Cage Fiend

Fabricio Werdum is UFC-bound!

2011-12-14T13:29:00.000-08:00

Fabricio Werdum will finally make the transition over to the UFC. He is lined up to fight Roy Nelson at UFC 143 in February 2012.

Who Can Stop Jon Jones?

2011-12-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

The sarcastic answer would of course be "Anyone. All it takes is a lucky shot". That's true, but not very plausible, so for the sake of argument, we will forget the "puncher's chance" scenario. So who can beat him? A lot of people would probably say Rashad Evans can. Rashad has trained with Jones extensively. You would assume Rashad has some insight on how Jones fights, and maybe even some knowledge of what Jones struggles with. I think that is probably true, but one thing that Rashad wouldn't have any knowledge of is how much Jones has improved since they stopped training together. Should Rashad rely on some type of game plan that includes those insights, he would be assuming that Jones is the same fighter that he used to train with. Everyone knows that isn't the case though. Jones has improved by leaps and bounds every time we see him fight. So can Rashad Evans really beat Jon Jones? I don't think so, but I believe he has the best chance. First he has to get through Phil Davis, which I doubt will be a walk-in-the-park.

UFC 139: Main Event Result

2011-11-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

The fight between Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua at this past weekend's UFC 139 will go down as one of the greatest fights in MMA history.

It looked like the fight might be called in the first few minutes of the fight as Henderson took control and battered Shogun. Shogun was able to weather the storm and get back to his feet, but his face was bloodied. While Shogun was noticeably damaged, he came back with a few hay makers of his own. The back and forth continued into the 2nd, with Henderson getting the better of Shogun in the exchanges. The 3rd round was all Henderson's. He dropped Shogun again, and punished him on the ground. Somehow though, Shogun made it through the round. By the 4th round, both fighters were gassed. Shogun landed a couple of shots that slowed Henderson down dramatically. Henderson looked liked he could fall over at any second. Shogun took Henderson down, and moved to mount before Henderson reversed him. The 5th round was all Shogun. He took Henderson down early in the round and immediately moved to mount. Shogun spent the rest of the round on top, or working for the mount. While Shogun landed multiple punches while on top, he was never able to finish Henderson. All three judges scored the fight 48-47 for Henderson. Both men gave it their all and put on a great show. I'm sure their locker room bonus from Dana was nice.

The Roller Coaster Ride For Carlos Condit Continues

2011-11-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

After being promoted to a title fight with GSP, and subsequently being bumped from that in favor of a Diaz/GSP match up, it now looks like Carlos Condit will be meeting Josh Koscheck at UFC 143. I think this is a better match up for Condit, but not by much. Koscheck's wrestling will be the factor in this fight. If Condit can stop his takedowns (I don't think he can), he has a good chance of winning a stand up war.

UFC 138: Main Event Result

2011-11-07T09:30:00.001-08:00

The Mark Munoz/Chris Leben fight turned out to be a bloody mess. The fight opened just as expected with each fighter cautiously judging their distance. Midway through the round, the fighters started exchanging, with Leben swinging for the fences. He connected a couple of times, but never had Munoz in any trouble. He did however take Munoz down on multiple occasions which was a real surprise. When the 2nd round started, it was apparent that Leben was gassed. Munoz exploited that by taking Leben down and landing some huge shots from the top. Those shots were the beginning of the end for Leben. One of them cut him, and a minute later he was covered in blood. Munoz used his wrestling to control Leben, all the while dropping bombs. The round ended with both fighters walking to their respective corners. Half way through the break, Leben confirmed that he couldn't see out of the eye with the cut, and the referee stopped the fight. Munoz got the 2nd TKO victory.

UFC 138: Main Event Prediction

2011-11-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

I don't really think the Chris Leben/Mark Munoz fight is a fair match up. I don't see how Leben can win this fight. Leben has a lot of hype coming into this fight, but he is too predictable. Leben thrives during a slugfest, and I highly doubt that Munoz will engage in one.Munoz is a great wrestler, who even acts as a wrestling coach at Black House from time to time. Munoz is going out-wrestle Leben, and ground-and-pound his way to a victory. I'm calling a 2nd round victory for Mark Munoz via referee stoppage.

Thanks For the Memories, Cro Cop

2011-11-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

Cro Cop announced after his loss to Roy Nelson at UFC 137 that he will be retiring form MMA.
While it is not uncommon for fighters to come out of retirement and retire mutiple times, I actually believe that Cro Cop will stay retired. Cro Cop was never able to return to his Price form. In Pride, Cro Cop was a lethal striker, with vicious head kicks. Everybody knew that his head kick was his favorite, and most dangerous weapon, and still Cro Cop was able to put so many opponents away with it. He was once quoted as saying "Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery". Sadly, when Cro Cop came to the UFC, he didn't bring that momentum with him. One thing that he continually mentioned was that he was having a hard time adjusting to fighting in a cage rather than a ring. In the last 3 or 4 fights, Cro Cop acknowledged that he didn't have the 'hunger' anymore, and it showed. His aggressive striking style was no longer his strength. Cro Cop has nothing to be ashamed of though. He went out there every fight and gave it his all. Cro Cop will go down as an MMA legend, and one of the sport's first greats. Thank you Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic for all of the head kick KOs, and great memories.

UFC 137: Main Card Results

2011-10-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

This was a phenomenal fight. Both fighters went toe-to-toe the entire time. BJ got the better of Nick in the 1st round, but Nick came back and completely picked BJ apart in rounds 2 and 3. Nick's cardio, and BJ's lack thereof played a huge factor in the fight's outcome. Once Nick found his range, he was hitting BJ at will. Nick got the unanimous decision victory.

Well, we didn't get to see the KO we were hoping for from either fighter. While this wasn't a boring fight, the only thing that really stood out was Kongo's takedown. There were some exchanges, but no game changers. Kongo walked away with the unanimous decision victory.

Everyone would have liked to see Cro Cop go out with a win, everyone except Roy Nelson. Some huge shots were landed by both fighters, and at one point it looked like Roy was in some serious trouble. Cro Cop was delivering some big hits with some nasty body shots, but Roy survived. In the 3rd round, the fight went to the mat with Roy on top pounding out Cro Cop for the TKO victory.

This was by no means an exciting fight. Jorgensen used his wrestling to smother Curran and avoid submissions for most of the fights. Jorgensen got the unanimous decision victory.

This was a good back and forth fight. One that many people think Roop should have won. Roop showed some good striking, while Hioki displayed great grappling and impressive takedowns. Hioki got the split decision victory which could have easily gone the other way.

UFC 137: Main Card Predictions

2011-10-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Nick Diaz/BJ Penn fight is a very interesting match up. Both fighters have outstanding BJJ, but love to utilize their boxing. While BJ has knockout power, Diaz utilizes volume punching. The one thing that stands out, and is an obvious advantage for Diaz is conditioning. BJ has been know to slack off when it comes to conditioning, while much of Diaz's training focuses on being well conditioned at all times. It's no secret that Diaz competes in triathlons year round. What makes this fight even more intriguing, is that BJ and Diaz have trained together. They each have some insight into how the other fights. They are also 'friends' with Diaz actually admitting that he looks up to BJ. This is a tough fight to call, but I have BJ coming out victorious with a 3rd round submission.

I really like the Cheick Kongo/Matt Mitrione match up. Mitrione has impressed me each and every time he has fought, and Kongo is coming off of a huge comeback win - possibly the greatest comeback in UFC history. Kongo definitely has the striking advantage, but I think Mitrione will exploit Kongo's weak ground game. I'm calling the Matt Mitrione by TKO in the 2nd round.

The Cro Cop/Roy Nelson match up is what I like to call get-back-on-track fight. Both fighters are coming off back to back losses, so a win for either of these guys is huge. Cro Cop has never fought like he did in Pride, and has really been on the decline. This fight may decide his future in the sport. While Cro Cop has the striking advantage, I still wouldn't be surprised if Roy knocked him out. Roy is having handed, and very crafty with his striking. In the end, I see Roy taking Cro Cop down, softening him up with some strikes, and submitting Cro Cop in the 3rd round.

Here's what I have to say about the Hatsu Hioki/George Roop. To be honest, I haven't followed either of these fighters much. I could just repeat what is on their Wiki pages, but I won't. I think Roop has fought stiffer competition though. I'm calling Roop as the winner with a 2nd round TKO.

The Jeff Curran/Scott Jorgensen fight kind of goes the same way - I currently don't follow either of these fighters closely. I do know that Curran didn't do so well in the WEC, while Jorgensen made a name for himself there. I see Jorgensen coming away with the win by unanimous decision.

Nick Diaz Says He Should Have Boxed Instead of Returning to the UFC

2011-10-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Just days before his fight with BJ Penn, in a recent interview, Nick Diaz now says that he should have boxed professionally instead of signing with the UFC. The 1st thing that comes to mind is that Diaz isn't focused on the fight. The 2nd thing that comes the Diaz is terrible with interviews. And finally, the 3rd thing that comes to mind, this is what Diaz always does. If you have every watched a Diaz interview, you know how painful it can be. He is all over the place, and always gets side-tracked. And this is nothing new. Diaz pulled this same thing, which I believe helped him get the GSP fight originally. But if he is serious, he is not in the right frame of mind and that could be very dangerous for him going up against BJ. Also, I don't understand why Diaz thinks he will be that much wealthier boxing. He's only had 1 pro boxing match. He has so much more leverage in the UFC. Diaz has a huge fan/hate base that consistently tune in to watch him fight. On top of that, he is such a great fighter, with a very entertaining fighting style. Hopefully someone from his camp sets him straight.

GSP Has Been Forced To Pull Out of Condit Fight at UFC 137

2011-10-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

GSP was sparring yesterday when he sprawled, and injured his knee. What a let down. After the whole Nick Diaz fiasco, I couldn't think of anything worse that could happen to this card. Since MMA is such an individual sport, injuries have the real possibility of hampering its growth. Many of the long time MMA fans understand that injuries are just an uncontrollable part of the sport, but do casual fans understand that? With UFC getting the FOX deal, the fights will be marketed months in advance. Will the new fans be understanding when a huge fight has to be scrapped because of an injury?

UFC Pay-Per-Views Will be Moving Back to 7pm PT Starting With UFC 141

2011-10-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

The UFC is moving Pay-Per-Views back to the 7pm PT timeslot. The UFC cited a noticeable decrease in PPV revenue as the driving force behind the decision. This is great news for the people who live on the west coast (me). You wouldn't think that 1 hour would really make a difference, but it does. Getting to the bar at 5pm, or earlier to get a seat, plus there are still college football games wrapping up. The 7pm slot just makes more sense. Sucks to be a UFC fan on the east coast.

If You Weren't a Chael Sonnen Believer Before, You Should be Now!

2011-10-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

Say what you want, but the UFC and MMA in general need more people like Chael Sonnen.
If you missed Chael's fight with Brian Stann at UFC 136, go find it and watch it. Chael completely man-handled Stann. He pushed him around, slammed him, out grappled him, and then submitted him in the 2nd round via arm triangle. Stann had no answer for Chael's powerful and relentless attack. And to top it off, Chael gave a great post fight interview to Joe Rogan in the cage. Joe asked him about the fight and Chael responded by challenging Anderson Silva, who was there cage side at the fight. Chael basically told Silva that he sucks, and that their rematch will be the biggest in UFC's history. Chael also said, "Anderson, if you lose, you leave the division (which he should still do if he wins). If I lose, I'll leave the UFC, forever". While I don't believe he will leave the UFC forever, it definitely makes for an exciting build-up. Chael does a great job of building fights, and an even better job of backing up what he says. The UFC could use a couple more Chaels.

Jon Jones Will Meet Lyoto Machida, Not Rashad Evans at UFC 140

2011-10-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Jon Jones will not be fighting Rashad Evans as planned, but instead will Defend his belt against Lyoto Machida. I'm pretty irritated about the whole Jones fighting Rashad idea. Don't get me wrong, I think the Lyoto match up is much better, and will be exciting, but I'm sick of whatever is going on between Jones and Rashad. First, they are blood brothers and won't fight each other, then they talk crap about each other and decide to fight, then they are scheduled to fight, then Jones is hurt, then he isn't and fights Rampage, then Rashad and Jones are going to fight, and now this. There is something going on. One of them is ducking the other, or Dana is involved or something. I don't buy into all the injuries screwing up the schedule. I think that Jones doesn't want to fight Rashad because Rashad had trained so closely with him, or that Dana and the boys are just shuffling things around to their liking.

I had to share this one.

2011-10-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Check out this beautifully crafted realistic rendition of UFC fighter Chris Leben.

UFC on Versus 6: Main Card Results

2011-10-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

I'm being honest when I say that this looked like a fight between two crickets. Both Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson darted in and out of range, displayed frantic foot work, and were up and down throughout the fight. While this made for a very fast-paced fight, it also drug on. Cruz ended up with the unanimous decision victory.

This was the fight I was most excited to see. Both Stefan Struve and Pat Barry always put on a good show. In this fight, Struve actually did what he should always do - use his height, weight, and reach to his advantage. Struve was able to wrap Barry up in a triangle in the 2nd round. Barry tried to power bomb Struve in an escape attempt, which was fruitless. Struve submitted Barry via triangle at the 3:22 mark of the 2nd round.

Anthony Johnson did exactly what he said he was going to do to Charlie Brenneman- KO him with a head kick. The ref stoppage was somewhat controversial. Brenneman took the vicious head kick while he was already wobbled. He dropped to the mat, and looked to be alert, but the ref called the fight. Brenneman protested. While I think the fight could have gone on longer, it wouldn't have been much longer. I'm sure Johnson would have followed up with some huge hammer fists, which I'm sure Brenneman wouldn't have enjoyed.

The rematch between Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig was action-packed. The back and forth battle lasted the entire fight. There were plenty of nasty elbows and short punches, and as a result both fighters were bloodied. Wiman picked up the unanimous decision victory.

UFC: 135 Jones vs Rampage - Main Card Results

2011-09-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Rampage didn't have any answers for Jones' strategic game plan. Jones used his reach and effective striking to keep Rampage at bay. Rampage was never able to find his range. Jones took Rampage down early in the 4th round, and secured a rear-naked choke, winning the fight and retaining his UFC light heavyweight belt. Jones' next opponent will be Rashad Evans. This fight should be more evenly matched, as I feel Evans has the unique advantage of having trained with Jones.

Koscheck's power and speed were no match for the aging Hughes. Early in the 1st round, the match was competitive, Koscheck and Hughes going blow for blow. As the 1st round wore on, Koscheck turned up the heat, while Hughes faded. Koscheck land a couple of big shots, that sent Hughes to the mat. Koscheck continued to rain down punches, and eventually got the KO with one second remaining in the 1st.

Mark Hunt surprised everyone in his fight against Ben Rothwell. While Rothwell was ahead at the end of the 1st round, it was apparent that he was completely gassed as well. Surprisingly, Hunt had more energy through the 2nd and 3rd rounds and was able to grab a unanimous decision victory.

This was a slow and forgettable match. There really not much to say except Travis Browne grinded out a unanimous decision victory over Rob Broughton.

This was likely Nate Diaz's best performance. Diaz completely dominated Takanori Gomi in the stand up. Gomi finally dropped to the mat after taking some well-placed shots. . Diaz secured an armbar for the submission victory at the 4:27 mark of the 1st round.

UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage - Fiend's Main Card Predictions

2011-09-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

Jon Jones defends his title for the 1st time at UFC 135 against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. In my opinion, this will be Jones' toughest test to date. While there is no doubt that his win over Shogun was legit, Shogun was coming off of a knee surgery, as well as a long lay off. Rampage comes into this fight healthy, and by the looks of his training camp, more motivated than ever. I can see this fight ending in two ways: a 1st round KO victory for Rampage, or a 3rd round TKO victory for Jones. Rampage does best against fighters who come to bang. Unfortunately for Rampage, Jones isn't one of those fighters. In the end, I think Jones is too smart, too creative, and too versatile for Rampage. I'm calling a 3rd round TKO victory for Jones.

This is a fight that Josh Koscheck has been wanting for for a long time now. I really wished it would have happened sooner though, as Matt Hughes seems to be in the 'twilight years' of his fight career. I think Koscheck will be too much for Hughes. Hughes has a disadvantage in all departments except BJJ, but I don't think he'll have a chance to display any of his BJJ. I'm calling a 2nd round KO victory for Koscheck.

Rob Broughton takes on Travis Browne for this heavyweight match up. I haven't really seen much of Broughton's fights, most of them being in Europe, but I believe he will have his hands full with Browne. Browne is coming off a KO victory over Stefan Struve, so he has some good momentum coming into this fight. The fight could really go either way, but I have a feeling Browne will be victorious with a 2nd round KO.

In the Nate Diaz/Takanori Gomi fight, both fighters are looking to rebound from losses. Both fighters like to stand and bang, but one has power (Gomi) and the other has volume (Diaz). This fight will start on the feet, and as soon as Gomi lands one of his power punches on Diaz, Diaz will take him down and work for the submission. Diaz will take this fight with a unanimous decision victory.

Mark Hunt looks to stack up another W in his fight against Ben Rothwell. Rothwell is coming off a long layoff due to a torn ACL he suffered in his last fight. Ben likes to stand, but when that doesn't work for him, he'll take the fight down. That's exactly what I see happening in this fight. They'll both try to bang, and Hunt will be landing more often. Ben will then go to plan B, and take Hunt down. Hunt is known for having a terrible ground game, so he'll be no match for Ben. Ben will grind out a unanimous decision victory

Wanderlei Silva Steps in For an Injured Vitor Belfort at UFC 139

2011-09-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

It looks like Wanderlei Silva will now have the task of welcoming Cung Le to the UFC.

Dana White announced the change to the fight today via Twitter. The injury that forced Vitor from this fight is still unknown. While Wanderlei looks to rebound from a brutal KO loss to Chris Leben, Le is looking to make a name for himself in the UFC after a 16 month layoff. UFC 139 takes place November 19th in San Jose, CA.

UFC Fight Night 25: Battle on the Bayou Main Card Results

2011-09-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ellenberger surprised everyone with his quick TKO victory over Shields at the 53 second mark of the 1st round.

McGee's conditioning was the difference in his fight against Yang. McGee earned the unanimous decision victory.

Koch was able to shrug off Brookins' smothering clinch game to earn the unanimous decision victory.

Belcher wasted no time. After a 16 month lay off, he is back with a submission (verbal - punches) victory over MacDonald at the 3:48 mark of the 1st round.

UFC Fight Night 25: Battle on the Bayou - Fiend's Main Card Predictions

2011-09-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

The main event will be a fight between Jake Elleberger and Jake Shields. To be honest, I am not too excited about this fight. Shields definitely has the ability to turn this fight into a boring fight, and unfortunately I think that's what will happen. Ellenberger is a heavy hitter and Shields' striking looked dismal in his last fight, so I don't think this fight will stay standing for long. While Ellenberger is a good wrestler, I see Shields' submission wrestling style giving him the advantage on the ground. I'm calling a 3 round unanimous decision victory for Jake Shields.

The fight between Court McGee and Dongi Yang will be exciting. McGee and Yang have earned all of their victories with a finish. Each brings a similar amount of experience to the fight, but I think McGee has fought tougher opponents. I see McGee taking this fight to ground and using his ground and pound. I'm calling a 2nd round TKO victory for McGee.

Jonathan Brookins will return to featherweight in this fight against Erik Koch. Brookins hasn't had a fight since winning the Ultimate Fighter 12 in December 2010. In that fight, Brookins had a difficult 1st round on his feet against Michael Johnson. Koch is coming off two 'Knockout of the Night" bonuses. With those three things in mind, I'm calling a 1st round KO victory for Koch.

I really like this match up between Alan Belcher and Jason MacDonald. Both fighters have a great opportunity to solidify their rank in the middleweight division. They are both known as finishers, so we should be in for a great fight. I'm calling a 3rd round TKO victory for Belcher.

The Ultimate Fighter 14 Season Debut Preview

2011-09-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek: Ultimate Fighter - Team Bisping vs. Team Miller
Get More: Watch The Ultimate Fighter TUF 14 Dana White Michael Bisping Jason "Mayhem" Miller Josh Ferguson BJ Ferguson Casey Dyer featherweights bantamweights

Daniel Cormier Confirms: He Broke His Hand on Silva's Massive Chin

2011-09-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Cormier confirmed via Twitter that his right hand is indeed broken. He sustained the injury in his KO win over Bigfoot Silva. He commented that the after he threw the 1st overhand right that sent Silva to the mat, he knew something wasn't right. He knew he hurt Silva though, so he continued to batter him with the right. Inevitably, that broken right hand got him the win. Cormier says he will have a 6 to 8 week recovery period, but that he will be good to go for the grand prix final in early 2012.

Cung Le is UFC-bound

2011-09-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

It seems like Dana White has pulled another quick one on the fans. When Strikeforce was first acquired by Zuffa, UFC's parent company, Dana continually reiterated that things would be "business as usual" for Strikeforce. As time has passed, we have all seen that isn't the case at all, which is a good thing. For the longest time fans have been dreaming of cross-promotional fights between UFC/Strikeforce fighters. Now we get one in the Cung Le/Vitor Belfort fight scheduled for UFC 139 on Nov. 19th in San Jose, CA. This fight looks great on paper. All of Le's 7 victories have come via KO, and 14 of Belfort's 20 wins have come via KO. This fight looks like it will be the headliner at UFC 139.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi-Finals: Main Card Results

2011-09-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

That past Saturday's Strikeforce main card will go down as another success for the promotion. The main card consisted of 4 fights that ended with a finish, and 1 that ended with a new champion being crowned.

The fight opened with Barnett and Kharitonov trading punches in a few exchanges. Barnett then clinched Kharitonov, secured the take down, and ended on top with a mount. Barnett began to throw punches that looked like they were meant to make Kharitonov uncomfortable. Eventually they did, and Barnett was able to secure an arm triangle to finish the fight in the 1st round via submission. You can see my fight prediction here.

This fight may have been the most exciting fight on the card. Cormier came into this fight with little recognition. Daniel Cormier landed a huge right to Antonio Silva's jaw that dropped him early in the 1st. Cormier decided to keep it standing, and wobbled Silva a few more times with some lefts. Eventually he dropped Silva with an uppercut, and followed that up with some hammer fists to end the fight. Cormier now meets Barnett for the grand prix final. You can see my fight prediction here.

The fight between Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold turned out to be a 5 round affair. Souza seemed to be ahead on the scorecards for the first few rounds, but of course you never know with the judges. Rockhold finished strong in round 1 and 2, and came on strong in the championship rounds. He used his strikes to push the pace against a fading Souza. In the end, Rockhold picked up the win, and Strikeforce's middleweight title with the unanimous decision victory.

The round started off with both fighters tentatively circling each other. Roger Gracie tried to use his reach advantage against Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal with a few kicks and a flying knee. It wasn't until the final minute of the round we saw some real action. Lawal landed a huge right hand that sent Gracie to the mat. Lawal followed up with a few more punches to pick up the KO in the 1st round.

Pat Healy picked up and impressive win against Maximo Blanco in the main card's opening fight. In the first round, Healy took some punish on the feet, and took some illegal punish on the ground. For some reason, Blanco kicked a downed Healy in the face multiple times. Blanco had points deducted for his actions. Healy was also battered on the feet by Blanco in the 2nd, but managed to slip on a rear naked choke towards the end of the round to end the fight at 4:24 of the 2nd round.