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UFC Title Fight Round Up Part Two: Welterweight – The British Are Coming!

March 11th, 2010

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This year should be an interesting year in Mixed Martial Arts. The return of Brock Lesnar, the rematch of Machida vs Shogun and Strikeforce making it’s run at trying to compete with the UFC.

The UFC is currently blessed with three champions that every MMA expert out there considers unbeatable kings of their divisions: BJ Penn, George St Pierre and Anderson Silva.

But saying that a fighter is unbeatable is one thing. It must be put to the test fight after fight in order to remain true. Some voices out there clamor for the dominant champions to retire so their divisions can be interesting again.

I couldn’t disagree more.

There is absolutely nothing in this world that does more to promote your sport like a dominant champion. How much did Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson hurt boxing by their domination? They didn’t. All they did was massively increase the popularity of boxing.

The Miami Dolphins, Pittsburg Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots all took turns dominating football, and the sport has risen to greater popularity than anyone would have imagined.

There’s nothing like a living legend to put your sport on the map. New fans have something constant for a point of reference in each weight division. Long-time fans can spend countless hours trying to figure out “who’s gonna beat the champ and how are they gonna to do it?”

Almost across the board, the title picture for each and every weight class gives us plenty to talk about.

So proceeding to Welterweight:

So you have to prevent it from ever happening again. George has adapted his game to avoid losing to strikers by nullifying their ability to strike in the clinch and in takedowns. His ground game completely outclasses any Welterweight in the world today. The trouble with finding good match ups for GSP is simple: He’s already beaten all the best Welterweights in the world.

So what do you do? For now you go to up-and-coming stars. And when that fails you resort to rematches with guys he’s already beaten.

Next challenger for Welterweight Title: Dan Hardy

My prediction: St Pierre by ground and pound TKO/KO in round 3.

Contenders who are on the verge of a title shot:

John Fitch [21-3] – Fitch is an amazing fighter. With a record of 11 wins and 1 loss in the UFC, nobody has ever beaten him in the octagon but GSP. The problem with Fitch is that he’s not that much different of a fighter since losing a five round beat-down to GSP two years ago. If he beats Thiago Alves and earns himself a title shot, I think it’s only right that Fitch gets another crack at GSP. I also think it’ll be de ja vu all over again, with GSP winning every round but Fitch never stopping.

My Prediction: George St Pierre by Unanimous Decision.

Paul “Semtex” Daley [23-8] – Everybody loves a devastating striker, and Paul Daley just might be the most dangerous 170 pound striker in the world right now. 18 of his 23 wins came by knockout. But his glaring weakness is in the past has been his ground game, with 5 submission losses there. If he can beat Josh Koscheck, he’ll have proven that he can beat a guy with elite wrestling and grappling skills. If your takedown defense is good enough to stop Koscheck, you just might be able to keep the fight with GSP standing long enough to actually use that devastating power to full effect. IF Semtex actually gets to the title shot by beating Koscheck, then I’m going to go way out on a limb by predicting an upset.

Paul Daley by 2nd round KO.

Paulo Thiago [13-1] – There have been few fighters who have made a bigger splash in the UFC recently, all while garnering minimal attention. Paulo has chalked up stoppage wins over Koscheck and Swick, and beating fighters of that caliber means your a contender. A Unanimous Decision loss to Jon Fitch means you get to sit down and wait awhile for a title shot. Thiago has an excellent ground game and enough power in his hands to KO Josh Koscheck, which is no small feat. With a win over Martin Kampmann, Paulo Thiago could line himself up for a title shot in the very near future. And how would the fight with GSP go?

I’m predicting George St Pierre by TKO in Round 4.

Josh Koscheck [16-4] – Here’s your long-shot contender. Josh Koscheck already lost to the champion in 2007. Since then, he’s lost to Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago. At this point, Koscheck needs to string together a few impressive victories in a row in order to build a case for himself for a title shot. Beating Anthony Johnson was a good first step. Beating Paul Daley would be another solid step in the right direction. Rematch wins over Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago would seal the deal. So how does Josh stack up against George St Pierre? I would say he’s very similar to GSP — almost a rough copy of the champion. He’s also inferior to GSP in all areas. Koscheck would make a good fight of it though.

My prediction: George St Pierre by 5th round TKO.

The Welterweight division is the one division that the UFC absolutely dominates. There are very, very few legitimate threats to GSP outside the UFC.

You have Nick Diaz, Jay Hieron, Akihiro Gono, Dan Hornbuckle and Marius Zaromskis. Out of that group, the best Welterweight outside the UFC is Nick Diaz. While he was with the UFC, he struggled against UFC Welterweights. Since leaving, he’s chalked up a lot of wins, but it certainly hasn’t been over top competition. I don’t think I’m really sold on Nick Diaz as the guy with the tools to dethrone George St Pierre.

George St Pierre is an incredibly dominant champion. If there is an MMA fighter you could point to as an example of a perfect specimen, it would be George. He has great skills everywhere: Great striking, great wrestling, great Brazilian Jiu Jitzu, overwhelming strength, incredible work ethic and he’s constantly adapting and improving. It makes finding the right formula for beating him a daunting task indeed!

GSP is the best in the world. He seems unbeatable right now. But in order to remain the best in the world, you’ve got to continue to fight and beat the best in the world.

This article is part two from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/359603-ufc-title-fight-round-up-part-1-lightweight

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UFC 111: Hardy vs St. Pierre – It’s The Ones You Don’t See That Hurt You

UFC

March 11th, 2010

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The list of respected and dangerous victims is impressive. It is one that includes the men who fell under the rule of Georges St. Pierre, the current UFC welterweight Champion.

The worth of that list weighs heavily with names like Alves, Fitch, Hughes (2), Penn (2), and anyone else who dares dance with the devil known as “Rush.”

Once in awhile, a fighter comes along that doesn’t pay much mind to names, lists, or credentials. While all that is respectable and commendable, it doesn’t hold much weight when things get thick in the cage.

Odds reflect common results, but don’t account for the variables that a fight imposes.

Those variables are greatly affected by two fighters who create a certain equation. Rarely are bouts held between two fighters who already fought, so as a result, both the equation and the variable outcomes are often very different.

While one fighter may be the constant from which all challenging talents are judged, another fighter may live only to shatter that mold.

No one may see it coming.

No one may bet the farm, but when it happens, it is unmistakable.

Not every fighter can do it, and sometimes the least likely of which are the ones that do happen to do it.

Shocking the world is no easy task and let’s face it, if the world knew it was coming, how shocked would they really be?

If I am a fighter and the focus of the world is on the man I am supposed to beat, then surely they are underestimating the fact that I made it here on my own two feet, and can do what it is that I do against the guy that no one else can seem to beat.

It’s my turn to try. And I have no intention of losing.

Alas I am not a fighter, not in the practical sense of the word, but I do understand pride and dignity. I fully understand and appreciate the desire of a man to prove to everyone who ever doubted him that he can do anything you dare tell him he cannot.

I can appreciate a man who few, if any, give an ounce of credit to with regard to toppling odds that most would not dare bet against, much less attempt to sway, through the actions necessary to truly impact the outcome of a fight no one seems to think he can win.

It is that type of grit, desire, and confidence that will be necessary to stop a force like the one Dan Hardy will face later this month. It is going to take the type of guy who may recognize and respect that type of elite talent, but keep believing in himself regardless.

The Outlaw strikes me as that type of man. He is the type who knows what he is up against, but he continues to smile and know that his variables have never been in a cage with GSP.

GSP has never faced the shuck and the jive of Hardy; he has never been hit by Hardy; and he has never had to try and break a man like Hardy.

Hardy is the type of guy that knows that he is that variable in the equation. He is what is necessary for an unprescribed outcome.

GSP has always been there, Dan Hardy has not.

That is what is intriguing about his upcoming match with the champ.

In addition to the simple math, it would seem Hardy—for the first time on the big stage—may be motivated by more than just his opponent this time out.

Those odds mentioned before have a lot of people clinging to the “Rush” bandwagon, and rightfully so, the man is simply an amazing fighter.

But the fact that people get so hung up on the star of one fighter, sometimes leaves the odd man out with a lot more to prove than maybe he might against just any other opponent.

Count a man out and make it apparent to him, and you inadvertently motivate him more so than any one fight may do.

Make no mistake, no one in their right minds is going to bet the farm on Dan Hardy. There are a lot of questions surrounding a fighter who burst on the scene as the “Outlaw” has, but in his short tenure in the UFC, he has answered more questions than he posed.

While those answers may not seem direct enough to answer the myriad of questions surrounding GSP, sometimes it only takes the right answer to the right question.

Once again, we focus where we like to convince ourselves of an assured outcome, but it is a fine line isn’t it?

When we talk about take downs, and how they will be defended, sometimes we overlook a right hand and how it can be avoided.

When we talk about ground and pound, we forget about the ability to submit from ones back.

When we talk about cardio, we overlook first-round knockouts.

While there are many points to be made as to why Rush is as good as he is, there are many points to be made about Hardy as to why GSP may not get a chance to show us all once again why he has that belt.

We know more about the champ than we do the challenger, and that in and of itself may be the very reason we should pause and really take a closer look.

Because what we know of the champ is that he will dominate; he will impose his game; he will bring the odds with him; and he will do all he can to prove those odds true.

We also know the champ is human, sometimes we forget or pass it off as a fluke, but GSP has shown holes in his armor—however small they may be.

Dan Hardy has seen them too.

And if he gets to knocking the wheels off that bandwagon come UFC 111, there is one MMA fan out there who may not be uber surprised.

Momentum is a strange thing.

As we already know with GSP, the best can be rattled. Momentum can go both ways as history would have it.

Not all godlike fighters are created equal but consider for a moment that they are all merely human. Just ask Mauricio “Shogun” Rua how indestructible the unsolvable Lyoto Machida is.

Ask Brett Rogers or Andrei Arlovski if they think Fedor is unbeatable. I assure you we already know their answers.

So while they may remain unbeaten, it is painfully obvious in some cases, that it is not by sheer impossibility alone. They remain unbeaten because the final proverbial nail could not be driven into the coffin in those fights.

Rest assured, Dan Hardy will have his bags and his hammer come fight night, and will be looking to bury GSP.

That is what everyone seems to be missing. Hardy is not coming to lay down, he is coming to throw down.

Who are we to say it can’t be done?

Who are we to forget that it has happened before?

Who are we to assume anything in this sport?

By now, we should know better shouldn’t we?

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UFC Middleweight Mark Munoz Opening Training Center Before April UFC 112

UFC

March 11th, 2010

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Although Mark Munoz is preparing to face the toughest test of his young mixed martial arts career when he meets Kendall Grove at “UFC 112 : Invincible,” the former All-American wrestler is simultaneously working on another challenge that will help set up life after MMA.

With less than five weeks before his April 10 scrap with Grove, Munoz will be hosting the grand opening for Reign Training Center in Lake Forest, Ca. on March 13h. Although the timing for the launch isn’t ideal, the former Oklahoma State wrestler feels it’s time to make his own physical fitness imprint.

“The concept behind Reign is to educate individuals to acquire the discipline needed to attain their goals – whether that is someone looking to learn self defense, maintain good physical fitness, or is currently involved in athletics and needs to “reign” in their training regimen,” Munoz told 5thRound.com of his new baby.

Joining Munoz in this weekend’s star-studded event are long-time friends and MMA superstars Urijah Faber and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, as well as up-and-comers Joseph Benavidez and Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal.

“What my friends Urijah and Antonio bring to this event is the opportunity for guests to talk one on one with these athletes about how they’ve trained to handle their challenges and to see them in action. Combined with other stunts and performances, I can guarantee everyone in the family will have fun and walk away with some information they can apply in their lives,” Munoz added.

Also in attendance will be Strikeforce middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller, former UFC fighter Renato “Babulu” Sobral, Ryron Gracie of the legendary Gracie family, and motocross stunt rider Eric Whitcomb.

The 7,000 square-foot facility is designed for professional and amateur athletes, as well as those who wish to lose weight, build muscle, and increase their athletic abilities. In addition, the state-of-the-art gym offers specialized self-defense classes in wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and boxing.

The RTC is outfitted with kickboxing bags, large mat space, a boxing ring, a mixed martial arts cage, as well as top of the line treadmills, stairmasters, elliptical machines, and a spacious weight room to help athletes achieve the highest levels of success.

Here’s the schedule of events.

When:

Saturday, March 13 between 1PM -5PM PST
1:00pm Grand Opening Begins
2:15pm Media Opportunity with Mark Munoz
2:45pm Mark Munoz Returns to Schedule of Events
5:00pm Grand Opening Event Concludes

Where:

REIGN TRAINING CENTER
Train2Reign.com
22600 Lambert Street (Building F – Suite 1201)
Lake Forest, California 92630

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UFC 111: Dan Hardy—The Man With Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain

UFC

March 11th, 2010

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Prior to UFC 105 in November, people seemed to have gotten used to the idea that Mike Swick was going to be the next challenger to Georges St-Pierre’s UFC Welterweight Championship.

No disrespect to Mike Swick, but the prospect of a St-Pierre vs. Swick matchup wasn’t exactly going to inspire a wave of excitement. Nonetheless, people seemed to be getting ready to accept it.

Up steps Dan Hardy.

Dan Hardy stepped inside the Octagon at UFC 105, and he rocked Swick more than once en route to a unanimous decision over the former TUF contender. It was an impressive and surprising performance from Hardy, and by beating Swick he took his spot at the top of Georges St-Pierre’s potential contenders list.

Hardy entered the fight with Swick riding three consecutive wins inside the octagon; wins over Akihiro Gono, Rory Markham, and Marcus Davis. Though Swick was seen as a step up in competition, Hardy rose to the occasion—he took his chance, and provided a convincing win over Swick.

Now Hardy takes on the biggest challenge (by far) of his career as he fights French-Canadian superstar Georges “Rush” St-Pierre at UFC 111 for the UFC Welterweight Championship.

St-Pierre is an incredible athletic specimen. He has the best wrestling in MMA, lethal striking, and relentless takedowns. Many, including myself, regard St-Pierre as an overwhelming favourite.

If you look at just some of his recent victories, it’s easy to see why.

At UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, St-Pierre outclassed Jon Fitch. He out-wrestled him, and brutalized him for five rounds.

The same Jon Fitch who is commonly regarded as the No. 2 welterweight in the world.

At UFC 94, St-Pierre simply battered BJ Penn. He took him down, passed his guard with ease, and beat BJ so badly that his corner stopped the fight prior to the fifth round.

Most recently, St-Pierre did something similar to Thiago Alves at UFC 100. Thiago is a beast of a welterweight, with world class Muay Thai and excellent takedown defense. St-Pierre punished him for five rounds.

Now, it’s Dan Hardy’s time.

Dan Hardy is going into this fight as a huge underdog. Very few people expect him to be able to deal with St-Pierre’s incredible athleticism and wrestling ability. The term “punchers chance” has been thrown around frequently.

Mainly because that’s the only chance they think he has.

Whether that’s true or not, several people haven’t hesitated to lament the fact that Hardy has received a title shot before them (Josh Koscheck, I’m looking at you). Fans and bookmakers alike are writing Hardy off.

People believe that this Georges St-Pierre is a lot stronger than the St-Pierre that fell victim to the hands of Matt Serra, and they don’t think that Hardy will catch him cold.

Hardy, though, seems to enjoy being the underdog. He loves getting under people’s skin by talking trash in the buildup to fights (as we saw in the buildup to the Marcus Davis fight), and trying to get inside their head.

Whatever happens at UFC 111, you have to believe that Dan Hardy will be a winner. This title shot has lead to words being exchanged between Hardy and members of the American Kickboxing Academy.

Fights with Koscheck, Fitch, and possibly even a rematch with Swick would likely be decent draws for the UFC, meaning that Dan Hardy has gained from this match already. He’s becoming an asset for the UFC in the same way Michael Bisping already is.

Regardless of your feelings for him as a fighter, you can’t deny that he can talk the talk and hype his matches. That’s something that the UFC values.

Dan Hardy challenges Georges St-Pierre on March 28th with the chance to shock the MMA world. I’m sure that with the attention he’s gained from being a part of this match, Hardy will leave UFC 111 feeling like a winner in the long term—regardless of the result.

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Title Fight Round Up Part Two: Welterweight – The British Are Coming!

UFC

March 11th, 2010

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Part two from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/359603-ufc-title-fight-round-up-part-1-lightweight

This year should be an interesting year in Mixed Martial Arts. The return of Brock Lesnar, the rematch of Machida vs Shogun and Strikeforce making it’s run at trying to compete with the UFC.

The UFC is currently blessed with three champions that every MMA expert out there considers unbeatable kings of their divisions: BJ Penn, George St Pierre and Anderson Silva.

I couldn’t disagree more. There is absolutely nothing in this world that does more to promote your sport like a dominant champion. How much did Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson hurt boxing by their domination? They didn’t. All they did was massively increase the popularity of boxing. The Miami Dolphins, Pittsburg Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots all took turns dominating football, and the sport has risen to greater popularity than anyone would have imagined.

Almost across the board, the title picture for each and every weight class gives us plenty to talk about.

So proceeding to Welterweight:

Current Champion: George St Pierre [19 wins, 2 losses] George St Pierre is an incredible athlete. His only career losses were to former or future champions and in both cases a valuable lesson was learned. Against Hughes he learned that too much respect for your opponent was foolishness. Against Serra he learned that in spite of his outstanding striking skills, anyone can get caught on the button knocked out. So you have to prevent it from ever happening again. George has adapted his game to avoid losing to strikers by nullifying their ability to strike in the clinch and in takedowns. His ground game completely outclasses any Welterweight in the world today. The trouble with finding good match ups for GSP is simple: He’s already beaten all the best Welterweights in the world.

So what do you do? For now you go to up-and-coming stars. And when that fails you resort to rematches with guys he’s already beaten.

Next challenger for Welterweight Title: Dan Hardy

Contenders who are on the verge of a title shot:

Dan Hardy [23-6] – “The Outlaw” is unquestionably a tough fighter with a lot of talent. Hardy is probably a better fighter that a lot of people give him credit. He hasn’t lost by stoppage in five years. He’s on a 4-0 win streak in the UFC. What we’ve seen from Dan Hardy is a fighter, who consistently wins, but not always in impressive fashion. Against GSP, Dan would need to stop an unstoppable takedown machine. Once it goes to the ground, it’s all GSP. Hardy is tough and he’ll make a fight of it, but I don’t think his takedown defense is up to the task. My prediction: St Pierre by ground and pound TKO/KO in round 3.

John Fitch [21-3] – Fitch is an amazing fighter. With a record of 11 wins and 1 loss in the UFC, nobody has ever beaten him in the octagon but GSP. The problem with Fitch is that he’s not that much different of a fighter since losing a five round beat-down to GSP two years ago. If he beats Thiago Alves and earns himself a title shot, I think it’s only right that Fitch gets another crack at GSP. I also think it’ll be de ja vu all over again, with GSP winning every round but Fitch never stopping. My Prediction: George St Pierre by Unanimous Decision.

The Welterweight division is the one division that the UFC absolutely dominates. There are very, very few legitimate threats to GSP outside the UFC.

GSP is the best in the world. He seems unbeatable right now. But in order to remain the best in the world, you’ve got to continue to fight and beat the best in the world.

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Top 10 Worst Stylistic Match-ups in MMA

UFC

March 11th, 2010

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Matching up two top fighters against each other seems like a no-brainer, but when you start to break down the way the fights would actually go, sometimes what appears to be a good fight turns out to be a one-sided domination.

Here are 10 of the worst stylistic matchups featuring top-level fighters:

10. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Randy Couture

People aren’t screaming about this matchup right now, but it was eagerly anticipated by some when Couture fought for this bout after his 2007 victory over Gabriel Gonzaga.

According to UFC propaganda and his history as an underdog, “You can never count out Randy Couture,” but despite such sentiments, there really isn’t a whole lot that Couture could accomplish against Emelianenko, especially when he would need to do it over the five-round distance.

You can’t beat Emelianenko by leaning him up against a fence for five rounds, and getting the “Captain America” gift of a judges’ decision.

Sure, the cage works against him, but Emelianenko is good at staying off the fence, and on the ground, Couture is vulnerable to both sweeps and submission attempts as we saw against Nogueira.

Also like we saw against Nogueira, Couture doesn’t have the offensive artillery to even bother Emelianenko on the feet.

9. Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson

Dan Henderson has the punching power and wrestling ability, but aside from that, he doesn’t have the other skills required to really do anything to Silva over the championship distance.

On the feet, Henderson has the power to hurt Silva if he connects, but Henderson’s one-handed offence is far too predictable to trouble as good of a striker as Silva.

Henderson’s wrestling was at least somewhat effective against Silva, but he still struggled to get takedowns, and once on the ground, he didn’t have any weapons to really get Silva out of the cage.

Furthermore, Henderson has gassed later on in some fights, as he did in his fight against Rich Franklin. Had the fight gone on for another two rounds, I think Franklin would have won.

Since Henderson can’t finish Silva, and is prone to gassing, I can’t see him winning over five rounds against the champ.

8. Dan Henderson vs. Jake Shields

This fight is going to be headlining the upcoming Strikeforce card, despite being a quite predictable matchup in favor of Henderson.

Jake Shields relies upon his top-position “American Jiu-Jitsu” to win his fights.

Oddly enough, he’s made it look like he’s won the striking portion of some of his fights on the statistic sheets by landing a bunch of pitter-patter leg kicks.

Those who have actually watched Shields fight have seen him struggle on the feet against Yushin Okami and look like a fish out of water against Paul Daley.

Those pitter patter leg kicks aren’t going to bother Henderson, and since it’s going to be tough for Shields to take Henderson down, Shields is going to be stuck in a striking battle.

For all of Henderson’s technical warts when it comes to striking, he’s still likely to knock Shields’ block off, or otherwise come away with the decision.

7. Anderson Silva vs. Robbie Lawler

Pat Miletich and current Strikeforce commentator Mauro Ranallo have talked about the possibility of a Silva vs. Lawler fight, but it wouldn’t have been pretty for Lawler.

Lawler has some wrestling skills, but not enough ground savvy to deal with Silva there.

On the feet, this fight is all Anderson Silva.

6. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum

Werdum appears to be the next opponent for Emelianenko, but despite his worthiness as a challenger, he doesn’t present Emelianenko with much of a challenge.

Werdum is a groundfighting expert, but he’s going to struggle trying to submit Emelianenko, who is a bit of a submission expert in his own right.

The bigger problem for Werdum is that he struggles when he isn’t able to bring the fight down to the ground, and doesn’t have the greatest wrestling.

He struggled mightily against Antonio Silva, who is not nearly the fighter Emelianenko is when it comes to wrestling or striking.

Try as I might to imagine a way for Werdum to make this one competitive, I still see Emelianenko winning within the first round of the fight.

5. BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez

The UFC was running out of marketable challengers for the lightweight title, and since Sanchez wasn’t going to be able to beat the top five guys at welterweight anyway, a move down made sense for both parties.

A lot of people instantly came to the correct conclusion that Sanchez wouldn’t be able to cause any problems for Penn, as Penn is better than Sanchez in almost every single aspect of MMA.

My own personal thought at the time was that Sanchez might have been able to have some success wearing Penn down if he was able to use the kind of strategies to minimize Penn’s technical advantage.

While watching the fight it became clear to me that not only did Sanchez not have the technical abilities to even cause Penn problems, but that he didn’t come in with any effective techniques or strategies.

Rather than trying to find a new way to win, Sanchez clung on to a lame single-leg attempt for most of the fight.

This fight should be a reference against the idea that a fighter with better cardio can simply push the pace towards victory.

Pushing the pace requires a certain level of technique that Sanchez just did not have.

4. Nick Diaz vs. Top 10 Welterweights

Much has been made recently about how well Diaz would do now in the UFC’s welterweight division. Some have even gone so far as to say that Diaz should be considered a pound-for-pound fighter.

Diaz has been on a decent winning streak recently, but he’s done so against guys who really weren’t great stylistic threats to him.

In the welterweight elite are guys like St. Pierre, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, and others who would have the wrestling and submission skills to put Diaz on his back and keep the fight there for as long as it takes.

Diaz might have the boxing skills to frustrate some of these fighters, but he doesn’t have the knockout power to finish these wrestlers if they can just take Diaz down whenever they are in trouble.

Diaz might be able to pull off the occasional win inside the welterweight division’s top 10, but even if he does so, he’s never going to have a continued streak of success that would allow him to become a champion or a perennial contender in the UFC.

3. Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin

Dana White said that he made this fight to be an exciting challenge for Anderson Silva.

It turned out to be one of the biggest blowouts between two elite fighters in MMA history.

2. BJ Penn vs. Shinya Aoki

Shinya Aoki is considered by some to be the second best lightweight in the world, but he would have almost no chance against the UFC champion.

Shinya Aoki isn’t about to submit Penn, and he probably isn’t even going to take him down.

While the fight remains standing, the fight will be about as big of a blowout as you could find in the upper echelon of the sport. Penn would be expected to knock out Aoki early.

1. Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields

When people complain about the UFC’s stance against co-promotion, a potential fight with Jake Shields often comes up.

However, despite having some legitimate top 10 welterweight credentials, Shields doesn’t have what it takes to even make a fight with St. Pierre competitive.

Not only can St. Pierre stuff Shield’s takedowns and win the fight on the feet, but he can also take Shields down and have success on the floor.

If Shields was somehow able to take St. Pierre down, he might be able to make things interesting, but he’s not going to take St. Pierre down, and he’s going to get beaten up if he’s trying to work off his back.

Other Bad Matchups:

Ronaldo Souza vs. Jake Shields, Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch, BJ Penn vs. Lightweight division, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett, Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz

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Duane Ludwig vs. Darren Elkins: UFC On Versus 1 Preview

UFC

March 10th, 2010

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Another Colorado native is set to do battle in the fourth installment of the UFC On Versus 1 Preview series.

Duane “Bang” Ludwig’s original opponent was Spencer Fisher, but an injury forced him from the card. UFC newcomer Darren Elkins is now scheduled to fill the void.

Elkins made a name for himself fighting with smaller promotions in the Midwest—primarily in his home state of Indiana.

When the call came from the UFC, Elkins immediately accepted, knowing that he has the style to defeat Ludwig—that is, if he can get past his opponent’s most dangerous weapon.

Every fight starts on the feet—and it just so happens that Ludwig is a very dangerous striker. His fast combinations and knockout power are daunting for anybody in the 155-pound division.

On the flip side, Elkins often uses his striking to distract opponents long enough for a takedown attempt. Considering that these shots are usually telegraphed, Elkins may be in for a world of hurt from one of Ludwig’s many counters.

However, if Elkins is able to close the distance, he needs to stay there. Whether he has Ludwig back-pedaling along the cage or if they’re in the clinch, Elkins needs to avoid his opponent’s strong suit.

Unfortunately for him, Ludwig is fierce in the clinch. “Bang” has a very tight muay thai plum clinch and can deliver punishing knees. If the opponent can escape the clinch, Ludwig usually follows up with a hook on the exit.

There’s very little doubt that Ludwig holds the superior striking, so Elkins is going to need to get this fight to the mat at all costs. If he works hard enough—and picks the correct opening—Elkins can get the takedown. If he is successful in his attempt, Elkins could have Ludwig in danger.

In past fights, Elkins has shown very solid control when he’s fighting from the top. His striking on the ground isn’t as powerful as Ludwig’s, but his control mixed in with it is enough to make him dangerous.

This style forces opponents to move, usually opening up a choke in the process. Elkins isn’t quite the jiu jitsu expert, but he knows enough to latch onto the neck long enough to tap somebody out.

However, those somebodies were fighters at amateur organizations—with all due respect, of course.

Ludwig’s experience against some of the best lightweights in the world gives him enough knowledge to avoid a choke by Elkins. It’s likely that submissions will be missing from this fight.

Ludwig is also quite used to this style of attack. As a great striker, many opponents have employed the same strategy—so Ludwig is capable of getting the fight back on the feet should he be taken down.

If the fight goes into the later rounds, Ludwig should have the advantage in conditioning. Look for him to stuff the telegraphed takedowns and outpoint Elkins until he lands that big punch.

Bang! Ludwig wins by knockout.

Advantages

Range striking: Ludwig

Clinch striking: Ludwig

Takedowns: Elkins

Ground striking: Ludwig

Submissions: Draw

Experience: Ludwig

Submission defense: Draw

Conditioning: Ludwig

Takedown defense: Ludwig

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