Hey, back again to discuss some recently announced fights and get us up to date, particularly the Nogueira brothers vs. Cain & Cane. So, without further ado:
Antonio Rodridgo 'Minotauro' Nogueira (32-5-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (7-0) - UFC 108
I haven't loved and hated a fight in equal measure this much since Wanderlei Silva fought Chuck Liddell. I love the match-making here, the winner is the undeniable number one contender to Brock Lesnar, whether or not he fights Shane Carwin. Not to mention the styles make a great fight, as the BJJ technical wizard faces the aggressive wrestler while both have more than competent stand-up. However I hate the fact that, barring an unlikely draw, one of those guys is going to lose. From Minotauro's position, a loss doesn't affect him too much, as he slots straight back into a rematch with Frank Mir in summer 2010. But Big Nog vs. Lesnar is for me, the undisputed big fight at heavyweight in the UFC, worldwide too barring Fedor vs. Lesnar. I want to see that fight more than Shogun vs. Machida II, more than Evans vs. Rampage and more than Belfort vs. Silva. It's a dream fight that I'd love to see made on the grandest stage while both men are at the top end of the division. But then we have Velasquz who, of the two Cain trains I'm looking at today, I'm more likely to be found riding. One of the last top end undefeated fighters in all of MMA currently, Velasquez is aggressive and looks to finish the fight, two admirable qualities in any fighter.
I hate picking this fight, but for me, it's a case of Velasquez riding a decision or Nogueira catching a submission, similar to the Randy Couture fight. Big Nog won't be able to buck the heavier, more compact Velasquez like he could Couture, but Cain is also less experienced, so could be susceptible to Minotauro's elite level BJJ. Plus he can struggle to finish. I like them both, but I think Nogueira is going to win, with Cain coming back stronger than ever en route to an eventual title shot.
Antonio Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira (17-3) vs. Luiz Arthur Cane (10-1) - UFC 106
Finally Lil' Nog gets the chance to shine in the UFC on a stacked UFC 106 card. Cane will be no pushover however and I can see this going to a decision. It'll come down to how well Nogueira can adapt to the cage and dictate where the fight goes, because 15 minutes on the feet favours Cane. I think it's a close decision win for Nogueira, perhaps by split decision and so obviously I wouldn't be surprised to see Cane take the W.
More interestingly are the implications for both fighters afterwards. It wouldn't surprise me to see the winner of this fight being matched with the winner of the main event (Griffin vs. Ortiz) and vice versa for the loser. I think that could mean Nogueira vs. Griffin for a title opportunity at 205lbs and Cane vs. Griffin in a relevancy battle. I would throw Rashad Evans in there, but I'm pretty sure his next fight after Thiago Silva will be against a returning 'Rampage' Jackson, not to mention the bout with Silva is far from a foregone conclusion.
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic (25-7-2) vs. 'Big' Ben Rothwell (30-7) - UFC 110
Did I just mention a relevancy battle? I think we've got another one here. It's hard to believe that just a few years after being one of the top heavyweights on the planet, Cro Cop is being shipped off to Australia for his next fight, and it's not even the co-main event. Obviously there's more to it than that, kick boxing has a pretty big following down under so it's no surprise they stick one of it's biggest legends on the card.
As for the fight, everytime Cro Cop steps into the cage I predict a win and I'm doing it here. Not because Cro Cop is going to be back to his best, but because it's sad to see him lose. No knock to Ben Rothwell, but if Cro Cop loses this one, I'd say he at least needs to look at a move to 205lbs. Unfortunately if he is beaten again, there'll be the calls for his retirement, which is just depressing to see. If Rothwell wins, he'll probably get matched up against Velasquez again, which is bad for him. If he loses, he'll see out his contract on the pre-lims and that could be that. Again, bad for him.
Cung Le (6-0) vs. Scott Smith (16-6) - Strikeforce: Evolution
Like Jake Shields said, this certainly could be interpreted as Cung Le ducking him, but I think it's more like Scott Coker and Strikeforce protecting him. Shields vs. Le right now isn't the draw that Fedor vs. Rogers, Carano vs. Cyborg were, or the rumoured Mousasi vs. Henderson fight could be. Shields isn't a star right now, while Cung Le hasn't been seen for nearly two years. If I'm Strikeforce, I give Cung the chance of a highlight reel KO against Smith to put him in the fans heads, and Shields a fight that can make him look good, then have them clash in summer 2010, when Cung has his next film out the way. As for the fight, Cung Le has the educated feet and should win, but Smith could play spoiler with his heavy hands.
Nate Marquadt (29-8-2) vs. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) - UFC 110
Two fighters squaring off, looking to try and tempt Anderson Silva into fighting one of them. Sorry, but I just can't see this leading to a new number one contender. As those that know me will testify, I'm not a Marquadt fan. I'll admit that the Maia KO was awesome, but that's about it. Like Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and others, he just doesn't do a lot for me. While I respect the rankings behind the sport, we also have to be realistic and draw the line between sport and business. Anyone who would pick Silva vs. Marquadt II over Silva vs. Belfort is either lying, or a complete purist and I salute you for it. The same goes for Chael Sonnen; I respect him massively as a fighter and for de-railing the 'Okami Title Shot' bandwagon, but if he were to challenge for the title, it just feels like a waste of what could be one of the last four fights of MMA's greatest ever fighter. Seriously, Silva vs. Sonnen? The co-main behind a GSP or Lesnar fight maybe, but it is in no way, shape or form a headliner.
So yeah, both talented guys (particularly Nate the Great), but this is just going to decide the best middleweight not about to get a title shot. If you can't see it or don't agree, look at the usually very vocal Dana White. You'd think he'd publically criticise a fighter for picking their fights, but when Anderson said he didn't want Hendo or Nate, there was silence. He sees the line between business and sport.
As a side note, I just can't believe the state of the middleweight division compared to a year ago. We had Silva the champ with contenders ranging from Maia to Bisping, Marquadt to Hendo, plus Okami among others. Now it's such a shallow division you can see the bottom.
Other News
Shinya Aoki to Strikeforce in 2010: There's been a lot of talk about Aoki to North America recently and Strikeforce definitely makes the most sense. The way I see it, Aoki is an excellent grappler, but wouldn't make it past round two with BJ Penn. The striking difference is just too much, whereas in Strikeforce he can face Melendez and Thompson, who'll provide him with obstacles that he can overcome.
Jorge Santiago is TKO'd at Sengoku 11th Battle: And here is why champions in non-title fights is complete nonsense. How is Santiago supposed to be taken seriously as the middleweight champ when he lost his last fight? It's a Japanese tradition that is sneaking into western MMA through Strikeforce (Mousasi vs. Soko) and just makes no sense whatsoever. Imagine if it was Shane Carwin who got mono instead, so they threw togther Lesnar vs. Gonzaga instead at short notice in a non-title bout and Lesnar got KO'd. Even Lesnar's huge drawing power would be dented massively. If you have a fighter fighting in a weight class that he's champion of, it's for the belt. If he's not a credible challenger then that's the promotions issue for not building the division correctly.
----------------------------------------------
That's all for now and we're pretty much up-to-date with the news. I'll be weighing in with my UFC 105 thoughts before Saturday hopefully, and with another edition of Passing the Guard sometime next week. Early thoughts are around either main event rematches or the possibility of the UFC 'Franchising' around the world. Let me know in the comments section if there's one you'd rather read.
Till then,
ZJ Penn
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment