I am going to go ahead and post my UFC 104 picks here. Not planning to watch the show, other than the televised preliminaries, unless I can find a stream, but am going to follow the results.
My picks:
Televised Preliminaries:
Ryan Bader Vs. Eric "Red" Schafer: Should be an interesting matchup: strong wrestler (Bader) vs. BJJ wizard (Schafer). Being a BJJ guy, I am going to be pulling fot Schafer to catch Bader and submit him, but I am picking Bader to win, likely by ground and pound. (The actual fight was incredibly good, with Schafer withstanding onslaught after onslaught, remaining calm and throwing numerous submission attempts. In defeat, Schafer really gained a ton of respect from the fight world. 1-0 in predictions)
Patrick Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk:> Don't know anything about either fighter. At all. Coin toss. Will pick Hardonk to win a decision. (Another great fight. Barry wins by TKO in a slugfest. 1-1 in predictions)
Main Card:
Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiuki Yoshida: I hear Yoshida is a technical wizard, but Johnson is just a power machine. I will go with Johnson by TKO here. (Johnson wins by devastating knockout in 41 seconds. 2-1 in predictions)
Spencer Fisher vs. Joe Stevenson: I am a big fan of Joe Stevenson. He could use a good solid win. I think he gets it here. Stevenson by submission. (Stevenson by TKO in second round. 3-1 in predictions)
Josh Neer vs. Gleison Tibau: Not hugely familiar with either fighter. Going to go with Tibau by submission here. (Tibau wins a unanimous decision 4-1 in predictions)
Ben Rothwell vs. Cain Velasquez: This should be a slugfest between a couple of big boys. I think this could be fight of the night. I am going to pick Velasquez. (Velasquez pretty much dominated Rothwell winning by TKO. 5-1 in predictions)
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: Machida seems to be unstoppable. However, I have kind of a funny feeling on this one. Going with an upset and picking Rua to shock the world. (Well, this one went the full 5 rounds. Machida won the decision, but a lot of people, including Dana White, feel Shogun won the fight. 5-2 in predictions)
5-2...not a bad night of predictions.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
New Beginnings: I arise from the ashes
I am planning a new beginning in my training and focus on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in January. I will be starting training at Phoenix Martial Arts Academy (hence the title), which is nearby and is an established school with a great reputation. I am waiting until January to start back because between now and the end of the year, I have a very full plate (between work, school, and some planned travel). Between now and then, I am focusing on getting my cardio, functional strength, and mentality where it needs to be to try to take my game to a higher level.
I am spending a lot of time analyzing techniques and strategies on Submissions 101 and Youtube. I have also discovered a website, The Wise Grappler, which is intended for the older grappler. Good stuff.
I am running a 5K in Cumming this coming Saturday, which I am excited about. Supposedly this is intended to be a very fast course. We shall see. I am trying to ramp up my running in preparation for the 1/2 Marathon on Thanksgiving. Good stuff coming.
I am spending a lot of time analyzing techniques and strategies on Submissions 101 and Youtube. I have also discovered a website, The Wise Grappler, which is intended for the older grappler. Good stuff.
I am running a 5K in Cumming this coming Saturday, which I am excited about. Supposedly this is intended to be a very fast course. We shall see. I am trying to ramp up my running in preparation for the 1/2 Marathon on Thanksgiving. Good stuff coming.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Update---Hoping to get back on track near-term!
I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I have also not trained much in the same span of time...at least not BJJ...I have been doing a good bit of running and working out at the gym but have not been going to BJJ. This has been for a combination of reasons: 1) I have been extremely busy between school, life, and other stuff. 2) My job situation is a bit shaky right now, so I am trying to save a few bucks in the event I end up jobless. Not a good chance of that, but in this economy you just never know or sure.
More soon, I hope!
More soon, I hope!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
UFC 101 Live Coverage
2130- We are watching the pregame for UFC101. BJ Penn has gotten Marv Marinovich as his strength/conditioning coach. No change in my predictions. War Florian!
2135- Forrest Griffin has an incredible attitude going into this fight with Anderson Silva. His attitude is, "Someone is eventually going to beat Anderson. It might as well be me!"
2200-Showtime! The show is on.
Looks like the first fight is going to be Kurt Pellegrino vs. Josh Neer. The first round was a good exchange of grappling. Good stuff. Round two was also pretty good. It ended with Pellegrino taking Neer's back and attempting a rear naked choke.The fight is over. Looks like Pellegrino won. Yes. Pellegrino by unanimous decision. So far I am 0-1 in predictions
Fight #2 Ricardo Almeida by unanimous decision over Kendall Grove. 1-1 in predictions.
Fight #3- Johny Hendricks TKO over Amir Sadollah at 0:29 into the first round. Possible early stoppage, but it is what it is. 1-2 in predictions.
Fight #4- Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson- Fillin fight from the undercard due to Sadollah fight going short. Not familiar with either guy. Took Nelson in a fun bet with Julia. So far Riley seems to be winning after round 1.And this one has gone the distance. Aaron Riley wins by unanimous decision.
Fight #5- Forrest Griffin v. Anderson Silva. Silva knocked out Griffin at 3:23 of the first round. I am now 1-3 in predictions.
Fight #6- Kenny Florian vs. BJ Penn for the Lightweight Title. Fan poll says 70% of fans think Penn retains. I still disagree. We're about to see. BJ seems to have won the first round. Second round is hard to call a winner in. Round three likely goes to BJ. Round four, BJ Penn choked out Kenny Florian with a rear naked choke. I went 1-4 for the night. Oh well.
2135- Forrest Griffin has an incredible attitude going into this fight with Anderson Silva. His attitude is, "Someone is eventually going to beat Anderson. It might as well be me!"
2200-Showtime! The show is on.
Looks like the first fight is going to be Kurt Pellegrino vs. Josh Neer. The first round was a good exchange of grappling. Good stuff. Round two was also pretty good. It ended with Pellegrino taking Neer's back and attempting a rear naked choke.The fight is over. Looks like Pellegrino won. Yes. Pellegrino by unanimous decision. So far I am 0-1 in predictions
Fight #2 Ricardo Almeida by unanimous decision over Kendall Grove. 1-1 in predictions.
Fight #3- Johny Hendricks TKO over Amir Sadollah at 0:29 into the first round. Possible early stoppage, but it is what it is. 1-2 in predictions.
Fight #4- Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson- Fillin fight from the undercard due to Sadollah fight going short. Not familiar with either guy. Took Nelson in a fun bet with Julia. So far Riley seems to be winning after round 1.And this one has gone the distance. Aaron Riley wins by unanimous decision.
Fight #5- Forrest Griffin v. Anderson Silva. Silva knocked out Griffin at 3:23 of the first round. I am now 1-3 in predictions.
Fight #6- Kenny Florian vs. BJ Penn for the Lightweight Title. Fan poll says 70% of fans think Penn retains. I still disagree. We're about to see. BJ seems to have won the first round. Second round is hard to call a winner in. Round three likely goes to BJ. Round four, BJ Penn choked out Kenny Florian with a rear naked choke. I went 1-4 for the night. Oh well.
UFC 101: Thoughts and Predictions
UFC 101 has shaped up to be an interesting card. The card and my predictions for it are below:
MAIN CARD
Johny Hendricks (171) vs. Amir Sadollah (166.5): Don't know anything about Hendricks. Amir on the other hand won the Ultimate Fighter, submitting CB Dolloway TWICE. Since then, he has been plagued wit injuries and has been unable to fight. I am going to go with Sadollah by submission here.
Josh Neer (155.5) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (154.5): Not hugely familiar with either fighter here. More familiar with Neer, so I will say Neer wins. Not sure how.
Ricardo Almeida (185) vs. Kendall Grove (185.5): Ricardo Almeida has a very strong jiu-jitsu pedigree, having competed and done well in the ADCC among other tournaments. He is a 3rd degree black belt. If Grove can manage to keep it standing he might do okay...However, I predict Almeida by submission.
Champ Anderson Silva (205) vs. Forrest Griffin (205): This should be an exciting fight. Forrest Griffin, while the underdog, tends to win fights that on paper, he should not. Case in point, his fights against Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua. Silva is a devastating striker, but Forrest is going to come right at him. He is not afraid to get hit. In fact, I think he kind of likes it. I am going to go with the upset here and say Forrest Griffin by TKO.
Champ B.J. Penn (155) vs. Kenny Florian (155): This should also be a GREAT fight. Penn is coming off a loss to GSP. Florian has won six in a row. Both a very dangerous jiu-jitsu fighters. In the last couple of year's Florian's Muay Thai and stand-up have markedly improved. I think it is Florian's time to shine, however. I predict Florian by submission.
MAIN CARD
Johny Hendricks (171) vs. Amir Sadollah (166.5): Don't know anything about Hendricks. Amir on the other hand won the Ultimate Fighter, submitting CB Dolloway TWICE. Since then, he has been plagued wit injuries and has been unable to fight. I am going to go with Sadollah by submission here.
Josh Neer (155.5) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (154.5): Not hugely familiar with either fighter here. More familiar with Neer, so I will say Neer wins. Not sure how.
Ricardo Almeida (185) vs. Kendall Grove (185.5): Ricardo Almeida has a very strong jiu-jitsu pedigree, having competed and done well in the ADCC among other tournaments. He is a 3rd degree black belt. If Grove can manage to keep it standing he might do okay...However, I predict Almeida by submission.
Champ Anderson Silva (205) vs. Forrest Griffin (205): This should be an exciting fight. Forrest Griffin, while the underdog, tends to win fights that on paper, he should not. Case in point, his fights against Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua. Silva is a devastating striker, but Forrest is going to come right at him. He is not afraid to get hit. In fact, I think he kind of likes it. I am going to go with the upset here and say Forrest Griffin by TKO.
Champ B.J. Penn (155) vs. Kenny Florian (155): This should also be a GREAT fight. Penn is coming off a loss to GSP. Florian has won six in a row. Both a very dangerous jiu-jitsu fighters. In the last couple of year's Florian's Muay Thai and stand-up have markedly improved. I think it is Florian's time to shine, however. I predict Florian by submission.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Getting back in the game/Big Developments
I am getting started again in the game. It has been really hard since my mom's passing to really get back on track, training-wise. I went last week, trained and rolled. It felt great, but I was definitely out of practice and my cardio wasn't what it had been. I gassed out pretty quickly. Hopefully I can get back into a routine with this again.
Big developments in the fight game. Josh Barnett tested positive for a metabolite from a steroid. This led to the California State Athletic Commission suspending him. This pulled him from the main event at Affliction:Trilogy, where he was supposed to face Fedor Emelianenko. This led to Affliction, being unable to find a suitable replacement for Barnett, scrubbing the entire show. Shortly thereafter, Affliction announced they were ceasing operations as a promotion, although continuing as a clothing company. Shortly thereafter, the UFC announced that they had reached a deal with Affliction to again allow fighters to wear Affliction gear into the Octagon.
Now, the big question is, what happens with Fedor? The only real answer is that he goes to the UFC. Affliction is gone. Strikeforce doesn't have the money to pay him what he feels he is worth. In the past, Fedor's demands (copromotion with M1/Global, which he is part owner of, as well as contracts for others on his Red Devil Fight Team) have kept a deal with UFC from happening. Now, it is really the only option. Fedor announced yesterday that he has a press conference scheduled for today. Dana White has called a presser for Friday. I think a deal with Fedor has likely already been signed and we will get strong hints from Fedor today and confirmation from Dana on Friday.
This means an immediate title shot for Fedor against Brock Lesnar. This will be a HUGE money fight for the UFC. The man most regard as the best pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts (Fedor) versus the immense, powerful, and amazingly fast for his size Brock. That will be something to see.
Brock
Fedor
Big developments in the fight game. Josh Barnett tested positive for a metabolite from a steroid. This led to the California State Athletic Commission suspending him. This pulled him from the main event at Affliction:Trilogy, where he was supposed to face Fedor Emelianenko. This led to Affliction, being unable to find a suitable replacement for Barnett, scrubbing the entire show. Shortly thereafter, Affliction announced they were ceasing operations as a promotion, although continuing as a clothing company. Shortly thereafter, the UFC announced that they had reached a deal with Affliction to again allow fighters to wear Affliction gear into the Octagon.
Now, the big question is, what happens with Fedor? The only real answer is that he goes to the UFC. Affliction is gone. Strikeforce doesn't have the money to pay him what he feels he is worth. In the past, Fedor's demands (copromotion with M1/Global, which he is part owner of, as well as contracts for others on his Red Devil Fight Team) have kept a deal with UFC from happening. Now, it is really the only option. Fedor announced yesterday that he has a press conference scheduled for today. Dana White has called a presser for Friday. I think a deal with Fedor has likely already been signed and we will get strong hints from Fedor today and confirmation from Dana on Friday.
This means an immediate title shot for Fedor against Brock Lesnar. This will be a HUGE money fight for the UFC. The man most regard as the best pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts (Fedor) versus the immense, powerful, and amazingly fast for his size Brock. That will be something to see.
Brock
Fedor
Friday, July 10, 2009
UFC 100 Predictions
Here are my predictions for UFC 100
Jon Fitch Vs. Paulo Thiago: I am going to say Fitch by TKO (strikes) in round 2.
Yoshihiro Akiyama Vs. Alan Belcher: I know little to nothing about either fighter. It is completely a tossup, but in cases such as this I have trouble betting against the Japanese. I will say Akiyama by submission. Not sure when.
Michael Bisping Vs. Dan Henderson: I hope for Henderson to TKO Bisping and shut his mouth from the incessant bragging he is wont to do.
Georges St Pierre Vs. Thiago Alves: I am going out on a huge limb here and picking the upset. I pick Thiago Alves to knock St Pierre out in the fourth round.
Brock Lesnar Vs. Frank Mir: There is a big difference in this fight between what I want to see happen and what I predict will take place. I would LOVE to see Frank Mir throw submission after submission at Lesnar until the big guy makes a mistake and gets caught and tapped again. I think, unfortunately, Mir is likely to get pounded down by the pure overwhelming power that is Brock. The really frightening part about Lesnar is, with his size, power, speed, and natural gifts, if he can pick up some jiu-jitsu and become a skilled groundfighter, he might be very difficult to unseat. Lesnar by TKO (ground and pound) in the 3rd round.
Jon Fitch Vs. Paulo Thiago: I am going to say Fitch by TKO (strikes) in round 2.
Yoshihiro Akiyama Vs. Alan Belcher: I know little to nothing about either fighter. It is completely a tossup, but in cases such as this I have trouble betting against the Japanese. I will say Akiyama by submission. Not sure when.
Michael Bisping Vs. Dan Henderson: I hope for Henderson to TKO Bisping and shut his mouth from the incessant bragging he is wont to do.
Georges St Pierre Vs. Thiago Alves: I am going out on a huge limb here and picking the upset. I pick Thiago Alves to knock St Pierre out in the fourth round.
Brock Lesnar Vs. Frank Mir: There is a big difference in this fight between what I want to see happen and what I predict will take place. I would LOVE to see Frank Mir throw submission after submission at Lesnar until the big guy makes a mistake and gets caught and tapped again. I think, unfortunately, Mir is likely to get pounded down by the pure overwhelming power that is Brock. The really frightening part about Lesnar is, with his size, power, speed, and natural gifts, if he can pick up some jiu-jitsu and become a skilled groundfighter, he might be very difficult to unseat. Lesnar by TKO (ground and pound) in the 3rd round.
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