PRIDE ~ Unbreakable The Results

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. As Bas Rutten would say....That's Unbeleivable. A great night of fighting from Japan. Now before you read I must explain that coming on May 5th (yes my B-day present from PRIDE) they will be going old school and holding an open weight tournament. In the early stages of the UFC there were no weight classes. Royce Gracie, 185 pounds soaking wet with led in his pocket, proved that you don't have to be the biggest to be the baddest. Most MMA fans now beleive that the sport has evolved so much that a smaller man couldn't compete like Royce did just 10-12 years ago. PRIDE is begining to put that to the test with this event and theupcoming tournament to begin in May.

Tough night for Bruceleeroy as only 3 of his predictions came through. Yeah, that's 6 of 9 wrong! Ugh. But that's why they fight the fights.

In the 1st fight of the night I was looking forward to Pedro Rizzo bringing a big knock out to the ring. And he did not dissapoint. He got knocked out at 25 seconds of the 1st round. the 1st punch as a matter of fact. he through a right low kick to Zentsov's front leg, Zentsov countered with a left hook that turned off Rizzo's lights and sent him to the canvas instantly, no question about it.

Zentsov over Rizzo by 1st round KO.


Next on board I had Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (a Memphis native by the way) in a 1st round KO over Yoon Dong Sik. Sik has 2 previous PRIDE fights in which he was pummeled and bloodied, seemed for all the fixins of a quick Rampage knock out. While I'm not a fan of the Judo guys in general, a lot of them don't figure out it's MMA and there is punching involved, Sik made a fanout of me. He stood toe to toe with Rampage and took the best that he had to offer. In all 3 rounds Rampage controlled most of the action, couple slams, some ground and pound. At one point in the 1st round Sik sunk in what appeared to be a deep arm bar. Rampage, in typical fashion, picked up Sik and went for a big slam. Sik intelligently let go and avoided the slam, something many before him have been unable to do. In the end it was a unanimous decision for Rampage but he could not get rid of the South Korean. If Sik makes a much progress between his last fight and his next fight he will be someone to contend with.

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson over Yoon Dong Sik by unanimous decision.


The next fight brought Fabricio Werdum vs Jon Olaf Einemo. This was a pretty slow fight to watch. Werdum controlled all the action and landed blow after blow, he cut up Einemo with a couple of solid knee strikes. For a while you were wondering what was keeping this guy up, a theme you will see throughout this card. Einemo was on the big stage for the 1st time, he will be there again. He needs to work on his basic skills but he's one tough sucker. He can take a punch, several actually, and some knees.

Fabricio Werdum over Jon Olaf Einemo by unanimous decision.


Next was a battle of training legends. Mario Sperry and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Partly as I predicted these to grandfathers of grappling decided to stand toe to toe and duke it out in the ring. Sperry landed a big punch early that sent TK back across the ring and into the ropes, he composed himself and ultimately made quick work of Sperry by KO'ing him at 1:20 in the 1st round.

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka over Mario Sperry with a 1st round KO.


Next brought out one of my favorite fighters who I regretfully did not pick. Alistair Overeem has been known to gas out in fights, thats really been his only weakness in the ring. He normally fights at 205 but decided to fight a bigger Sergei Kharitonov. Overeem looked HUGE coming in at 235 and seemed to have more gas in the tank than ever. He controlled the stand up for a brief moment before taking Kharitonov to the ground and completely demolishing him. He bloodied and batter Sergei till the crowd was crying for mercy like they were at William Wallace's exicution. It was brutal. So I lost this prediction but I loved seeing Overeem at that size. I really think he has been a victum of his own desire to cut weight and fight at 205. We've seen that with other fighters. After that performance I don't see any reason for Overeem to drop weight again. He IS a heavyweight.

Alistair Overeem over Sergei Kharitonov by TKO (ref stoppage)


After the pummeling came to great friends to the ring. I always thoguth it would be tough to fight a long time friend or training partner. Josh Barnett and Kazuhiro Nakamura have sparred and trained together in the past. Barnett had a huge weight advantage and used every pound of it to complete a take down, a little ground and pound, a couple toe holds and finished with a rear naked choke. Nakamura really couldn't do anything with the weight of Barnett.

Josh Barnett over Kazuhiro Nakamura by submission (RNC) round 1


Antonio Nogueira came to the ring with a mission, beat Kiyoshi Tamura. Beat him he did. There really was never a chance for Tamura. It ended as quick as it started with an Armbar submission.

Antonio Nogueira over Kiyoshi Tamura by submission (Armbar) in round 1.


In a fabled old veteran vs newcomer fight Mark Coleman came to the ring looking a lot better than he has in a long time. He quickly pushed the action and he and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua went back and forth for a moment. Coleman was lunging ofr a takedown when Rua reached out with his left hand to post and his elbow just gave out. for a moment Coleman didn't know what happened, when the ref pulled him off Coleman slung him about 1/2 way across the ring. At this point the camera's quit following the action because several members of Brazilian Top Team, led by Wanderlei Silva apparently rushed the ring. According to Coleman Silva, along with others sucker punched him. This caused a 1 minute rumble in the ring that was quickly broken up by security. Coleman has always had a temper problem and a lack of self control. As in many sports it should never be acceptable to put your hands on a referee, he was trying to protect Shogun who was obviously in a dangerous position. Having said that the members of Brazilian Top Team should have enver rushed the ring. Shogun ended up with a penatly and lost 10% of his winings but that shouldn't be enough. Coleman, in true Coleman fashion with his lap dog Baroni in the back ground was running his mouth a million miles an hour saying how bad he was. He gets credit for the victory but really had nothing to do with it. It was a fluke injury.

Mark Coleman over Mauricio Rua Ref Stoppage due to Injury.


In the final fight of the night Mark Hunt, who I'm pretty sure weighed in at 265 about 7 weeks ago, came to the ring just over 290 to fight a rookie MMA'r Yosuke Nishijima. Nishijima was giving up a lot of weight, the former Japanese boxer came in about 80 pounds off Hunt's wieght. Hunt hit Nishijima with everything but the kitchen sink. Nishijima showed the heart of a warrior but just could not handle the power of Hunt. He lasted through the 1st 2 rounds but crumbled in the 3rd. I was pretty dissapointed in Hunt who has apparently been on the Bruceleeroy KFC lunch buffet diet since his last fight. I recommend the diet highly if you are not fighting in PRIDE anytime in the next couple months. I just wish they'd put the macaroni and cheese out there, what is the deal with that.

Mark Hunt over Yosuke Nishijima by KO in the 3rd round.


Next Saturday night is USA vs Canada in the UFC. That will also be unbelievable. You can play the new Joe Rogan drinking game. I'll explain later.

PRIDE ~ Unbreakable

Unbreakable airs this Sunday night and promises to bring an all star list of fighters to the table. If you have been getting into all the UFC they've been showing on SPIKE TV you have gotta try a PRIDE event, well worth it. If you are in the Nashville area come on down to the party! OK, I'll begin with.....


Mark Hunt

Mark Hunt sports a 3-1 record in MMA. He is a well accomplished kickboxer and a little known fact about him is that his head is made of concrete. It's true! He took some big kicks in his last fight against Crocop and didn't even blink. He's also beat Dan Bobish and Wanderlei Silva. His lone loss was in his 1st fight against Yoshida, no reason to be depressed about losing to him.

VS.


Yosuke Nishijima

Nishijima has no profile because this is his 1st MMA fight. He is a boxer from Japan and I think he's going to find himself in a little bit of trouble. He's outmatched,outexperienced and outweighed by 50 pounds. All Ihaveto say is that he'd better bring a bat! If he doesn't he will get KO'd in the 1st.




Mark "The Hammer" Coleman

The Hammer has been in the UFC octagon 8 times and this will be his 12th appearance in the PRIDE ring, his 14-7 record may not sound all that impresive but understand that he's fought a who's who of MMA. He is a lot like Randy Cotoure in the way he takes on a top opponent every time he steps in to fight. He's a former wrestler fighting out of the hammer house fight team in Ohio.

VS.


Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Take a step back when Shogun enters the ring because he is like a freight train in the ring. 12-1 coming off a big double KO night with victories over Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. Shogun will be giving up about 30-40 pounds depending on what kind of shape Coleman is in.

This will be a great fight. I look for them to come out swinging for the fences. I don't think that Coleman, now 42 like Cotoure who just retired, is just getting up there in age. I predict another 1st round KO.




Josh "The Babyfaced Assassin" Barnett

Barnett is a wrestler out of Seattle, WA with a 15-3 record. His losses come at the hands of Crocop, Crocop and Rizzo. No slouches there. He holds victories over Randy Cotoure, Yuki Condo and Dan Severn. He will be looking to get backin victory lane after back to back losses to Crocop. He's submitted 9 of his opponents so watch for some craft moves from this 250 pounder.

VS.


Kazuhiro Nakamura

Nakumura has also been around the block in MMA bringing an 8-4 record to the ring. Coming off a busy 2005 which saw him win 4 and lose 1. "The 1" you ask, Wanderlei Silva, yup, the champ. Other than that he's looked pretty damn good. All 12 of his fights were fought in a PRIDE ring so he's no stranger to the crowd and atmosphere there.

This will be another great fight. With a Judo player and a wrestler in the ring we should see a very technical fight with some great takedowns! I have Nakumura winning a decision in this one.




Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem

Overeem is one of my favorite fighters to watch. He'll stay in there and trade with someone, even Chuck Liddell was having some trouble with him before landing the big one. His record is 21-6, he's coming off a loss to Shogun (listed above). At 6 foot 5 he loves the Guillotine choke, watch for him to use his height to land that early.

VS.


Sergei Kharitonov

Sergei, do you mind if I call him Sergei?, is 13-1 in MMA and is equally good on his feet and on the ground. Don't believe me? 6 KO's, 6 submissions, 1 decision. So there!

When it comes to Sergei, he's only been out of the 1st round 1 time so it's gonna be fast and furious. Look for Overeem to try and impose his 6 foot 5 on Serfei early. But with Sergei coming in at 6 foot 4 he probably wont get caught in that choke. I'm going against my guy tonight and picking Kharitonov in the 1st round with a KO.




Mario "Zen Machine" Sperry

Mario Sperry is well known in the BJJ and MMA world. He's got great submission skills being from Brazilian Top Team, although you wouldn't know it by looking at his past 4 fights which have ended by KO or TKO in the 1st round. 3 times the other guy and 1 time him! He spends his time doing a lot of training and has only fought 3 times in the past 3 years.

VS.


Tsuyoshi "TK" Kohsaka

You gotta love a guy with a creative knick name, where do they come up with that stuff? At 18-10-1 he's no stranger to the MMA world himself. He is also a submission fighter who has a TKO win against the current PRIDE heavyweight champ. Yeah so it was 6 years ago, it's still a victory.

It is funny how sometimes 2 great submission guys get into the ring and it ends up going to the guy with the better strikes that comes out on top. This fight does have the potential to be just that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we will see a highly technical ground fight that goes the distance. I take Sperry by decision.





Yoon Dong Sik

Yoon Dong Sik is just fun to say, go ahead try it! He is 0-2 in his 2 MMA fights. Although he has put forth a valiant effort I don't think he gets the whole punch while you do your Judo concept. If he hasn't figured that out this may be a quick one. If he has figured that out it still may be a quick one.

VS.


Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Rampage is a good one to watch. 11 KO's and 7 submissions in his 21 wins makes him a very dominant force in the ring. Oh yeah, he also beat the crap out of Chuck Liddell 3 years ago. (a rematch EVERYONE wants to see!!!!)

But tonight we will see him beating up on someone else. I don't give Yoon much of a chance against Rampage, I think he will be giving up too much strength and aggression. Rampage in the 1st with the bloodist glove since the OJ trial!




Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo

Are you kidding me, we've already got a great card and now Rizzo. His resume, like Coleman's listed above is a who's who. Even if you only read about it hear I'm betting you've heard some of these names; Kharitonov, Rodriguez, 2 with Telligman, 2 with Cotoure, Matyushenko, McGee, Arlovsky, Barnett, Severn, Randleman, Coleman, Abbot (tank), Vernon White. That's 5 fights with former UFC champs right there! This guy fights them all. Oh and he beat most of them. Losses to both with Cotoure really shouldn't count against anyone.

VS.


Roman Zentsov

Zentsov is 10-10 with 7 KO's and 6 losses by KO. If you took your algebra, as I did, you figure Zentsov's KO's against the air speed velocity of an unlaiden swallow, carry the 1.... and this will turn out to be a very boring fight. OOPS, I forgot to divide by pie. Hate when that happens. No way this fight gets out of the 1st round. I have Rizzo with a BIG, that's right, BIG KNOCK OUT. Can't even use KO to describe this one.





Fabricio Werdum

Fabricio is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist that now trains out of the CroCop Squad Gym. He's 6-1-1 with 2 KO's and 3 Submissions. Knowing BJJ and training with CroCop is bound to make you a little well rounded. It will be interesting to see how he handles himself coming off his 1st loss. This is the type of fight that makes or breaks your career.

VS.


Jon Olav Einemo

Einemo has no nickname, this is very disturbing to me. I'm going to name him "The Real Slim Shady." Now that we have that out of the way....Jon Olaf is 5-0 wit 4 KO's and 1 submission all coming in the 1st round. He's not fought anyone with a real big name and I've not seen him fight.

I'm going to go with Fabricio on this one just because of the experience he brings with him. I'm going to say a close decision.




Antonio "Minotauro" Rodrigo Nogueira

At 25-3-1 Antonio is not to be taken lightly. He has also beaten a list of who's who, a little less of a list than Coleman and Rizzo, but it's a list dammit! On this night he fights a guy with a similar list.

VS.


Kiyoshi Tamura

Tamura has also fought some big names. His record, 13-8, would reflect an average fighter. He's beat Minowa, Horn, Miletich, a Gracie and Patrick Smith. (I only mention Patrick Smith because I don't like him and it brings a smile to my face to know that he lost that fight so sue me) Some of his losses come at the hands of Babalu(twice), Sapp, Silva and Yoshida. Not a bad list to loose to.

I'm gonna take Tamura in an upset on this one. Why, cuz I can.

I always say it's a great card and I'm always excited the fights are coming, this is true. But this card is packed baby. PACKED! Bring your cowbell and be prepared to shake it like a poloroid picture. Yeah, I can't spell. And you know this!

Upcoming Events

We've got 2 big PPV's coming up in the next 2 weeks. Mark you calendars for some non stop action.

Next Sunday, February 26, 2006 - PRIDE 31

Fight Card

Mark Hunt vs. Yosuke Nishijima
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman
Josh Barnett vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Alistair Overeem
Mario Sperry vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Yoon Dong Sik
Pedro Rizzo vs. Roman Zentsov
Fabricio Werdum vs. Jon Olav Einemo

And just added on the 13th.... Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Should be a great card, PRIDE puts on a damn good show.


Then in two weeks!!!!!!! UFC 58 USA vs CANADA

Fight Card

Rich Franklin Vs. David Loiseau
Georges St. Pierre Vs. BJ Penn
Nate Marquardt Vs. Joe Doerksen
Mike Swick Vs. Steve Vigneault
Yves Edwards Vs. Mark Hominick
Kenny Florian Vs. Sam Stout
Rob MacDonald Vs. Jason Lambert
Tom Murphy Vs. Christophe Midoux
Diego Sanchez Vs. John Alessio

What a night this will be. We've got some talent on this card and I am excited. The biggest question will be who's fights are gonna be left off, none I hope.

A big thank you to Dana White for listnening to me and bringing back the Lightweights to the UFC. I know that others were calling for the return also, but I just had to sit him down and tell him how it was, so finally he listened! Yves Edwards is one of my favorite fighters to watch in the ring, exciting stuff coming our way in the next 2 weeks.

UFC 57 - The Results

What a great night of fights the day before the Superbowl. I went 4-5 on my predictions for one of my worst nights in a while. I did choose 2 fights that I considered underdogs just because I like the fighter but hey, you gotta go for your boys sometimes.

Keith Jardine over Mike Whitehead by unanimous decision. (L)

Jeff Monson over Brandon Lee Hinkle by TKO (choke) in round 1. (W)

Paul Buentello over Gilbert Aldana by TKO (strikes) in round 2. (L)

Alessio Sakara over Elvis Sinosic by unanimous decision. (W)

Joe Riggs over Nick Diaz by unanimous decision. (L)

Renato Sobral "babalu" over Mike Van Arsdale by submission (RNC) in round 1. (W)

Marcio Cruz over Frank Mir by TKO (ref stoppage due to strikes) in round 1. (L)

Brandon Vera over Justin Eilers by KO in round 1. (W)

Chuck Liddell over Randy Couture by KO in round 1. (L)



They did end up showing 7 of the 9 fights with so many 1st round KO's and TKO's.

The showed opened up with Diaz and Riggs. Diaz dominated the 1st round and Riggs just looked to tired to continue. They reported before the fight that after weighing in at 169 Riggs stepped into the ring just over 200 pounds. He put back on 30 pounds of water weight over night. Any former wrestlers out there know that this in unbelieveable. Most guys will dry out before the fight and come in 10-12 pound heavier. 30 is ridiculous. Although Diaz seemed to be the one with the energy the entire time Riggs was landing shots and countering well while moving backward. Riggs controlled the 2nd round and had an edge in the 3rd to get the unanimous decision.

Babalu then stepped into the ring with Mike Van Arsdale. Babalu controlled this fight easily. They traded a couple punches and thenwent to the ground. It didn't take Babalu much time to take Van Arsdale's back and start working for the choke. As soon as it was sunk the tap came from Van Arsdale and Babalu immediately climbed the cage and asked the crowd where his belt was. He is calling out Chuck Liddell, he wants his title shot. Which he will get probably in August of later of this year.

Frank Mir's return was a dissapointing one no doubt. He looked to be in better shape than we've seen him physically. Mentally he might still have some work to do. He started out strong and controlled the action. After a takedown Mir found himself on to but was quickly reversed. Cruz landed a big punch which cut Mir over the eye, followed that up with some elbows that opened the cut more. The fight was allowed to continue but Mir just couldn't see and ultimately could not defend himself with all the blood in his eyes. He assured his fans that he would go back to the drawing board and return.

Brandon Vera easily defeated Justin Eilers with a nasty kick to the head in the 1st round. Eilers came out swinging for the fences as usual, Vera moved well and let that first flurry die down and then began to work. The left high kick sent Eilers staggering inthe center of the ring. Vera then charged in which turned out the lights on Eilers and sent him face 1st into the canvas. Eilers was able to leave the ring on his own a few minutes after the fight. Vera will definately be someone to watch out for in the heavyweight division. He may have just aligned him self for a number 1 contenders match with Cruz after Mir's loss. Arlovsky will take on Sylvia in April and then it may be time for one of these 2 (Cruz and Vera) to get their chance against the winner.

Chuck Liddel and Randy Couture, what can you say, the best of the best. Both came out in tremendous shape, Randy was supposed to have new game plan for Chuck. I was a little dissapointed that he didn't attempt the takedowns and try to frustrate Chuck. He actually looked a little old and slow out there. Chuck's confidence was high and he just countered away at Randy. He landed a big punch that backed Randy off in the 1st, Randy was then able to take him down and basically hold on to make it to the end of the round. Coming out into the 2nd round Randy kept throwing his left jab and everyone could see that chuck was waiting to land the counter right hand. When Chuck did, Randy went down and the fight was over.

After the fight Chuck announced where he was going to party and Randy announced that he would not fight again. At 43 years old I think that is a good decision for him. He's done just about everything that a fighter can do in the UFC. He has nothing to prove to anyone and will be inducted into the hall of fame as soon as he is eligible.


Since so many of the fights were short they had time to go back and show Paul Buentello and Gilbert Aldana duke it out for just over a round. I like this Aldana kid, he gassed early and wasn't in the kind of shape he needed to be inbut he can definately throw and take a punch. I'd like to see him drop about 25-30 pounds and fight at 235. They also showed Jeff Monson control Brandon Lee Hinkle for a round and ultimately put him to sleep with a choke at the end of the 1st round. After Hinkle woke up he didn't realize what happened and wanted to continue to fight.

UFC 57 - Couture vs Liddell 3

OK, it took me longer than I thought to get the rest of my predictions lined up but here goes. As I stated before this should be a big night of fights and I'm getting extremely excited. Click on any of the links for the Sherdog fighter profiles.

The next match will be Brandon Vera VS Justin Eilers which I have learned will take place just before the Main Event.


Justin Eilers

Eilers comes in at 9-4-1, his losses to Arlovsky and Buentello were quick 1st rounds knockouts from 2 heavy hitters. He's racked up his 9 victories against several middle tier fighters.


Brandon Vera

Vera come in at 5-0, this will be his 1st PPV. He holds a victory you may have seen at the UFC's Ultimate Fight Night 2. I look for Vera to come out and try to push the pace, I feel Eilers will not be well conditioned. He's not the type to go late into fights. I call a victory for Vera.

Alessio Sakara VS. Elvis Sinosic


Alessio Sakara

Sakara is a Jui Jitsu practitioner who will try to gain back some reputation after a no contest due to a kick to the groin (OUCH!) at UFC 55. He was the kicker, not the kickee.


Elvis Sinosic

Sinosic has had some trouble in the UFC. At 55 he lost to Forrest Griffin. He has also posted losses to Evan Tanner, Babalu and Tito Ortiz. His lone UFC victory came over Jeremy Horn. don't let that 6-8 record fool you. Those 5 fights I've mentioned come against some top tier fighters. This should be a good fight, I thnk Sinosic will want to keep this one on his feet to be successful. As for a prediction I don't think he will keep it in a stand up battle so I'll pick Sakara.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral VS. Mike Van Arsdale


Babalu

Babalu's 5 losses come at the hands of Chuck Liddel, Kevin Randleman, Dan Henderson, Fedor Emelianenko, and Valentijn Overeem. 3 of those 5 guys are current champs. Babalu has been around the block, he's a dangerous striker and has a ground game to match.


Mike Van Arsdale

Van Arsdale's 2 losses come at the hands of Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva. 1 curent champ and one 2 time former champ. He is a great wrestler whose learned the submission game. So what am I saying by listing these guys losses? They are both pretty damn good! I like Babalu and hope he wins so that's my prediction. This could be the fight of the evening if the Couture and Liddell fight ends in a quick KO. Don't miss this one, it'll be a keeper.

Frank Mir VS. Marcio Cruz


Frank Mir

Mir is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He earned his title by defeating big man Tim Sylvia with an armbar in the 1st round. If you've been listening to me and following the Unleashed series on Spike TV you may remember this fight, Mir broke Sylvia's arm but Sylvia wanted to keep going. Shortly after that fight it was anticipated that he and Andrei Arlovsky would clash. A motorcycle accident has sidelined him for almost 2 years now. If he gets through this fight with flying colors and Arlovsky can defeat Sylvia again in May they will more than likely meet up this fall for a long awaited title fight. As Mir never technically lost his belt that will be a very hyped up fight.


Marcio Cruz

Cruz only has 1 MMA fight under his belt. This is not a good formula for success against someone like Mir. This is purely a warm up fight for Mir and barring some miracle Mir should win easily. The only other thing that may play a factor is the broken leg of Mir. If for some reason that has not fully healed it could spell danger. Short of that I don't look for this to be anything but an exhibition of Mir's grappling talents.

Are ya ready? Are ya really really ready?????

IT'S THE BIG ONE

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell VS. Randy "The Natural" Couture


The Iceman

Chuck Liddell, if you didn't already know, is the most feared striker in MMA. His last 8 fights have ended in a KO, him or them. Usually them! His Kenpo background, unorthadox boxing and his freakish ability to not be taken down make him one of, if not THE, best in the business. Liddell is a great fighter who seemed to just be out worked by Couture in their 1st fight. Couture would box a little, take him down and box a little more. He finally fell in the 3rd round when he could not continue. Liddell has since said that he wasn't in the kind of shape he needed to be in. Liddell really never landed a good punch on Couture and was pretty much dominated the whole fight. I think that it was the threat of getting taken to the mat and the constant getting up that took away his game plan. If Liddell wants to retain the title that he earned wtih a victory over Couture he will need to land another one of those big punches!


The Natural

Couture is the most decorated fighter in UFC history. He's won belts in 2 weight classes and fought just about every name in the business. He's been in 15 UFC's dating back to 1997. Winning 11 of those 15. Couture, a 43 year old, is known for his world class wrestling, dirty boxing and his unrivaled conditioning. Couture is also a great fighter. In thier 2nd fight he got off balance and didn't protect himself when coming off the cage, Liddell landed a big punch a knocked him out cold. Liddell will do that from time to time, he's pretty good. Couture has since said that his mind was not fully focused on the fight, he was going through a divorce at the time.

Both fighters have a victory, both fighters have a loss. The only thing to do is have a rubber match. I think this whole fight boils down to how Randy Couture fights. If Couture tries to box with Liddell and stands up with him the whole fight Chuck will land that big punch again and will knock him out again. He is that good. In fact, he's the best. However, if Randy accepts the fact that Chuck is better and uses his wrestling skills to take him down I think that gives him the opportunity to out box Chuck like their 1st fight. He has to attempt the take downs to open Chuck up a little, he can't just box with him. The frustrating thing about taking Chuck down is that he just gets up. No one really knows how he has the ability to do it, he just does. Couture, with his wrestling skills, may be able to get and keep anyone in the world down except Chuck. It's strange but true.

Chuck is going to be Chuck. He's going to go in there, defend any take downs and look for that big punch. If he lands it, that's it. If Couture does begin taking him down he will get up, he just has to remain patient and let that part of the game take place without letting it effect him.

The Prediction - Randy "The Natural" Couture. Come on, you knew I was gonna go with the Oregon boy. I think Randy is smart enough to understand what his mistake was and try to do everything to prevent it again. Chuck can always land that punch though so the excitement will be there.

All in all I would like to see Randy win because he probably wont be around much longer. Chuck, if he looses, will be back again. He'll be around a while. I'd like to see Randy go out in style and on top.

OK that's it, happy UFC'ing.