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.
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.
posted by Bruceleeroy at 11:38 AM
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