24,000 for defeating Burkman.

At 22, "McLovin" seems quite poised to make his mark in the welterweight division. There's no shortage of possible opponents in the division, however, with the UFC throwing together the July 19 show with several summer-fall shows on the horizon it could potentially hold up opponents for the 22-year-old Jujitsu practitioner.

Potential bouts could be with: Paul Taylor (9-3-1), Paul Kelly (8-0), Dong Hyun Kim (10-0-1), and Karo Parisyan still doesn't have an opponent for UFC 87 with George Sotiropoulos being injured.

While Parisyan would definitely be a step up for Hazelett, it would have potential to be fight of the night same as the Burkman fight and be as exciting or more than the Koscheck fight.

Koscheck is just a bit ahead of Karo in the welterweight rankings and has been more impressive as of late.

One can even make the argument that Hazelett was winning that fight until he got set up for the head kick that ended the fight.

Hazelett bounced back to run a clinic on Burkman last Saturday night.

UFC Fantasy Matchups

Joshua Carey — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:50:40 -0400

However, very unlikely to happen these "could be" matchups seem very interesting:

Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin - Given that Wandy goes to 185
Stephan Bonnar vs. Thiago Silva
Gray Maynard vs. Sean Sherk
Goran Reljic vs. Rameau Sokoudjou

Mauricio"Shogun" Rua vs. Chuck Liddell (Already supposed to happen)
James Irvin vs. Rashad Evans (Already supposed to happen)

None of the matchups are signed or anything. They're just matchups that I would like to personally see take place in the UFC. The UFC has alot of fighters already scheduled to fight so it was kind of hard to find the matchups.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklinwould have automatic fireworks written all over it. First of all, Wandy would have to drop to 185 for it to ever happen. With the exception of Anderson Silva, Franklin hasn't fought a top tier striker in the UFC like Wandy. Given that both Silva's styles are completely different both are superb strikers. Rich would probably look to use a counter strikers game plan against Wandy while well, Wandy would be Wandy. Franklin has been knocked around by Anderson Silva twice, Evan Tanner & David Louiseau both knocked him down in their respected fights. Wandy is finally back in the win column after dropping a few tough bouts. Both have KO power and it would be interesting to watch. Wanderlei Silva-KO

Stephan Bonnar vs. Thiago Silva. This matchup could be bad for Bonnar for the reason that he hasn't competed in so long and that Thiago has. So the age old question here is ring rust for Bonnar? A match against Thiago but be Bonnar's stepping up party in his career. Since his epic first fight with Forrest Griffin, Bonnar has dropped a fight or two and failed a drug test. This would/could be the fight that tells the UFC and FANS that Bonnar wants to be top-tier fighter. Thiago on the other hand hasn't lost and has fought pretty consistently. However, he recently had a close encounter by fellow Brazilian Antonio Mendes @ UFC 84, Thiago perservered and came out with some sweet ground and pound. Both, Thiago and Bonnar have solid standup and jiu jitsu which make this fight dangerous wherever it goes. Power probably goes to Thiago but Bonnar is no slouch in that department either. The knock on this matchup is that Bonnar hasn't shown anything of late and he gets slated in this matchup b/c of his name for marketing power to American fans for Silva. American Top Team vs. Extreme Couture Thiago Silva - Submission

Gray Maynard vs. Sean Sherkwould definately be a barn burner from start to finish! Maynard is coming off a very impressive win over then undefeated Frankie Edgar. Both, Maynard and Sherk have fantastic wrestling pedigrees and solid boxing. The UFC is looking for stars as is everyone but with a win over Sherk, Maynard would no doubt boost his stock with the fans and the UFC brass. Sherk is known for his cardio and wrestling but recently showed solid boxing skills to go with the rest of his game. Since the Ultimate Fighter, Maynard has gone undefeated with 1 KO, 2 Dec., 1 no-contest. In his fight with Frankie Edgar, Maynard showed extremely solid boxing and he looked good mixing his strikes with takedowns. We all know what Sherk, does or doesn't possess in the Octagon(Power, Speed, Cardio!) Extreme Couture vs. Minnesota Martial Arts Academy Gray Maynard - Split Decision

Goran Reljic vs. Rameau Sokoudjou. Reljic is a newcomer in the UFC and Sokoudjou is 1-1 in the UFC. Reljic possesses leg kicks of dynamite that sent Wilson Gouveia home with several injuries and Sokoudjou, recently ko'd Kazuhiro Nakamura. Sokoudjou looked awesome in Pride and with one hiccup in the UFC, he's back to looking like his old self. Both fighters are strong on the mat with Reljic having a slight advantage. Sokoudjou advantage with Judo, strength, and speed. Reljic would be the underdog in this fight but with training with the guys in Las Vegas and that dynamite kick he definately has a shot. This fight would have fireworks and neither fighter is going to back down, neither mind to stand up and bang or go to the mat so that always provides for an exciting fight. Team Quest vs. Extreme Couture Sokoudjou - TKO

Mauricio"Shogun" Rua vs. Chuck Liddell as we all know was supposed to be happening in June but both suffered injuries. We all know what both fighters possess and bring to the fight game. Chuck has been a little more active than Shogun and who knows how Shogun's knee's are. I think everyone wants to see the "before injuries" Shogun and Chuck fight, this is a crazy fight. Everyone knows about Shogun and the same definately goes for Chuck so no need for explanation here in this one. Chute Boxe vs. The Pit Liddell - TKO

James Irvin vs. Rashad Evans. The Sandman vs. Sugar, somehow that just sounds bad together. Power definately goes to Irvin, he has top notch power with excellent Muay Thai. Evans brings solid wrestling with decent boxing. In Rashad's last fight he got gassed and looked somewhat sloppy against Mike Bisping @ UFC 78. Irvin eats the injury bug every time we turn around so it's hard to evaluate him. Before the injuries, Irvin ran off several KO victories and 1 submission. This matchup seems to be Muay Thai vs. Wrestling 101. Irvin training out of the Fairtex Academy and Rashad out of Greg Jackson's Martial Arts. James Irvin - KO

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=misc.contact

UFC 87: Seek and Destroy

Joshua Carey — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:48:40 -0400

UFC 87: AUGUST 9, 2008 IN MINNEAPOLIS
Venue: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch
Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta
Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
Cheick Kongo vs. Dan Evensen
Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida
Steve Bruno vs. Chris Wilson

That is now how UFC 87: Seek and Destroy stands.

Mark Coleman was slated to fight Brock Lesnar. Coleman sustained a torn MCL in training and pulled himself from the fight due to the injury. That is where St. Pierre vs. Fitch come in to play. The UFC needed to act quickly to make a main event, and boy, did they do so.

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre is the No. 1-ranked welterweight in the world, and Jon Fitch is No. 2 on most ranking lists. The fight against Fitch will St. Pierre's first title defense since regaining the belt. Fitch is coming off a decision victory against Team Quest fighter Chris Wilson back at UFC 82.

Kenny "KenFlo" Florian steps in to take on Roger "El Matador" Huerta. It was has already been deemed a No. 1 contender's match for the Lightweight Championship.

Heath Herring steps in for Mark Coleman to face Brock Lesnar in a Heavyweight showdown. Herring should pose a bigger threat to Lesnar than Coleman would have. So Lesnar hasn't been granted any slack in his opponents since being signed to such a big deal and being a virtual rookie in the sport.

Cheick Kongo is back after dropping a decision victory to the above mentioned at UFC 82. Evensen will be making is UFC debut and is faced with quite the task in his first-ever fight in the Octagon.

UFC 85: Hughes vs. Alves

Joshua Carey — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:41:28 -0400

Newly released information on London, England card:

Former Welterweight champion Matt Hughes returns to action June 7 in London, England to fight Thiago Alves as the main event of UFC 85.

Hughes is coming off of a loss to St. Pierre in December. After talks about his retirement, Matt will return to headline yet another UFC card.

Hughes said he has no plans to retire despite the outcome of this fight with Alves. As he said on his website, The fight Thiago Alves is confirmed, it will be the main event for UFC 85. Dana just called me with the news. Chuck got hurt and couldn’t fight, so he needed a replacement and called me and I said yes … No matter what happens in this fight, I’ve got Serra next.

The UFC 85 card from London, England will also feature bouts between Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day and Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera. that MMAWeekly.com confirmed with both fighters earlier this week. Note: All three bouts have been added in the wake of Chuck Liddell being injured.

Main card as is:

Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera
Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day
Marcus Davisvs. Mike Swick
Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera

Prelim. Card as is:

Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro
Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman
Luis Arthur Cane vs. Jason Lambert
Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor
Neil Wain vs. Antoni Hardonk

Matt Hughes training out of his own gym "The H.I.T. Squad" and Alves trains out of ATT(American Top Team). This matchup is the classic grappler vs. striker.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera is a very interesting Heavyweight fight with definate title implications. Werdum now training out of the famed Chute Boxe Academy and Vera traveling between his own gym and visiting w/ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's camp in Big Bear, California. This matchup is between two top-tier jiujitsu practitioners w/ Vera having a slight advantage on the feet.

Nate Marquardt from Greg Jackson's team vs. Thales Leites who trains out of the Nova Uniao team. The winner of this matchup will be the fighter who gets the better edge of the feet as both fighters have won the majority of their fights by submissions.

Michael "The Count" Bisping vs. Chris " The Crippler" Leben. Both fighters are coming off of impressive victories. This fight no doubt will be on the feet with Bisping having crisper strikes and Leben possessing more power in his punches. Bisping, however, has a better overall striking game then Leben. Both fighters being fairly even on the ground.

Rashad Evans, fellow teammate of Nate Marquadt vs. Team Fairtex fighter James "The Sandman" Irvin. Everyone knows Rashad's gameplan for this plan. "Get it to the ground!" Evans should use his wrestling ability to keep Irvin planted on the canvas or against the cage for the duration of the fight. I've been saying this for a long time that Irvin has some of the best standup in the sport and he hits like a freight-train. Rashad will spend the duration of this training camp in New Mexico w/ Greg Jackson and Irvin will spend the next four-weeks in Thailand training @ the Fairtex Muay Thai Academy then he will spend the rest of the camp in Big Bear, California with Rampage Jackson, Michael Bisping, and the crew. "Bout has been cancelled due to Irvin w/broken foot"

Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick: After Mike Swick's previous performance in the Octagon he should be training all out for this fight as he will have to bring his A+ game to compete against Davis. Davis possesses BIG time KO power with a solid jiujitsu game. Swick is quicker then Davis w/ his strikes but Marcus still possesses the better overall striking game. Jiujitsu could be slightly even as we've seen both competitors submit opponents.

Martin Kampmann from Xtreme Couture vs. Jorge Rivera from Mark Dellagrotte's, Sityodtong Academy. Kampmann hasn't competed since submitting Drew McFedries @ UFC 68. Rivera is coming off a KO win in his last fight against Kendall Grove. Inactivity for Kampmann could play a big role for Kampmann given that he's coming off serious injuries. Rivera has more KO's on his record while Kampmann is pretty even across the board w/submissions and tko/ko's.

Predictions:

Thiago Alves
Brandon Vera
Thales Leites
Michael Bisping
Marcus Davis
Martin Kampmann
Roan Carneiro
Matt Wiman
Luis Arthur Cane
Paul Taylor
Antoni Hardonk

Note: Predictions are subject to change upon information I get.

UFC 84: Live Updates!

Joshua Carey — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:11:24 -0400

UFC 84: MAY 24, 2008 IN LAS VEGAS
venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card :

B.J. Penn(Champion)(Rnd 3-TKO) vs. Sean Sherk
Lyoto Machida(Dec.) vs. Tito Ortiz
Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva(Rnd 1-KO)
Thiago Silva(Rnd 1-Sub. Strikes) vs. Antonio Mendes
Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic(Rnd 2-TKO)

UnderCard :

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Yoshiyuki Yoshida(Rnd 1-Sub) vs. Jon Koppenhaver
Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry
Shane Carwin(Rnd 1-KO) vs. Christian Wellisch
Dong-hyun Kim(Rnd 3-TKO) vs. Jason Tan
Terry Etim vs. Rich Clementi

WINNERS are Highlighted.

The fight game can and will at times get very personal. The war of words has went back and forth between UFC Lightweight Champion: BJ "THE PRODIGY" PENN and former champ SEAN "THE MUSCLE SHARK" SHERK. The talking will stop on May 24 and as these two competitors step into the cage to determine the undisputed king of the 155-lb. Lightweight division. Note:This will be Sherk's first fight back since his steroid suspension.

TITO "HUNTINGTON BEACH BAD BOY" ORTIZ faces the Undefeated LYOTO "THE DRAGON" MACHIDA. Note: This is Ortiz last fight in the UFC due to the ever controversial Ortiz and Dana White not being able to settle on a contract. With a win over Ortiz, Machida would propel his popularity in the states along with a potential shot at the title. Machida won and could be the most boring fighter in all of MMA!

Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva steps back in the cage to face Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine. Wandy will look to get back into the win column as he has dropped three-fights in a row. The Dean of Mean, however, steps back in after the biggest win of his career over Chuck "The Ice Man" Liddell at UFC 76.

The three fights mentioned above will be the three-feature fights of the night!

Look out for:

Thiago Silva is coming off a TKO win over Houston Alexander and will be looking to win his fourth-straight in the UFC and continue on his hot streak. Silva is now training out of American Top Team w/ the likes of: Denis Kang, Wilson Gouveia, Antonio Silva, and Jorge Santiago.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou steps back into the Octagon coming off his UFC debut against Lyoto Machida. Without a doubt, Sokoudjou will look to get back into to win column in impressing fashion. Sokoudjou training out of Team Quest w/ Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland will no doubt be ready for this showdown against Nakamura.

Carey's Predictions:

BJ "The Prodigy" Penn
Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva
Thiago Silva
Wilson Gouveia
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Rousimar Palhares
Shane Carwin
Dong-hyun Kim
Rich "No Love" Clementi

Due to the new drug testing policy by the NSAC, both BJ Penn and Sean Sherk have been tested and came back clean.

Tito Ortiz also has been tested by the NSAC and successfully passed.

Draft News and More!

Joshua Carey — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:52:18 -0400

I believe the pick that would most infuriate me would be the San Francisco 49ers selecting Lousville QB, Brian Brohm.

Rivals.com has the 49ers selecting Brohm with the 29th pick. If they do believe that, Alex Smith isn't going to work out, then they need to make a move to draft Joe Flacco.

Flacco is a big, strong-armed thrower that can make any throw of the field and has all of the physical tools that you look for including a big-time arm to air it out. The Niners can pick up Flacco in the second round and still be able to address the WR position in the first. To put it bluntly, their receivers were horrible last year.

They did pick up Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson, but neither wideout is a No. 1 option. DeSean Jackson from Cal should be the pick here.

DeSean is arguably the most dynamic playmaker in this draft and can be a dangerous weapon on both offense as well as special teams.

Three-round mock draft:

1. Rd. 1 pick: DeSean Jackson(WR) Cal

2. Rd. 2 pick: Joe Flacco(QB) Delaware

3. Rd. 3 pick: John Sullivan(C) Notre Dame

Most awkward interview

Jason Taylor interviewing Virginia DE, Chris Long. Taylor, who wants to be traded before the draft, might end up being a draft-day trade and with that, the Dolphins draft his replacement.

Biggest bust in the ’08 draft

Miami (Fla.) DE, Calais Campbell. Projected pick first round, 17th pick (Vikings).

Campbell has average speed. He plays with his body high and with bad leverage. He's not an elite edge rusher like Long or Vernon Gholston. Campbell's sack production dipped off in '07 as well.

The Last player left in the green room: Oregon RB, Jonathan Stewart

Stewart is ranked No. 2 or 3 on the running back list and is an absolute workhorse, but he recently had toe surgery and this might deter GMs from drafting him where he deserves to be.

Players most interesting in following during the draft:

Trevor Laws(DE)-Notre Dame, Jonathan Stewart(RB)-Oregon, Tom Zbikowski(S)-Notre Dame, John Carlson(TE)-Notre Dame, Colt Brennan(QB)-Hawaii.

The first 5-players off the board will be:

Miami Dolphins take - Jake Long(OT) - Michigan
Chris Long(DE) - Virginia
Glenn Dorsey(DT) - LSU
Darren McFadden(RB) - Arkansas
Ryan Clady(OT) - Boise State

Miami Dolphins sign Michigan Offensive Tackle: Jake Long

Minnesota Vikings give their 1st round pick and two 3rd rnd. picks for Chiefs DE: Jarred Allen

Seattle Seahawks released Running Back - Shaun Alexander. Look for the Patriots to sign him to complement their backfield.

Update: UFC 86: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin

Joshua Carey — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:08:15 -0400

UFC 86: JULY 5, 2008 IN LAS VEGAS
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada

Weigh-Ins go just as planned and the main event for this card is set and features: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, the 205-Light Heavyweight Champion vs. Ultimate Fighter One Phenom, Forrest Griffin.

This is how the rest of the card stands now:

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully
Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio
Justin Buchholz vs. Corey Hill
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
Ben Saunders vs. Jared Rollins
Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
Chris Wilson vs. Steve Bruno

There are several matchups on this card that could lead to a major number one contender shot at various weight classes.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin w/ the winner being number one at the top of the heap at light-heavyweight. Rampage on a six fight win streak, with wins over top fighters like Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson. Griffin however, only on a two-fight win streak. One fight over Hector Ramirez and Shogun Rua. On the feet, Rampage has better power and defense w/Forrest having better technique. On the ground, Jiu-Jitsu is fairly even w/Rampage having the edge in wrestling. Expect a war from these two w/Forrest earning the upset via TKO and becoming the new champion.

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle w/ the winner being in the mix for title contention behind Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves. We very well could see the winner of this fight versus Alves. For Lytle, it would be a rematch of a loss he suffered to Alves at UFC 78. As of late, Koscheck is standing a bit too long on the feet as ate several kicks/punches from Dustin "Mclovin" Hazelett. Kos can't afford to do that w/Lytle who has above average standup and power. Lytle by TKO

Joe Stevenson is coming off a very rough submission loss to arguably the top mixed martial artist in the game, that being BJ Penn. Tibau is coming off a loss as well but to top lightweight Tyson Griffin at UFC 81. It will be interesting to see how both react to tough losses. Gleison Tibau by decision

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully: Gonzaga has dropped 2-straight fights since the Famous Head-Kick KO of Mirko Cro Cop and McCully last seeing victory over Antoni Hardonk. Joe Silva playing his cards right and giving Gonzaga a opponent that doesn't have KO power. Both opponents love to be on the ground. However, Gonzaga posseses KO power and McCully's standup looks terrible so expect a KO. Gabriel Gonzaga.

Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus "Maximus" Aurelio w/ the winner no doubt being in line for title contention. Tyson Griffin ground and pound decision style meets Aurelio's Jiu Jitsu style. Griffin is on a three-fight win streak and Aurelio being at two wins in a row. Aurelio is coming off a submission win over Ryan Roberts w/arguably the sweetest arm bar ever seen. The winner should be looking at Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta. Marcus Aurelio by submisson

To this point this is how the main card stacks up. There isn't any huge names but solid names with interesting implications on the respected matchups. With the exception of Rampage and Forrest! Sit back and enjoy

UFC 83: Georges St Pierre vs Matt Serra

Joshua Carey — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:43:26 -0400

Hello, fight fans!

It has one year since the first time Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra met. As we all know, St. Pierre lost in a stunning upset.

In the first matchup, St. Pierre was a 10-1 favorite, and this time around he is a 5-1 favorite.

Some may ask: What's going to be the difference this time around?

The first answer to this question could very well be a healthy and motivated St. Pierre. No one can deny that St. Pierre, when both healthy and motivated, is one if not the most dangerous fighters in the sport.

Since the last matchup, he signed on full time with Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, and he is training with Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans to name a few.

Secondly, St. Pierre dominated wrestling-star-turned-mixed-martial-artist Josh Koscheck in a decision (Unanimous). St. Pierre then stepped in for Serra and overwhelmed Matt Hughes at 4:54 of the second round via armbar (verbal tapout).

Matt Serra has the edge in punching power and possibly jiu-jitsu. However, St. Pierre has the definitive advantage in overall striking and wrestling.

He also has an above-average jiu-jitsu game. I do believe that the trash talking between the two will affect this matchup, since it has made St. Pierre motivated. He will not be taking Serra lightly this time around.

The difference in the fights will be St. Pierre's reach and wrestling skills. At last, since the last matchup, Serra has not beaten anyone and St. Pierre has defeated two top-10 welterweights.

Fight prediction: Tko round one. Winner: Georges St. Pierre