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UFC 99

Is it just me or does Rich Franklin Main Event all the overseas shows?
Well we've made it to another event and I for one am so jacked up for this, Im like Lindsay Lohan after a night out on the town. Or for fight fans I'm as jacked up as Rich's nose after the first Anderson fight. This is a pretty strong card so lets get into it...

CroCop vs Mustapha Al-Turk

This has highlight reel knockout written all over it. CroCop has something to prove after that piss poor performance he had in his last run with UFC. I hope Dana White only signed him to a one fight deal because if he loses to Al-Turk it's over for him. Im not saying Al-Turk isnt any good Im just sayin if he beats CroCop Ill shit my pants...then Ill eat it!

CroCop by KO/TKO

Marcus Davis vs Dan Hardy

We all know there is bad blood here between the two, So I expect nothing less then a K1 fight. No seriously these guys are gonna stand and bang the hell out of each other. Neither guy has ever been knocked out so we could get 15 minutes of two dudes beating the hell out of each other. If you dont know about the bad blood Hardy called Davis a fake Irishmen and then encouraging fans to post photoshopped pics of Davis in homosexual situations. I tried to make a picture of him blowing Darth Vader but my skill level just isnt that good.

Davis by Decision

Mike Swick vs Ben Saunders

I think Saunders is gonna be outclassed here. Swick is a seasoned pro inside the octagon and has faced a higher caliber of competition. I like Saunders but he may have bit off a little more then he can chew. I for the life of me will never understand why these fighters are so eager to get in their with top flight guys so fast. i know there is a lot of money invovled but if you look at the long run instead of the short, most guys would benefit from more fights in the cage. I mean, I didnt just jump in the deep end of the pool my first time I got in the shallow end, and got my learn on. All Im saying is give a guy 2 or 3 years worth of fights before he steps up to the upper echelon of fighters.

Swick by KO/TKO

Cain Velasquez vs Cheick Kongo

Cain is the perfect example if he beats Kongo they will probably have him in with the champ within his next two fights. If he loses he takes a huge hit with fans and self esteem why not let the guy get some on the job experience that way when he gets his title shot, he's been in those wars and he knows what to do.
Now about the fight Bottom line is Cain is a beast. He's a beast on the ground he's a beast on his feet. Kongo is a stud too, but the fact is where ever Cain wants this fight to take place is where this fight is gonna take place. If Kongo is winning the stand up battle Cain takes him down. Im sorry but this fight is gonna be like a big ass sign saying Cain has arrived and you guys better start paying attention.

Cain by KO/TKO

and now

The Main Event

Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva

This fight is an MMA fans wet dream. ManBeast brawler vs Cyborg striker(rich played a cyborg in his movie Cyborg Soldier). I think this fight comes down to who lands the big shot first. Can Rich withstand Silva's clinch? It may be better than Anderson's(ask Rampage). Can Rich land one of those laser guided missles to Wand's chin? Honestly this fight is a coin flip if you ask me it could go either way. So I have to make my picks for selfish reasons. Dana said if Wand wins he may get the next shot at Anderson, and if this fight is an mma fans wet dream Silva vs Silva is a real live threesome. All I know is you better get your popcorn ready and dont blink because this fight is gonna be the BALLS.

Silva by KO/TKO

An open letter to Matt Hughes

Dear Mr. Hughes,

Did you or did you not tell Robbie Lawler that getting choked out is first day stuff, after his loss to Jake Shields. Frankly you dont have a hair on your ass unless you did. If you did.... You obviously do have hair on your ass.



Thanks Sincerely,
Pardon The MMA


Im trying to find video of Hughes saying that getting choked out is first day stuff on TUF.

Recap of Strikeforce

I wanna first start off by saying that if Matt Hughes didnt get in Lawlers face and tell him that he shouldnt be getting choked out, "cuz thats first day stuff right there." Then he is a bigger asshole then I thought. I'll never forget the time he got pissed at one of his guys on TUF for getting choked out. Now if he did tell Robbie that then my hat is off to him.

Anyways all and all I thought it was a good card. Most of the fights went the way I thought they would.

SPOILERS BELOW




Randleman vs Whitehead
Nothing special here I think Whitehead could develop into a nice gatekeeper at 205 similar to what Clay Guida is to 155. There really isnt that much to say about this fight it was what it was, a fight that was only on TV cuz the guys had name recognition.

Riggs vs Baroni
Not a bad fight Baroni looked to be in great shape but I believe the better fighter won Riggs has more upside here and if he could get his head on right could be a force at 170. You can watch the fight here.

Diaz vs Smith
I wonder to myself if Dana regrets letting these two guys get away. Diaz is a top guy for Strikeforce and Smith is a show stealer. These guys did not disappoint. The fight was great but in the end Diaz superior skill won out. I know Diaz acts like a dick in the cage, But he is a stud and I wouldnt be suprised to see him take the title off Robbie Lawler before the end of the year. You can check the fight out here.

Arlovski vs Rogers
So going into the fight we all knew someone was gonna get knocked out, and this fight didnt disappoint. You gotta wonder after this fight is Arklovski done? If he is to continue fighting he is gonna have to drastically change his style. The guy has a strong sambo background(FYI so does a guy named Fedor). If he wants to become relevant again he is gonna have to start using takedowns and dropping bombs from the top. On the other hand this was a great win for Rogers. I could see his next fight being against Buentello with the winner getting Overeem. You can watch Arlovski vs Rogers here.

Lawler vs Shields
there isnt much to say here Robbie was winning the fight and most like would have won a decision if he had not made a pretty unforgivable mistake. Shields gutted it out here and stayed focused and when the time came he clamped on and finished the fight. It was a good win for Shields but not a pretty one, To be effective he is gonna need to stay at 170. With that Strikeforce needs to get him some competition at 170. You can watch the fight here.


All in all a good card. Id like to see them get Cung Le in the cage soon, but this was definitely a good showing by Strikeforce.

Doing what I meant to do

Okay my idea with starting this was giving a straight forward no B.S. opinion. Then I started righting and spewing all this crap about records and this and That, and that is not what I meant to do.

The following is what I meant to do.

Strikeforce: June 6th

This card is chalk full of names and I'm totally jacked about checking it out.

Kevin Randleman vs. Mike Whitehead

Lets everyone be honest here these guys are on the card for their name recognition and thats about it. I mean Randleman has been relevant since he KO CroCop and then promptly lost his next fight to Fedor so really he hasn't been relevant since he slipped and KO'd himself before a UFC Heavyweight Title Fight. Dont get me started on Whitehead, The guy got on TUF because of Matt Hughes and then Promptly put up a Stinker, After Hughes had done nothing but suck him off the whole season. If you look at his record the guy has never been able to perform on the big stage. I mean you might as well call this the Dana White Cast off fight. That being Said Randleman wants the fight on the ground and most likely considering Randleman frequent losses due to subs so does Whitehead. This match could be a stinker or a barn burner if both guys are afraid of the others ground prowess and decide to keep it standing.

Whitehead by Decision

Joe Riggs vs Phil Baroni

Both guys have tons of power and both guys like to bang so this could be a crowd pleaser, but lets be serious if you changed these dudes names to Joe Smith vs. Phil Ross this fight wouldn't be sniffing a Strikeforce card. Both guys are basically irrelevant at this point, but a win here could be a big boost to one and just another blemish on an already ugly resume for the other.

Diesel by KO

Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith

Wow. I mean what else can you say about a fight like this Diaz always seems to rise to the occasion, i mean his fight with Gomi was a classic and He just put away a former P4P #1. Obviously Shamrock was a little past that point, But it was still pretty damn impressive. Now he goes up against Smith who is a fight of the night candidate every time he fights. Nick has the edge in the ground game and striking but Smith has more power. This will end up a war and maybe a candidate for fight of the y
year.

Diaz wins but I have no clue how.

Brett Rogers vs. Andrei Arlovski

Someone is gonna get knocked out and the weaker chin here has got to be Arlovski.
I know Rogers hasn't seen much top flight competition I think his power will be to much for the glass jawed dude with the fangs. Bottom line is this fight will be a crowd pleaser.

Rogers by KO

And now....

The Main Event

Robbie Lawler vs Jake Shields

I'm really not sure which way to go here obviously Lawler has the edge standing and Shields does on the ground. The question here become who can impose their will on the other. Lawlers weight advantage here could be a huge asset to him he obviously come from a camp with guys who can give him a good test at staying on his feet. Sheilds is great but can you really say to me his takedown skills are gonna be better than a guy like Matt Hughes. In the end the weight advantage will be to much. Either way I say Diaz gets the winner in a title fight.

Lawler by TKO

so there it is, let me know what you think, and will be back with a review of the show and my picks after the weekend. don't forget we also get WEC on Sunday where Uriah trys to regain his title.

Strike Force: June 6th

As any real MMA fan knows there is a monster card coming up this weekend, and the best part is it's free. So lets break down the main card

Kevin Randleman VS Mike Whitehead

Both men are coming off pretty lengthy sabbaticals from the fight game, Randleman hasn't fought since 5/2008 and Whitehead since 10/2008. the truth is this fight has all the ingredients of a snooze fest. However We could also see a nice stand up battle with each guys wrestling abilities cancel the others out. Each guy has 5 KO's on their record. With the most notable being Randleman's Flash KO of Cro Cop in early 2004. Whitehead seems to have a habit of coming up short in his biggest fights and well Randleman has lost 7 of his last 10 fights. In the end Randleman's long layoff and lack of submission defense is gonna be his downfall.

Whitehead by Submission.

Joe Riggs vs. Phil Baroni


At one time both of these guys were considered top contenders in the UFC. Oh how the times of changed. Baroni hasn't fought in the UFC since 2005 and hasn't won a meaningful fight since Pride 32. Sure he's won his last three fights, but they were all against guys with losing records and his last fight went to a decision against a guy whose record was 8-11. Riggs has alternated wins in losses in his last five fights and hasn't shown the potential everyone including Dana White thought he had since a hard fought victory over Nick Diaz at UFC 57. Even after all that this fight could steal the show. Someone is definitely gonna get knocked out. I think Baroni has been in more wars and probably has more power but that being said those wars may have taken their toll.

Riggs by KO