UFC Live on Versus 3 Sanchez vs. Kampmann

UFC Live Sanchez vs. Kampann Thursday, March 3rd, 2011 from Kentucky 

There were a lot of great fights tonight but I’m only going to talk about two of them. The first being a bantamweight bout with one of the front runners for a title shot, Brian Bowles and the second is an absolutely astonishing decision from the judges in the Sanchez “win”.

Brian Bowles vs. Domacio Page - bantamweight

This is a new division to the UFC so all these fighters are very unknown to me. This fight in particular is a rematch between the two. They fought in 2008 when Bowles defeated Page via guillotine. Bowles went on to win his next two fights where he won the WEC bantamweight title against Miguel Torres in 2009. He lost that belt to Dominick Cruz who was the last WEC bantamweight belt holder and the current UFC bantamweight champion because of a doctor stoppage. (see my blog where Cruz got the UFC bantamweight belt click here). Page starts the first round really aggressive, he lands a nice head kick and a big knee right away. He gets in some nice leg kicks and Bowles seems to just be sitting back and waiting for his moment, not throwing too much. But when you're attacking so aggressively like Page is, you leave some openings. Apparently this is what he did the first time they fought too. Came out strong and lightning fast but got a little too comfortable. Bowles clips him with a quick right then drops him and attacks with a flurry of punches. He grabs Page's neck and pulls off the guillotine choke again! Page didn't tap, Bowels had to roll a bit to show the ref he was asleep. That was a great finish for Bowles, I think he's coming after that belt, the guys got talent. 

Diego "The Dream" Sanchez vs. Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann - welterweight HIGHWAY ROBBERY

First off, Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez has reinvented himself, shaved his head and changed his name to "The Dream".  But he still keeps his I'm angry don't look at me mean mug on while he’s walking in to some weird calypso music. He also looks a little big. Not muscle big but a little extra jello big. This could be because Sanchez has bounced around from 155 to 185, to 170 and so on between the divisions. It’s easier to gain and loose fat than actual muscle mass. This was such a controversial decision that I had to watch the fight a couple times to see if there was something I missed.

First round started little slow, Kampmann maintained control of the center of the cage. Both landed some good shots. But then Kampmann lands a straight right about a minute and a half in that rocks Sanchez pretty good. Kampmann also landed a pretty nice knee right to Sanchez’s face and consistently landed clean hits to his face too. By the end of the round Kampmann had easily stuffed 5 or 6 takedown attempts and Sanchez had blood all over his cut up face. Even though Sanchez attempted so many takedowns, none were effective so I give this round 10-9 to Kampmann.

The second round starts off with another takedown attempt failed by Sanchez. Sanchez did initiate a lot more exchanges but if you’ve seen his style you know he throws at least 3 or 4 hard punches a little haphazardly. Don’t get me wrong, if he was to connect with one of those it would hurt, but that doesn’t happen too often.  With about two minutes left in the round Sanchez did get off a few great punches on Kampmann. During this round Kampmann does develop a small cut on his face that Rogan insists slowed him down. I don’t agree with that. Kampmann is quietly lethal. He’s a very technical fighter. His punches are a lot crisper and landing a much higher percentage. In the last minute or so, Sanchez went in two or three times with his attempt at a slugfest. He landed a few nice shots but had to throw 4 air-balls to get them (yes I know an air-ball is a basketball term but I think you know what I mean). However during these mini slugfests Kampmann consistently landed clean shots to Sanchez’s chin and finished the round strong. Again I score this round 10-9 Kampmann.

Okay so here we listen to the commentary between rounds. Kampmann does well when he maintains control of the cage, he keeps it in the middle and can decide on the pace. When he allows Sanchez to get him against the cage and start throwing wild punches that’s when he gets clipped. Which happened twice in that round. Whopee, two punches that connect. Watch those exchanges in slow motion and see how many actually do damage.

I’m not against giving a fighter credit where it is due. Sanchez did start the third round with a nice right and a good body shot but when another takedown was attempted he ate a nice clean from Kampmann. One thing he did in this round that I (and Joe Rogan cannot stand) is keep his hands on the mat when he didn’t have to, to avoid a knee. Sanchez was bent over and when Kampmann had a clear shot at landing a brutal knee to him Sanchez keeps his hands on the mat. I’m not sure how to technically describe this rule but basically when a fighter is “grounded” they can’t be knee’d. I totally agree that this is a good rule when that fighter has his knees on the mat, but when it goes for just hands too fighters take advantage. Instead of having the rule to protect the fighter, it’s being used as a tool. Just over two minutes Sanchez gets a takedown finally. He gets side control but does nothing with it and Kampmann stands up. Again, more slugfest attempts where Diego may land one punch out of 5 but Kampmann lands one of one cleanly to Sanchez. Just over a minute left Kampmann shakes out his hand, clearly hurting. He definitely slows down throwing rights to finish the fight. Diego’s face Is BUSTED, A total wreck. Sanchez looked really aggressive in this round but I still completely give it to Kampmann easy 10-9.

It goes to the judges for the decision and all three score is 29-28 for Sanchez to win unanimously! I cannot believe it. This is clear robbery to me. A round is scored based on these criteria; effective striking, grappling, aggression and octagon control. So here's where the questions start showing up. A takedown attempt in an offensive movie while blocking the takedown is defensive and according to the criteria does not receive any points. I'm really hoping the judges don't believe that and if they do I think there needs to be a change in the rules. In this fight in particular Sanchez attempted close to 15 takedowns and was stuffed on all of them except one! The entire 15 minutes he got one takedown. Another issue I have with the "aggression" judging is the combination attempts. The key term I think needs to be looked at more diligently is EFFECTIVE striking. Is it Kampmann's fault that he may be a bit more technical and instead of going for a "slugfest" throwing 15 punches one after another and possibly landing 2 he throws 5 crisp ones that land every time? I mean come on, he broke his hand on homeboy's face! That's not doing damage?!

Rogan interviews Kampmann as well as Sanchez. Rogan says Kampmann won the first and probably the second… I would say if the judges would give him ANY round it was the second. Kampmann even says Sanchez threw a flurry of punches but a lot didn’t land, duh!

When I watched Kampmann fight Shields I thought he lost. A lot of people thought he was robbed because Shields didn't do anything with his takedowns. But the difference in that fight was that Shields actually got the takedowns! He may not have dealt a lot of damage once he had that top position but during that fight Kampmann didn't either. When he fought Shields, he didn’t win because he wasn’t aggressive enough, he sat back. He wasn’t hurt badly but he was more laid back. In this fight just look at Sanchez’s face, Kampmann was picking him apart! I honestly feel he should have won this fight, no question. Dana White said on twitter he thought Sanchez had that fight won but I really don't see how. I have no problem admitting the fighter I was rooting for lost if I feel that loss was justified. I can fully admit that Sanchez did show a lot of heart continuing to fight with his face ripped apart in 18 places but heart does not equal a win. 

I can see how someone watching mma for the first time may see Sanchez as the winner. He did look more aggressive, throwing more, attacking more but these “judges” are supposed to be experts. They should be able to see that a punch thrown is only effective when it connects with something, anything!! I am entirely frustrated with this decision and do not agree with it at all. I don’t want to see a rematch because I don’t like Sanchez’s fighting style, I want to see Kampmann move on and fight another more technical fighter.

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Forrest Griffin, The Author...?

One night and 300 brain cells later I have read Forrest Griffin's second book, 

"Be Ready When the Sh*t Goes Down" cover to cover. 

(co-author Erich Krauss)

The best way I can describe how this book is, is by referencing the movie "Dude, Where's My Car". It's so unbelievably dumb but just when you think you're about to turn it off or put the book down some hilarious line jumps out at you and you keep going. The difference between a dumb book and this hilariously funny dumb book is the fact that Forrest Griffin is completely aware of how ridiculous he is. 

This book is all about how to survive if an apocalypse happens. First, of course, he has to test his reader to make sure they are manly enough to read his book. Obviously I failed but I was dumb enough to buy the book so I was dumb enough to keep reading anyway. He goes on to describe the different types of apocalypses that may occur. From an asteroid to an economic apocalypse he's got it all covered. He explains how to pack a survival go bag, map out an escape plan and set up a safe hideout. Throughout the book Forrest also includes "fortune cookie wisdom", side notes from his own experiences or input from friends and his wife including naked etiquette. He teaches his readers how to properly make toilet paper out of a leaf, develop your own sign language and most importantly how to become a god and make other people build a castle for you.  He makes reference to abandoning injured family members that may slow you down, connecting with the Amish and the marines, learning how to milk various wildlife and even sleeping with Bambi's mom. (Yes, the deer). 

If you take yourself too seriously this books is definitely not for you. However, if you enjoy the humour often found in bathroom reading books this is totally something worth picking up. I found myself laughing out loud and receiving weird looks from other people at the gym more than a few times. 

What is that on the back cover you might ask? 

Oh, well its a nice little quote from Forrest's loving mother;

"This book is an unholy abomination. 

It will make you dumber for having read it. 

Judging by the context, you would think he 

grew up eating paint chips. I swear that 

wasn't the case." - Forrest's Mom

UFC 127 Penn vs. Fitch

UFC 127 BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch Saturday February 26th, 2011 from Sydney Australia


James Te-Huna donated his fight purse to the relief fund in New Zealand. This donation is being matched by the UFC. They are also donating funds raised by memorabilia from UFC 127 sold. 

Now on to the fights, the weirdos were definitely out to play tonight. And by weirdos I mean Aussies, Kyle Noke and Brian Ebersole made some very interesting entrances. Fortunately for both of them they redeemed themselves by winning their bouts but good grief please do not ever do that again. My picks didn't pull through in most of the fights but it was a great card for sure. Gross moment of the night came in the fight between heavyweights Chris Tuchscherer and Mark Hunt. Hunt landed a huge punch on Tuchscherer and opened up a big cut above his eye. The ref stops it to have the doctors look at him and as he is walking back to his corner Tuchscherer says “There is something hanging in my eye” and the ref responds with “It’s your eyelid” eww! The doctor lets them fight and Hunt ends up winning, ouch.

Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi - middleweight

Weirdo number one of the night, Aussie Kyle Noke makes his entrance wearing some sort of gas mask! The fight didn't take long to get going, both guys throwing kicks right away and about one minute in Noke gets a big takedown. Camozzi tried pretty hard to get out from under Noke but in his maneuvering Noke is able to grab his back and finish with a submission via rear naked choke win at 1:35. He's a classy guy for sure and I'm not disappointed with this win but maybe leave the mask at home next time. 

Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole - welterweight

Enter weirdo number two. Another Aussie, Ebersole walks in wearing a sparing helmet (he did joke asking "I can't wear it?" when he gets cage side but still odd). That’s not the best part though. He gets a nice little haircut for the event shaving his chest hair into the shape of an arrow!! At least the arrow was pointing up though. Very interesting opening to the fight as Ebersole tries a cartwheel kick...? This move reminds me of something you would been in a Brazillian martial arts dance called Capoeira, not very effective. The first round was full of submission attempts by both fighters. Lytle seemed to be close more times but Ebersole has excellent submission defence. Ebersole finished the round on top landing some big shoulders to Lytle's face and cuts him pretty good under the eye. I've seen ground and pound with fists and elbows but shoulders looked brutal. Ebersole lands a really nice back kick but Lytle answers back with some big combinations and uppercuts throughout the second round. About a minute and a half left in the round Lytle gets rocked with a huge knee but is able to defend against a submission attempt once he is on the mat. Ebersole finishes this round again slamming Lytle on his back and landing the same brutal shoulders and ground and pound. Ebersole tries his cartwheel kick to start off the third round again but same thing, all flash no bang. They end up on the mat and Lytle is still working for the submission but man Ebersole has some serious submission defence. Lytle keeps working for the last minute but is taken down again and just can't make up for the first two rounds. Ebersole easily wins the unanimous decision. I didn't know that he has replaced Carlos Condit to take on Lytle here. I definitely would have liked to see that fight, but maybe now we'll see Condit and Ebersole meet in the cage. No octagon jitters for Ebersole in his UFC debut, don't mess with the fuzzy arrow. 

George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver - lightweight

A very patriotic Aussie entrance as Sotiropoulos enters to AC/DC's TNT. Siver shows some great takedown defence hopping on one leg for like 20 seconds while Sotiropoulos tries to take him to the mat. Siver lands a couple big punches and drops Sotiropoulos twice in the last couple minutes of the round. He is obviously hurt but keeps fighting to survive to the end of the round. Sotiropoulos comes out strong in the second round and it is a lot more even but Siver still has the advantage. He is landing more punches and some big kicks too. Sotiropoulos is still not able to take him down. The third round is much more even but its definitely not enough for Sotiropoulos to come back from that first round. Siver wins the unanimous decision. Both fighters are at the post fight press conference. It will be business as usual for Sotiropoulos, he will look at the fight, see where he made mistakes but will continue to train and move forward. They did not mention who Siver would be taking on next but Dana White wasn't there so that usually makes the press conference a little less informative. 

Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera - middleweight

Finally, Rivera can shut his mouth the fight is over and he lost! He asked for this fight, as Joe Rogan says "talked himself into a gun fight". He fought to be on a main card, he got his wish. No surprise the trash talking continues as the two enter the cage and they completely refuse to touch gloves. This fight gets started right away, Rivera throws a few punches easily avoided by Bisping and a weak kick. Just over a minute in Bisping gets the takedown. He wasn't able to keep him there and they stand back up but Bisping seems to have the advantage standing too landing some nice quick punches. He takes Rivera down again halfway into the round and is able to keep him there  a bit longer landing some big punches. Unfortunately getting a little too caught up in the action he lands a big illegal knee right to Rivera's forehead. (Rivera had two knees on the mat making this move clearly illegal). The doctors come in allow the fight to continue. The ref confirms with Rivera if he can continue and I'm not sure if he should but I don't see him stepping down from this fight. The start up again and Rivera actually manages to land a nice kick to Bisping's body. Bisping lands one more takedown with just under a minute left and finishes the round strong. The point deduction for the illegal knee is a little disappointing but since he clearly won the round it was probably 9-9. Rivera starts the second round with a nice right that throws Bisping off balance for a second. But that didn't last long. Bisping went right back on the the offensive connecting with some huge punches about a minute and a half in. He lands punch after punch, shots to the head, to the body and big, totally legal, knees. Rivera is clearly gassed taking huge breaths. He drops to the mat as Bisping continues to throw punches and the ref calls the fight. Bisping wins by TKO!!

After the fight Bisping is super amped up, yelling and even spits in the direction of Rivera's corner. I couldn't hear completely but it sounds like Bisping in telling Rivera to apologize and tells him to "Go home loser". Rivera's camp wants him to be suspended for the spitting and for the illegal knee but its really just getting ridiculous. Bisping apologizes immediately in his post fight interview with Rogan to the fans and to Mr. White. He shows up to the post fight press conference with no injuries at all, not so much as a cut. He explains that he was caught up in the fight and pulled the trigger on the knee too early, not the first time for this to happen in a fight. As far as spitting in the direction of Rivera's corner he admits he let the trash talking get to him . Rivera and his camp took it too far making videos mocking him on the internet, it was one classless move after another. Bisping says he got on his nerves, he upset him, he embarrassed him but he should have taken it on the chin a bit better. He explained that Dana White told him to keep his cool when he came into the cage after the fight and Bisping is apologetic for his actions. 

BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch - welterweight - BOGUS majority draw

As you can probably guess I am not happy at all with a draw finish. I thought Fitch clearly had the fight won. Interesting note that Hughes (who Penn just KOd in his previous fight) went to Hawaii to train with Penn to prepare him for the fight. Well at least Penn did one thing right. Fitch has Koscheck is his corner which kinda bugs me but oh well, I guess he's an alright fighter too. Penn comes out strong, shooting for the takedown right away but Fitch wont let him have it. The two fight against the cage and Penn finally gets the takedown halfway into the round. He takes Fitch's back and starts with his arm legs (because his legs are pretty much like arms, he's like a monkey). He works for a submission but Fitch doesn't give it to him. Fitch spins around and lands some nice elbows while in top of Penn. Fitch was slow in the beginning but finished the round strong, I think Penn probably took it but it definitely was close.

The second round Fitch keeps Penn against the cage for the first couple minutes but eats some elbows and gets cut pretty nicely. He takes off to land some big combinations then gets him right back against the fence. Two minutes left Penn gets a takedown and takes Fitch's back. But again Fitch flips it over and gets on top of Penn just like last time. Fitch lands some nice ground and pound and finishes the round extremely strong. Penn got the takedown but Fitch was the only one that did anything with it. I feel like this round was all Fitch. The bleeding doesn't look good on Fitch but I Penn doesn't bleed! He always looks beat up and puffy after his fights but I don't think I've seen him get cut before!

Third and final round is where it will be decided and Fitch comes out strong. He lands a big right hand and takes Penn down in the first ten seconds. They stand up but Fitch takes him right back down with four minutes left. He lands some brutal hammer fists that you can hear cracking against Penn's face. He keeps Penn in this position for 3 and a half minutes! Penn tries to push Fitch off and defend but he is just getting totally beat up. Fitch is relentless, throwing punch after punch and big elbows while Penn just lays there and takes it, trying to hold his arms up to defend. He makes no progression, any attempt to improve his position Fitch easily shakes off. ALL Fitch for almost four minutes, easily a 10-8 round. The decision goes to the judges. They score is 29-28(Fitch), 28-28, 28-28 for a majority draw!! I was shocked! The first round yes I will give that to Penn but it was close, the third round was clearly 10-8 for Fitch and the second was another close one but I gave it to Fitch. 

Penn admits after the fight in his interview with Rogan that he doesn't feel he did enough to win in the first two rounds and he thought he lost the decision. I know that you can't always take what guys say right after their fight too seriously especially when they have lost the third round like when Rampage acted shocked after his win over Machida but this is just typical Penn in my eyes. He goes ahead and annoys the heck out of me some more at the post fight press conference. After the fight when he was talking to Rogan he was saying how he wasn't sure what was going to happen to his career if he lost this fight. He clearly admitted he thought he should have lost but when a reporter asked him about it and preparing himself for retirement Penn just made a smartass remark like "Did I say this was my last fight? No? Okay". All I wanted to hear was heck no I love fighting, its what I do and I will continue to fight until they stop me. Penn says he is "over" trying to box people. Saying he is "over" anything in mma is odd to me. Saying he's over the trash talking or politics is one thing but being over a part of the sport is weird. Especially since no matter where it ends up, both fighters start standing. Fitch expects more of himself and is disappointed in the fight. He was asked if deep down he ever thinks he will get a title shot. Jeeze some people are just brutally honest with their questions. He was well on his way to a title shot before this little speed bump so maybe its not his next fight like it was going to be before Shields stepped in but its not like he has slid back down to undercard fights. There has been no mention of a rematch from Dana White that I know of but some have said maybe the rematch would be for a vacant welterweight belt if GSP moves up to middleweight, which I wouldn't be totally against. Rogan explained how I feel about Penn pretty well. He is a great fighter I know that, but he only likes to fight, he doesn’t like the day to day grind of training and actually being a professional fighter. There is always a question of which Penn will show up and if he is motivated.

Interesting lessons learned at the post fight press conference, Victoria Australia allows MMA but not in a cage. It would be like allowing tennis to be played on grass but not on clay, same sort of concept. But they got Ontario to hop on board so maybe in time they will win over Victoria and there will be another big card in the land down under. Speaking of Australia, there is also talk about a TUF Australia vs. England season. They mentioned Bisping and Noke as possible coaches. Bisping I could totally see as a coach, Noke on the other hand was just on a season as a competitor so I’m not sure he’s ready but we’ll see.

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Upcoming UFC 127 Penn vs. Fitch

Upcoming UFC 127 February 26th, 2011 from Sydney, Australia


There aren't a lot of huge names on this card but a lot of guys on their way up which should make for a pretty great card.


BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch - welterweight
The main event! BJ has recently lost his lightweight belt to Frankie Edgar not once, but also in the instant rematch after the first fight's controversial decision finish. Since that brutal rematch where he was completely dominated, BJ made the switch back up to welterweight and came back with a devastating first round knockout of UFC Hall of Famer, Matt Hughes. I have always found BJ to be very up and down. Some fights he comes out like a beast, fit, energetic, ready to fight and other times it looks like he's nursing a bad hangover and would rather be anywhere but in the cage. I like watching BJ fight when he's on his game but I feel like its so hit and miss with him I don't want to be a fan. Fitch, on the other hand, is always there to fight. He has not lost since challenging GSP for his belt in 2008. Since then he has won five straight fights defeating guys like Paulo Thiago and Thiago Alves. I really can't predict how this fight will go because I don't know which BJ will show up. He says he will be stronger than he has ever been but I've heard that before, time will tell Mr. Penn.

Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera - middleweight

No doubt I'm going for Bisping. After his unanimous win over Akiyama in 2010 I like him even more. He seems to be hated and booed everywhere he fights except for in his home country of England. He's definitely a villain of the UFC but he doesn't act like one, I like his style and I'm excited to see him fight again. Maybe since this fight will be on neutral ground for the American and the Brit he won't be as hated. It's not that I don't like Rivera but I just don't see him taking out The Count.

George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver - lightweight

This is a fight I cannot wait to see! Both these guys are making their way steadily up the lightweight ladder. Sotiropoulos has been on a winning streak since 2007 defeating George Roop, Joe Stevenson, Kurt Pellegrino and most recently a great submission win over Joe Lauzon. I was really disappointed in that win, I wanted Lauzon to take it but when someone can take out a guy I like in a great way like he did I'm definitely impressed. Siver has won his last two fights, his most recent being a submission victory over Andre Winner. Siver is an impressive fighter and is extremely confident and driven, he wants this win and he wants a title shot. Sotiropolous is a little more laid back in his approach and I do like that about him. I think this will be an intense fight and I really want to see Sotiropoulos take it. 

Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole - welterweight
I'm going with my first instinct and picking Lytle on this one. I have never seen Ebersole fight but he has a ridiculous record. At 46-14-1-1 he has had most of his fights in Australia. This will be his UFC debut. Most of his wins have been either by KO, TKO, or submission so I'm pretty sure this will be a great match against Chris "Lights Out" Lytle who also likes to finish his fights.  It also doesn't hurt that Lytle most recently defeated Matt Serra, a guy I really don't like. I'm hoping both guys come out guns blazing and Lytle gets the win. 


Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi - middleweight
I don't care that Noke is the hometown Aussie, I'm going for Camozzi! Noke was on the 11th season of TUF. On team Liddell, he lost out in the quarterfinals to Kris McRay who went on to win the contract. Camozzi was also selected to be on the 11th season of TUF but after suffering a broken jaw in the preliminary fights he had to be removed from the show (he did not want to leave, it was the decision of Dana White and the production team). He reappeared on the season finale to take out one of the good fighters of the season, James Hammortree. He also won a split decision over Dong Yi Yang (yeah, I definitely don't remember who that is) . Neither of these guys have a lot of UFC experience but I'm excited to see this match up. 


Another fight to note is the middleweight bout between Canadian Nick Ring, who was also on the 11th season of TUF and Riki Fukada, who I know nothing about. This fight is on the undercard so it probably will only be aired as a filler if its really exciting but if I do see it I am definitely rooting for my fellow Canuck. 


Like I said before, this fight doesn't have a lot of big names but it stacked full of great fighters. I'm definitely pumped for this one. Just wish it was free, like most overseas cards are.... just sayin. 

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MMA Trailers

The UFC does a great job promoting their fights, one of my favourite commercials of all time, including those hilarious old spice commercials and the budweiser superbowl series, is the promo they had for the GSP vs. Koscheck 2 fight. The following video is from UFC.com

Surfing youtube I came across this guy who makes trailers for various mma events. He doesn't have a whole lot of videos but the ones he has posted I think are really awesome. He cuts them really well, throws on a cool colour edit and chooses great music. He edits in quotes from the fighters and announcers and doesn't seem to be too biased on who he thinks or wants to win (some videos focus more on one fighter but its often the fighter I like so I don't mind). To see all of his videos or subscribe to his channel follow the link below. I've posted a few of my favourites here as well so you can take a look. See the YouTube page >>click here<<.




This first video is for the upcoming fight between BJ Penn and Jon Fitch. Its a pretty big fight for both of these guys, and the video definitely shows its going to be a battle. 

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Here is a fight I'm really looking forward to. If you know me you know I LOVE Randy Couture and if for some whacky reason he was to fight GSP I would probably still cheer for him. He is Captain America, an amazing ambassador and veteran of the sport. He is in his 40s and can still hang with top guys. The video is pretty awesome. 

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The next video is one of my favourites but unfortunately until the end of the newest season of TUF we won't know if this fight will really be happening. Junior Dos Santos will be coaching against Brock Lesnar and the winner of the fight between them will get the title shot against Velasquez, who is currently out on injury which delayed this promoted fight in the first place. No surprise one of my favourite parts of the video is when they show clips of Velasquez completely dominating Lesnar as he is falling backwards and rolling on the mat. 

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This is a great video he did for the GSP vs. Koscheck rematch. Obviously I am biased to anything that involves GSP but this video is really great, I like how he makes Koscheck seem like more of an animalistic "fighter" while GSP is a mixed martial "artist". And I could not agree more. 

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Here is my personal favourite, the preview for the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard lightweight championship rematch. I like the Edgar voice over "You said you were going to destroy me, but you didn't. What are they going to say when I beat you again?" Obviously referring to his fight and rematch against BJ Penn (at which point I was cheering for him). Then Gray comes into the picture saying "That was... my easiest fight. To be honest, I handled him, easy", talking about his first match against Edgar when he won the unanimous decision as clips of him slamming Edgar over and over are shown.  

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Once again, these videos are all posted by the creator on his YouTube page, follow this link to see the rest: See the YouTube page >>click here<<.

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UFC 126 Silva vs. Belfort

UFC 126 Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort February 5th, 2011 from Las Vegas, Nevada


So I was completely wrong with all my picks but I am not disappointed at all. The three big fights were very exciting and finally, in my opinion, judged correctly!


Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader - light heavyweight
So I didn't notice before that Jones, only 2" taller than Bader, has a 10.5" reach advantage!! At 84.5" that's nutty, and the longest in the division. He walked into the cage really calm, breathing deep walking around and of course throwing in a nice little cartwheel for the crowd. Jones got the takedown early in the first round but at first Bader had the better position, almost getting Jones in a guillotine. Jones was able to get out of that quickly and move into a north/south position and took his turn almost getting the submission over Bader. Jones lands a nice high kick and easily stuffs Bader's takedown attempt. He finished the round on top landing some rough elbows to Bader's body (which ref Herb Dean has to warn him about, much like his DQ against Matt Hamill for 12-6 elbows). 
The second round showed more of Jones' stand up game. He threw a few combinations and some big leg kicks against Bader. The reach didn't seem to make much of a difference as far as Jones' strategy because most of the damage he did was on the mat but it did seem to affect Bader, he didn't get in too close and a lot of the punches he threw came up short. They end up on the mat towards the end of the second round and Jones is able to grab the guillotine choke and force Bader to tap. During his interview afterwards with Rogan, Jones is really well spoken and was even more excited when it was announced that he would have the next title shot against the current champ, Shogun. Rashad Evans was supposed to have this shot but as he is out with a blown knee, Jones is next in line. That fight will take place next month in New Jersey. In addition to earning the title shot, Jones also got submission of the night for this victory.


Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin - light heavyweight
Great night for the original ultimate fighter, he spent almost the entire first round on top. Franklin did do a good job defending from the bottom but he didn't throw a lot from below and with Griffin being able to get some punches through his guard the first round clearly went to Forrest. The second round was a little bit more even, most of the time they were both on their feet. I still think Griffin took that round as well landed some big punches and also a couple big kicks too. The third round definitely got exciting in the last couple minutes. Griffin got a quick takedown but Franklin was able to get the top position. Both guys were standing and continued to throw right up until the final buzzer. The decision goes to the judges and all three call is 29-28 for Griffin. Franklin and Griffin were goofing around, talking about the fight before even hearing the decision. I think Franklin thought he may have won that fight but after the first two rounds I think the judges made the right call. After the fight Griffin admits he's feeling rusty after taking 14 months off for shoulder surgery. The fight was so back and forth and I don't think I saw it as, as much of a dog fight that is actually was because I like both these fighters so much. When one landed a big kick when I would normally be really excited I also had the same feeling I get when one of the guys I like eats a big kick so the whole thing was cancelling itself out. Not sure that makes any sense but trying to take out any opinion about the fighters themselves, it was a really great matchup. 


Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort - middleweight Championship
HE'S BaaaAAAACK!! This is how I like to see Silva fight!!! During the weigh ins Silva wore a jabawockeez type mask and got right in Belfort's face, finally showing some sort of emotion. I didn't know that Silva had actually trained with Belfort at one point in his career and was a little offended when he was challenged. NOW I'm excited that Silva is the champ and I am looking forward to see his next matchup. As short as this fight was wow it was exiting. The first minute and a bit Silva was pulling his usual routine, not throwing much, just moving around getting a feel for his opponent and the distance. He strarted to clown a bit but as soon as Belfort landed the first combination of a couple nice punches it was on. Belfort was able to get a takedown and has control for just a second. They stood back up and almost immediately Belfort was on his back. Silva landed a crazy front kick right to Belfor'ts jaw and finished with a beautiful KO. This win keeps two records going, 8 title defences and now 14 consecutive wins. Also note worthy this is the first time Belfort has been knocked out. Of course they still had to have the translator there for the post-fight interview and I'm sure he didn't translate everything that Silva said but overall I'm really impressed with this performance.


I have said it before, I don't care if the fighter doesn't finish the fight, as long as they are working the whole time. Most of GSP's fights go the distance but he doesn't clown, he works and fights the entire 25 minutes. Going into this fight for Silva, I didn't feel like he HAD to finish Belfort but I wanted to see him fight and not dance. Lucky enough, we got both, a great fighter turned up in the cage tonight and an exciting finish. Go Silva!

Upcoming UFC 126 Silva vs. Belfort

Upcoming UFC 126 Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort February 5th, 2011 from Las Vegas, Nevada

This really is an INSANE card! There are huge fights. I definitely had a hard time picking my winners for each fight. I can see any of the three I’m about to talk about win fight of the night. This is a sold out event in Las Vegas and it will not disappoint.

Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort - middleweight championship

I wont get too much into my opinion on Anderson Silva, you can read it here on an older post I made about him after his fight against Chael Sonnen in August of 2010 here (Anderson Silva Blog). In recent interviews Silva has said its not about the belt, its about going into the cage and showing what you have. Being an inspiration and good influence to young fighters. When I have voiced my opinion about Silva's showboating some people have said he's the champ, he doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. Which made sense as much as I hated it, if you can win a fight by dancing around then go for it, if you're that good then good for you. But now he is saying he wants to be a good influence?!! Maybe his last fight did light a bit of a fire under him. He was completely dominated for four and a half rounds and pulled off the submission victory in the last round. He said it himself, now people can see he is human and he can be hurt. So maybe (fingers crossed) we will see the old Anderson Silva. The one that would dominate and finish guys in one punch. If that Silva shows up and wins I wont be disappointed. One reason being that Dana White has announced that the much anticipated GSP vs. Silva fight could potentially happen this year if both fighters win their next bout; Silva over Belfort and GSP over Jake Shields. I'm not sure if I want to see that fight happen but I can get into that in another post. The fight at hand is going to be a tough one for Silva. Belfort is one of the veterans, he fought on early UFC cards against guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture in 2002 and 2004. Since then he hasn't been around a whole lot, and didn't fight in any professional bouts in 2010. But that doesn't make him any less of a threat. He was ridiculous striking power and although he is 2 inches shorter than Silva, his build looks a lot bigger. Either way this fight goes I just want it to be exciting.

Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin - light heavyweight

This is one fight I really really don't want to decide on. I love BOTH of these fighters!! They are both in my top five. Griffin won the first season of TUF in one of the best fights of all time against Stephan Bonnar. He isn't much taller but has quite a bigger build than Franklin. He has said in interviews that he has never been one to control the fight, he is confident in all his abilities to compete where his opponent wants. If he's fighting a boxer, he'll stand and box, if he's fighting a wrestler, they'll be on the mat. Franklin more often takes the fight where he wants it, where he feels his strengths lie against any certain opponent. His most recent fight was a KO win over UFC vet Chuck Liddell in June of 2010. Griffin did not fight at all in 2010 and his three previous fights have been a loss to Anderson SIlva and Rashad Evans and most recently a split decision win over Tito Ortiz. Both Griffin and Franklin have held a belt (Griffin the light heavy belt and Franklin the middle) but have never met in the cage. Rogan describes them as two dogs that have been starring through the cage at each other for a long time. Franklin describes the matchup pretty perfectly "You've got a pretty well rounded with some knockout power on his feet and is very tenacious. And as the fight goes on he fights harder" did he just describe Forrest Griffin or himself? That is exactly what's going to make thisfight so exciting. These aren't just two boxers or two wrestlers or even a wrestler and a boxer, these guys do it all. I feel like this fight will go wherever Franklin wants it and I think that control is what is going to win him the fight. Either way I don’t see this fight being boring by any means and I think it will be over within the first two rounds.

Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader – light heavyweight

Another one where I like both fighters! Bader is a little more traditional in his style while Jones throws crazy spinning elbows and weird combinations. Jones’ only loss was a disqualification for throwing illegal elbows (straight up and down) against Matt Hamill in 2009. Bader is undefeated taking out big names like little Nog (Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) and Keith Jardine. I think that is Bader goes in calm and doesn’t panic when Jones starts jumping around I think he can pull off the win. Here is another one where I will not be disappointed if my pick doesn’t win I just want a good fight.