UFC 64 Preliminary Review

Wow, where to start? How about "Down Goes Franklin! Down Goes Franklin!" The things I never thought I'd see, I saw. Rich Franklin goes down in under three minutes after a series of vicious knees at the hands of now-middleweight champ Anderson "The Spider" Silva. Also, Sean Sherk beat Kenny Florian stupid, despite a nasty cut on his forehead. So much for the UFC lightweight poster boy.

A more complete review will follow, but this will have to do for now.

UFC 64 Preview

Alright, it's that time again. Pay Per View time. This one looks quite promising, at least as far as the title matches go. But, let's get right into it.

Kurt Pellegrino (8-2) VS Junior Assuncao (4-1)

Pellegrino made his UFC debut at UFC 61 against Drew Fickett and lost via choke. He's an accomplished wrestler and jujitsu fighter; he's qualified for Abu Dhabi 2007 and has held a few minor titles. He loves to use takedowns and work from the ground, finishing 6 fights by submission. Look for him to go to the ground early and often.

Assuncao is making his UFC debut. He's a jujitsu fighter with a capoeira background. He's still relatively new to MMA with only 5 fights under his belt but seems confident in himself. Conditioning could be an issue for the UFC newcomer, with none of his fights leaving the first round.

Justin James (11-5) VS Clay Guida (20-6)

On paper, this looks like a great matchup between two vets, though both are making their UFC debuts. Justin James is a well rounded fighter with great submissions; he loves to use armbars. Unfortunately, submissions are also his weakness. All 5 professional losses have come via tapout. Though I wouldn't call him a one-trick pony either. 2 submissions wins of his came via strikes and he also holds a knockout victory over Danny Jung.

Clay Guida is fighting with Team Hellhouse out of Chicago with a lot of other lightweights. He a great wrestler with decent standup. With 10 submission wins to his credit, he's certainly not to be discounted on the ground. This fight will be his sixth this year, which begs the question: What kind of shape is he going to be in? Hopefully he's ready for the big stage.

Kalib Starnes (7-0-1) VS Yushin Okami (17-3)

Canadian Kalib Starnes is a TUF veteran with wins over Danny Abaddi and Jason Macdonald (who just choked out Ed Herman on Tuesday). This will be his second match in the octagon and he hopes to continue his 7-fight win streak. Starnes trains with 1996 Canadian Olympic wrestler Colin Daynes and has trained at the Gracie Academy in California. Watch for Starnes to go for the submission victory early.

Okami is making his second UFC appearance after defeating Alan Belcher at UFC 62 back in August by unanimous decision. Okami was the 3-ranked Pancrase fighter for a time and was a 2003 Japanese qualifier for Abu Dhabi. Yushin is a training partner of UFC and PRIDE vet Caol Uno. Conditioning doesn't seem to be a problem for Okami, with many of his fights going the distance.

Keith Jardine (11-2-1) VS Mike Nickels (4-1)

Keith Jardine will be making his 4th appearance in the octagon, coming off a decision win against Wilson Gouveia at the TUF 3 finale. Jardine holds an octagon win over Miletich heavyweight (now light heavyweight) Mike Whitehead. A King of the Cage veteran, Jardine is an excellent striker, knocking out 3 opponents and stopping 2 more. He is a gaidojutsu black belt under Greg Jackson and teammate of Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez. Look for Keith to try and bang out a decision over Nickels.

Mike Nickels is a big guy for a light heavyweight, standing 6' 4". Nickels made his official octagon debut at the TUF 3 finale, defeating Wes "The Soldier" Combs by rear naked choke in the first round. He also holds a submission win over TUF quitter Noah Inhofer. The Grappler's Quest gold medalist also holds a purple belt in Machado jiu-jitsu. Look for Nickels to try and sub Jardine early.

Spencer Fisher (18-2) VS Dan Lauzon (3-0)

Spencer Fisher is one of Miletich's top welterweights (behind Matt Hughes, of course). This will be Fisher's 6th fight in the octagon and his 5th fight this year. He holds wins over Thiago Alves, Matt Wiman, Josh "The Dentist" Neer and Aaron Riley. This should be a textbook Miletich game plan for Fisher. Lots of hard takedowns and strong-arm boxing. This is a bad matchup for Lauzon in his UFC debut.

Dan Lauzon is a submission fighter, will all professional fights being won by tapout to chokes. Not much is really known about Lauzon, but I don't think he stands much of a chance against the more experienced Fisher.

Cheick Kongo (9-2-1) VS Carmelo Marrero (5-0)

Kongo is pounding his way up the UFC heavyweight pecking order. Literally. He stopped Gilbert Aldana because he beat him up till the doctor's wouldn't let Aldana fight anymore, then he kneed Christian Wellisch until he was unconscious. Kongo is a deadly striker with 5 KOs to his credit. The guy has been training since he was 5 years old. Kongo is obviously going to try to continue his winning ways by knocking Marrero out.

Marrero is a relative MMA newcomer and drew the short straw for his UFC debut. He is a ground and pound artist with some submission skills to boot, but he make have a tough time taking the taller Kongo down. If he can, he just might have a chance.

Jon Fitch (11-2) VS Kuniyoshi Hironaka (10-2)

Fitch is making his fourth UFC appearance, with 3 wins including an upset victory over TUF vet Josh Burkman. He's also defeated UFC vet Shonie Carter and is on a 10-fight win streak. He's an accomplished wrestler with a purple belt in jiujitsu under Dave Camarillo. Look for Fitch to take down and pound out. If it comes to a decision, Fitch's conditioning could carry him through that, as well.

Hironaka is making his UFC debut. The Shooto veteran holds victories over UFC vets Nick Diaz and Renato "Charuto" Verissimo and has also submitted Team Quest's Ryan "The Lion" Shultz. He's a very well-rounded fighter, with wins coming from many different avenues. His strengths seem to match up well with Fitch's. This should make for an interesting fight.

Sean Sherk (30-2-1) VS Kenny Florian (4-2) (Lightweight Title match)

Sean Sherk is an incredibly tough fighter, whose only loses are to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. He holds victories over Karo Parisyan (twice), Benji Radach, Jutaro Nakao and Nick Diaz. He's an excellent wrestler with great conditioning and he's wicked-strong to boot. You can pack a lot of muscle on when you're only 5' 9". Florian is going to be in for one hell of a ground match.

Kenny Florian is the UFC's lightweight poster boy. He's got victories over Kit Cope, Team Tompkins striker Sam Stout and TUF 1 vet Alex Karalexis. He's a Brazilian jiujitsu black belt with a laundry list of jiu-jitsu titles. But he's never faced anyone with as many wins as Sherk. Ken-Flo might be in trouble here.


MAIN EVENT
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Alright, here's the one you've been waiting for. Now, I know a lot of people are wondering "How the hell does Anderson Silva get a title shot with only 1 win the octagon?" Well, Chris Leben was supposedly the number 1 contender to the middleweight crown and, like Rick Flair says, to be the man, you gotta beat the man. Anderson Silva did just that, knocking out Leben in a fairly quick fashion. Here goes.

Rich Franklin (20-1) VS Anderson Silva (16-4)

Rich is the middleweight champ for a reason. He's a damn good fighter. He's beaten journeyman Evan Tanner twice, he broke some bones beating up David Loiseau and he make Nate Quarry fall like a tree in the forest (only problem for Quarry was everyone was around to hear it). But, I think this is Rich's toughest title defense to date. It's certainly the most dangerous striker he's faced while in the middleweight throne. Franklin's strategy is simple; if Silva's getting the better of the striking, go to ground. Sound strategy, if you ask me.

Anderson Silva. Where do I start? He's a PRIDE vet with wins over Alexander Otsuka and Carlos Newton. But the rest of this Brazilian muay thai fighter's win record reads like a who's who of MMA. Jorge Rivera, Haytato Sakurai, Tony Fryklund, Jeremy Horn. The guy's pedigree is impressive. However, his ground game does seem to be the chink in the armour. Though, I don't know exactly how one would go about defending against a flying scissor heel hook (see PRIDE Shockwave 2005- Silva VS Chonan). He is, however, a BJJ black belt under Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera.

Honestly, in my far-from-expert opinion, I think Rich Franklin is in serious trouble.

Ortiz/Shamrock 3 Review

How's that for speed? It's 10pm EST as it type this. I don't think Joe Rogan's even done talking yet. Anyways, here she goes.

Matt Hamill VS Seth Petruzelli

Round 1: Hamill starts off by moving for a takedown, they work into a clinch on the cage. Petruzelli kicks Hamill and shoots in. Seth attempts a guillotine choke, but without much success. Petruzelli throws another kick, Matt catches it and takes him down. Petruzelli puts Hamill in full guard and Hamill starts with the Team Punishment textbook ground and pound. They move back to the feet and box a little. Petruzelli has a nice mouse under his that's really starting to swell up. Hamill shoots and takes Seth down, starting to work the elbows and trying to open up Petruzelli's eye. Hamill stuffs Petruzelli into the cage and round 1 ends.

Round 2: A bit of boxing starts off round 2, Petruzelli lands some smalls shots then a BIG kick that stuns Hamill. Matt takes Seth down to give himself time to recover. Petruzelli starts showing a more active guard than before. Eventually, Big John stands both fighters up. Hamill pushes Seth into the cage where Petruzelli boxes a little before being taken down and putting Hamill in his guard. Hamill really starts to work the ground and pound, working the injured eye of Petruzelli, end round 2.

Round 3: Petruzelli opens with kicks and Matt takes him down once again and into Seth's closed guard. Hamill keeps the ground and pound strategy going. Big John stands them both up. Seth gives Hamill a nice spin kick to the face and cuts him. Hamill takes Petruzelli down. Big John stops the action to check the cut on Petruzelli, which is getting much worse. Action resumes and Hamill scores and MASSIVE single leg takedown. A little more ground and pound and the third round ends.

DECISION: Hamill (Unanimous)

Ed Herman VS Jason Macdonald

Round 1: Macdonald clinches, Ed takes him down into guard, Jason sweeps to side control, they stand up, Ed takes him back down, lots of reversal of positions. Eventually, Macdonald ends up in Herman's half guard. Macdonald gets a triangle and armbar, then fully commits to the triangle choke, sinking it in really deep. Herman taps out.

Chris Price VS Kendall Grove

Round 1: Price comes out with a lot of fancy footwork. They clinch and Price starts to throw some knees. Grove takes him down and into a loose guard. Price throws some shots from the bottom but Grove works the ground and pound, dropping elbows from the top. Grove gets a footlock momentarily, but loses it. Grove gets price in a north-south position, then side control. Price gets on top but Kendall reverses and mounts right at the fence. Grove starts up the meat grinder and Price taps out to strikes.

MAIN EVENT
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I can't believe Tito Ortiz is dating Jenna Jameson. I really hate that dude...

Round 1: Tito clinches with Ken, muscling him to the fence and taking him down. Ken tries to stuff Tito's ground and pound, so Tito switches to body punches, eventually going back to elbows though. Ken gets a little more active from guard, but Tito knocks him out on the ground.

All in all, not a bad event. At only 4 fights, I'm glad I didn't pay money for it. Can't wait till Saturday and UFC 64. Look for the preview of that tomorrow sometime.

Ultimate Fight Nite- Ortiz/Shamrock 3 Preview

Ya, I know it's still a week away. Ya, I know I haven't posted a review for UFC 63. Ya, I know UFC 64 is in a week and a half. Lay off, will ya? If you want something done right, you gotta take the time to do it right. UFC 63 review will be finished this weekend, along with the Final Conflict Absolute Review. In the meantime, I hope this UFN preview will satisfy you MMA thirst for a few more days, bear with me here.

Marcus Davis (7-3) VS Forrest Petz (12-2)
This fight, honestly, who the hell cares? Marcus Davis hasn't fought anyone of any serious consequence, much less beat them. He got his clock cleaned in the Ultimate Fighter 2 and vowed never to return to the octagon. Liar. Forrest Petz, on the otherhand, is not a wishy-washy fighter. The guy holds a submission victory over PRIDE vet Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennet. If, by some miracle, this fight makes it to television, look for Davis to get ripped open like a tomato can.

Thiago Alves (8-3) VS John Alessio (17-8)
Here we go. This should be a great welterweight match. Alves comes from a great camp at American Top Team. Alessio is the much more experienced fighter with victories in PRIDE, King of the Cage and Superbrawl. After losing a decision to Diego Sanchez at UFC 60, Alessio took a minor fight in August, winning by submission. Alves is also coming of a loss in his last octagon appearance at Ultimate Fight Night 5. Should be an interesting fight. Look for Alessio to take the fight to the ground and try to TKO or sub Alves.

Rory Singer (9-5) VS Josh Haynes (7-6)
An all-TUF fight. This fight shows much promise as well, UFC match makers are finally doing their job. Singer is on a 2-fight win streak after losing to UFC-vet Dennis Hallman. Haynes, however, lost the finale match of TUF 3 to Michael Bisping. Haynes is now training with Team Quest, legendary camp of Matt Linland, Randy Couture, Chris Leben etc. Singer is a submission artist, with 6 wins coming by chokes or armbars. Haynes is no slouch with submissions either, with all 7 wins accredited to tapouts. This should be one great ground battle.

Tony DeSouza (9-2) VS Dustin Hazelett (7-2)
Two UFC debuts in the same fight, don't see that happen too often. These two submission artists should make for an interesting fight, but I doubt this will see television airtime since US crowds don't appreciate a good ground fight. It's a coin toss to predict the winner, so I won't even try.

Nathan Marquardt (21-6-2) VS TBA
...TBA with a week to go?! Oi. I take back everything I said about UFC match makers. At any rate, Marquardt is a former king of Pancrase with UFC wins over Canadians Ivan Salaverry and Joe Doerksen. Look for Marquardt to come into this fight in great shape, seeing as he hasn't fought since March. Who's gonna win? I have no idea... gee, wonder why THAT could be. NEXT.

Seth Petruzelli (5-2) VS Matt Hamill (1-0)
Umm... errr... I don't quite know what to say. Matt Hamill showed lots of promise on TUF 3, but his only confirmable MMA win came at the TUF 3 finale over fellow TUF 3 participant Jesse Forbes. Seth Petruzelli is coming of a win against Dan Severn. The problem with that: Dan Severn was 49 at the time of the fight and that fight was in January of 2004. Wait, you're telling me that a deaf guy with only 1 MMA fight is fighting a guy who hasn't fought in 2 years. YAWN.

Ed "Short Fuse" Herman (10-4) VS Jason Macdonald (16-7)
Now THIS is a fight. Short Fuse hails from the illustrious Team Quest and was one of their best fighters at 185 even before TUF3. Now, he gets to really prove his mettle in the octagon. Jason Macdonald is making his UFC debut and couldn't have drawn many worse opponents. But don't count Macdonald out. He is extremely dangerous with submission, with 14 wins coming from chokes and armlocks. Short Fuse's pedigree will hopefully prevail and the Team Quest textbook should serve him well. WAR Herman!! Should be a great fight to watch.

Kendall Grove (6-3) VS Chris Price (7-0)
Grove comes into this fight with a decision win over Ed Herman at the TUF3 finale. Price, however, is undefeated in his MMA career. Grove has been training lately with Team Punishment and Tito Ortiz, along with Rampage Jackson's camp. Very little is known about Price. Both fighters seem to be very well rounded. This could be a potentially interesting match. My vote goes to Grove. If he's good enough to beat Short Fuse, he's good enough to beat Price.

MAIN EVENT
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Tito Ortiz (14-4) VS Ken Shamrock (26-11-2)
This is what is known as beating a dead horse. Ken is one of the pioneers in the business and should be allowed to retire with some grace. I hope beyond all hope that he turns Tito Ortiz' face into a pulp, shuts that loud mouth up and retires with a win. Back to reality. Tito Ortiz is going to retire Ken Shamrock. This will most likely be Ken's 4th loss in a row and will definitely send him into the journeyman ranks. I feel really bad for Shamrock but give him a lot of credit for agreeing to do the fight, it shows a lot of character on his part. Enough said.

UFC 63 Review

Well, let me first start off by saying that this is one of the best Pay-Per-Views I have seen from the UFC in a LONG time. It's events like this that make me remember why I'm an MMA fan. That being said, there were a few upsets and I must admit I do have a fair bit of egg on my face, specifically with regards to the Jens Pulver/Joe Lauzon fight and the Rashad Evans/Jason Lambert fight and my apologies go out to Joe and Rashad. Now, let's begin the review.

Jens Pulver VS Joe Lauzon
Well, Lauzon came into this fight the underdog. Many people thought Pulver was going to dominate the rookie (myself included). Well, we were wrong. Lauzon is now officially a threat at 155, knocking out Pulver in 48 seconds of the first round. Not much to tell here. I think Lauzon might be the first challenger to the winner of the Florian/Sherk lightweight title match. Good job Joe, welcome back Jens.

Rashad Evans VS Jason Lambert
This was my other bad call of the night. Round starts and Evans goes for the takedown early. Lambert stuffs it well for a while, but eventually succumbs. Regaining his composure, Lambert stands back up only to be slammed back down by Evans. Down but not out, Lambert works the arm, looking for the Kimura, even with Evans in side-mount. Match goes back up to the feet and Evans scores another takedown. End of Round 1.

Round 2: Evans takes Lambert down quickly and is in Lambert's guard. Lambert makes a weak submission attempt, Evans secures the mount and pounds him to a 2:22 KO

...really weird.

Melvin Guillard VS Gabe Ruediger
One of the most promising competitors from TUF2, Guillard was the heavy favourite to win the fight. Round one starts with Guillard stuffing takedowns from Ruediger and finally takes him down. Back up on the feet, blows are exchanged and a short elbow from Guillard gives Ruediger some swelling under his eye. Guillard tries to stuff another takedown, but to no avail. Ruediger secures mount, Guillard gives up his back and Ruediger applies a rear naked choke, but not deep enough and not with enough time. Round ends!

Round 2: Guillard starts the stand up game off, ranging Ruediger with half-power punches. Two hard body shots connect, one shortly after the other and Ruediger goes down with the "just-bit-a-lemon" look on his face. Guillard follows up with a boot to the shoulder and the fight is stopped. KO victory Guillard.

Mike Swick VS David Loiseau
I wanted to see this fight almost as much as I wanted to see Hughes/Penn II. Two tough-as-nails strikers with vastly different styles. Swick has powerful hands, Loiseau had nasty elbows. At any rate, round one begins. Swick opens with a body kick, no real damage done. Both fighters continue to circle each other, seeming wary of the others’ striking ability and knowing that a knockout could come at any moment. Loiseau clinches into the cage, Swick responds with some lazy knees and Mazzagatti breaks them up. Swick fires off a volley, ending it with a high kick as Loiseau backs up. Swick opens up with a back kick and a body kick. Loiseau seems hesitant, but that soon fades as he swings at Swick. Lots of water-testing, trying out combos, lazy leg kicks. Swick again tees off, lots of punches, couple leg kicks. Loiseau responds with a hard left hook, Swick counters with a takedown into half-guard, passing into side control. Loiseau gives up his back, and then stands them up. Round 1 ends.

Round 2: Loiseau throws a rights, Swick gets into the pocket, lets a couple shots go and then taunts Loiseau as he backs up. A few jabs thrown, gauging distance. Swick sends out that back kick again, Loiseau backs right up, no real damage done. Loiseau throws out a couple of kicks, chipping away at Swick’s lead leg. Swick starts up with the leg kicks, but they don’t have nearly as much snap to them as Loiseau. Clinch, Swick throws some knees. Swick takes Loiseau down and into Loiseau’s half guard. Swick works some short body shots, lays a couple of shoulders in as commentator Randy Couture thinks Swick should be working more. Swick attempts some elbows, Loiseau stuffs them, end round 2.

Round 3: Loiseau comes out fast with a high kick that misses. Swick throws out with a volley, following up with a takedown when Loiseau responds. Loiseau scrambles around, eventually forcing them both up and into a clinch. Both back off and then clinch again. Loiseau seems to have found his groove and starts teeing off on Swick with elbows to the head, kicks and body punches, then takes him to the mat with the double underhooks. In a move that would seem more Team Quest from Loiseau, he stuffs Swick into the cages and opens up with elbows to the head. Standing clinch, ref splits them up. Several more short exchanges, followed by a Swick takedown. Round 3 ends.

DECISION: Swick (Unanimous)

MAIN EVENT

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Matt Hughes VS BJ Penn

…OH BOY! OH BOY! I’ve been waiting for this fight for a LONG time and now it’s finally happening. I couldn’t call this fight, it’s way too close. As much as I want Penn to take his title back, I also want Hughes to win so Georges St. Pierre can take it and avenge his only MMA loss. Here we go.

Round 1: They both circle, send out a couple testing punches, Hughes throws out a high kick that misses BJ’s head. Hughes shoots in and gets a hold of one of Penn’s legs. Hughes pulls a hopping Penn over to the fence, but Penn will not be taken down just yet. Hughes clinches, pinning the standing Penn into the cage with his shoulder. Penn feeds a couple of nice right hands to Hughes’ face, Hughes responding in kind and backing up. Hughes eats another right, then tries to take Penn down once again. Penn ends up sitting down on one leg in what looks like a pretty awkward and uncomfortable position, but Penn is quite flexible. Penn tries to get a more dominant ground position on Hughes. Penn attains north-south on Hughes, they both stand up. A little bit of boxing, Hughes gets a thumb in the eye by accident and the action stopped. Fight resumes with some clinch work, quick knees by both competitors. Hughes attempts another takedown, but it gets stuffed by BJ. With a little bit of boxing, round 1 ends.

Round 2: Hughes opens with a body kick, tries for a takedown but Penn sprawls. Hughes finally manages to take him down and sticks him into the cage. Hughes attempts a guard pass, not quite working for him. Penn works for an oma plata but Hughes powers out. Hughes starts to work a little more, connecting with a couple of elbows. Penn explodes with a sweep, taking Matt Hughes’ back and sinking in the hooks, working his legs into a figure-4 body lock around Hughes’ torso. Hughes rolls trying to loosen Penn, but Penn’s jiujitsu is too good. Penn locks a DEEP triangle choke with an armbar to boot. But the round ends right as Hughes is about to go to sleep. Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a fight. For the first time in almost 2 years, Matt Hughes is in serious danger.

Round 3: Hughes starts to let his hands go a bit, scoring a couple of nice combinations and a right hand down the pipe. Penn responds with a combo of his own and the pace of the third round seems to be quite high in the opening minute. Hughes scores a great left hook, Penn seems un-phased but at the same time is starting to show signs of fatigue. Hughes is really starting to get the better of the striking, teeing off with a couple of uppercuts and putting BJ on the mat. Hughes starts to pass BJ’s guard and gets into the half guard. Penn is looking exhausted. Hughes transitions into side control, locks Penn’s arm and gets crucifix position then starts to wail on Penn’s head. Big John McCarthy stops the fight at 3:53 of the 3^rd round.

…wow. All around great PPV. See you next time for the UFC 64 review.

UFC 63 Preview

Mike Swick takes on David "The Crow" Loiseau in his first UFC fight since his beating at the hands of Middleweight champ Rich Franklin back at UFC 58. This should be a great standup match. "Quick" Swick is a proven knockout artist, but Loiseau has an excellent jaw and won't be as easy to knock out as Gideon Ray. Loiseau has the striking advantage, I think, given is proficiency with kicks as well as punches. If the fight somehow makes it to the ground, look for "The Crow" to finish Swick with ground and pound.


Jason Lambert takes on TUF 2 Heavyweight winner Rashad Evans (now fighting at 205) who is coming of a tough decision win against Stephan Bonnar. Lambert is on a 8-fight win streak, with wins including UFC vets Marvin Eastman and Travis Wiuff. Evans, however, remains undefeated at 8 and 0 but has had a good deal of trouble finishing fights, with only 1 TKO and 2 submissions to his credit, and none of which were in the UFC. Watch Lambert take the fight to the ground and either pound Evans to a stoppage or submit him. If Evans wants to win this fight, he should keep it standing and pray for a decision.


Jens "Little Evil" Pulver makes his UFC return at 155Lbs against UFC newcomer Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon. Miletich top lightweight Pulver has been fighting in PRIDE in Japan for the last 2 years. His last fights have brought mixed results, with 3 wins and 2 loses in his last 5 fights. His last UFC win came over welterweight #1 contender B.J Penn. Don't count newbie Lauzon out, though. With 13 wins to his credit (11 by submission), he could make quite a name for himself in the UFC with an upset submission over "Little Evil". Lauzon will try to get to the ground early and submit as quickly as possible, but look for Pulver to try to pound out a TKO in typical Team Miletich style. This match could have serious lightweight title implications.


TUF 2 alum Melvin Guillard, now fighting at 155, takes on another lightweight rookie, Gabe Ruediger. Ruediger is a 3-time WEC lightweight champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt with 6 of his 10 wins coming from submissions. Guillard, on the other hand, is a consumate striker, pounding 13 of 20 wins to a TKO finish. This match would seem to be the classic striker VS grappler. Who will come out on top? Conditioning may be the deciding issue, with Guillard having 4 decision losses and Ruediger never having lost a decision.


The undercard is a myriad of no-name fighters trying to make a name for themselves, save an all-TUF lightweight match between TUF 3's Danny Abbadi and Rich Franklin's training partner (and TUF 2 participant) Jorge Gurgel. Look for Gurgel (9-2) to dominate the inexperienced Abbadi (2-2). Gurgel is a submission artists, with all 9 professional wins coming from tap-outs.

MAIN EVENT: Hughes VS Penn
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A rematch of Matt Hughes' last UFC loss, this match pitts the current 2-time welterweight champ against the last man to take that belt from him: "The Prodigy" B.J Penn. It was UFC 46 when Penn submitted Hughes with a rear-naked choke. How much has changed since then? Well, Matt Hughes has gone undefeated against some tough competition and, with the exception of his fluke-win against Georges St. Pierre, has dominated all opponents. Hughes latest victim was UFC legend Royce Gracie. Penn on the other hand, hasn't been nearly as successful, losing to Ryoto Machida and a close decision to Georges St. Pierre in "The Prodigy"'s UFC comeback. Will this be the same fight? Hughes' jiu-jitsu is still nowhere near the level of Penn's, but his striking is superior. Penn's best bet is to try to take Hughes down and submit him once again, but Hughes' takedown defence is second only to maybe Chuck Liddell. Watch for Hughes to try to pound Penn to a stoppage.

...and that's how it is cuz Commander X said so.

First Post!

Welcome to Commander X's Big Blog of MMA. I am Commander X, good evening. This is a blog created with the intention of posting my opinions, thoughts, previews and reviews on the world of MMA. The first preview will be posted shortly. So, fellow MMA fans, enjoy!