Hot on the heels of UFC Fight Night 11 this past Wednesday, UFC 76: Liddell vs Jardine takes place this Saturday night in Anaheim, CA. Chuck Liddell makes his first appearance since losing the UFC Light Heavyweight belt to Quinton Jackson at UFC 71. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua makes his UFC debut at UFC 76 and we will get to see a super welterweight battle between Jon Fitch and Diego Sanchez.
Main Card
Chuck Liddell Vs. Keith Jardine - Not really sure if there needs to be much breakdown for this fight. We all know Chuck Liddell and the strengths he possesses; Chuck will stand and throw heavy punches at Jardine and stuff probably any attempts at takedown. Jardine also throws heavy punches as we saw in his fight against Forrest Griffin, but he is also susceptible against a powerful striker as we saw in his fight against Houston Alexander. What Jardine does bring to the table is very good leg kicks and I think that is what Jardine’s major gameplan will be in this fight. Look for hard leg kicks from Jardine non-stop as he tries to break down Liddell from the outside to the point where he can try and take Liddell down and work some ground-and-pound. Ultimately, I think Chuck clips Jardine and wins by KO and it will be just another night in the cage for Chuck. Winner: Chuck Liddell
Mauricio Rua Vs. Forrest Griffin - For long-time MMA fans, having Maurcio “Shogun” Rua make his UFC debut is a very happy thing. For Forrest Griffin, its probably not as happy of an event. This fight has nothing to do with any PrideFC vs UFC nonsense, but everything to do with the skill level of the fighters involved. Shogun is simply that much better of a fighter and deserves his place in the top 3 rankings of MMA light heavyweights. Forrest Griffin simply is not on that level yet, and while he is a good, hard-nosed fighter, I don’t think that is enough to carry him to victory against the more skilled fighters in the division. Sure, it will help you get past Stephan Bonnar, Hector Ramirez and even Tito Ortiz at this point, its not good enough to get past the likes of Shogun Rua, Dan Henderson, Quinton Jackson, or Chuck Liddell. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. Winner: Mauricio Rua
Jon Fitch Vs. Diego Sanchez - This is the fight I am looking most forward to on this card. Jon Fitch is riding a 13 fight win streak while Diego Sanchez is coming off his first loss after a 17 fight win streak. To be honest, I’m pretty tired of all the talk about Fitch not getting the recognition and respect he deserves from the UFC; after this fight, Fitch will have all the recognition he needs. While Diego Sanchez was able to maintain his undefeated streak for quite a while until facing Josh Koscheck, I think we are going to see back-to-back losses here for Sanchez. Sanchez has been able to get wins in some of his fights by decision against Nick Diaz, John Alessio and Karo Parisyan, but I think this fight against Fitch is where that luck runs out. Fitch won’t be able to out wrestle Diego but I think he has better grappling skills. Both fighters are probably equal standing up, but Fitch will have a decided reach advantage that could play a big part. Fitch by close decision after a great three rounds. Winner: Jon Fitch
Kazuhiro Nakamura Vs. Ryoto Machida - If you don’t know who Kazuhiro Nakamura is, it’s really unfortunate because Nakamura is a longtime MMA veteran of PrideFC and holds wins over some top level fighters including Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman and Murilo Bustamante. The only knock against Nakamura is that he doesn’t finish fights and tends to leave his fights to the judge’s decision and that will be his undoing in this fight with Ryoto “Lyoto” Machida. Machida would like nothing better than to keep a slow methodical pace and slowly work his way to a victory on points. I think Machida’s striking and movement will be enough to garner him the victory in what, unfortunately, will probably be a very boring fight. Winner: Ryoto Machida
Thiago Tavares Vs. Tyson Griffin - Tyson Griffin entered the UFC lightweight division with an udefeated record and great fanfare in September of 2006. Having been the only fighter to defeated Urijah Faber, Griffin was expected to be a rising star at 155; however, Griffin dropped a decision loss to Frank Edgar at UFC 67 and won a decision victory over Clay Guida at UFC 72 in a fight that many fans think he lost (myself included). Thiago Tavares holds a perfect 7-0 record himself and two wins in the UFC including a victory at UFN 10 against Jason Black. Both fighters are skilled grapplers and I can’t quite put my finger on it but I think Tavares will win this fight. Call it a hunch, but Tavares is physically more over powering and I think his BJJ game is better than Tyson’s. Winner: Thiago Tavares
Undercard
Anthony Johnson Vs. Rich Clementi - Winner: Rich Clementi
Diego Saraiva Vs. Jeremy Stephens - Winner: Jeremy Stephens
Scott Junk Vs. Christian Wellisch - Winner: Christian Wellisch
Michihiro Omigawa Vs. Matt Wiman - Winner: Matt Wiman
[...] nobody@flickr.com (digiphotoneil) wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptHot on the heels of UFC Fight Night 11 this past Wednesday, UFC 76: Liddell vs Jardine takes place this Saturday night in Anaheim, CA. Chuck Liddell makes his first appearance since losing the UFC Light Heavyweight belt to Quinton Jackson at UFC 71. Mauricio Rua makes his UFC debut at UFC 76 and we will get to see a super welterweight battle between Jon Fitch and Diego Sanchez. Main Card Chuck Liddell Vs. Keith Jardine - Not really … [...]
[...] Original post by MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis [...]
I have to go with Diego on this one. He’s going to be determined after his last performance. The fight is going to be a war either way but I believe Sanchez will pull off a submission. Chuck should beat Keith with out much trouble. Tyson vs Thiago has the potential to be fight of the night also. The lightweight division is stacked now. When the title gets stripped from Sherk there will be no shortage of contenders.
I have the exact same picks as you Dr.J, except that im going with Diego, hes one of my favorite TUF guys, 2nd only to Joe Daddy. Hes definately motivated to win this next fight provided he has a good GAMEPLAN.. Fitch is a tough dude but i think Diego will get the better of the grappling and get the top position and grind out another tough decision victory.
Other than that im picking Tyson Griffin, but like you said its pretty much a toss up in that match.
other than that i like all your picks
Forrest over Shogun, mark my words. Be careful dissing me over this statement, when Forrest wins I will come in here an gloat.
[quote comment="9700"]Forrest over Shogun, mark my words. Be careful dissing me over this statement, when Forrest wins I will come in here an gloat.[/quote]
Did you see his interview last night? Doesn’t look or sound like the same Forrest we’ve seen before other fights. Looks and sounds mentally defeated already to me.
I put down a few dollars on Forrest on the fantasy wagers just because the odds were so high but I would at best give him a 1 in 10 chance of winning. With the way things have went this year you never know though.
To me he looked like someone who would rather fight than shoot the sh*t with Rogan.
Forrest via Decision
[quote comment="9704"]To me he looked like someone who would rather fight than shoot the sh*t with Rogan.
Forrest via Decision[/quote]
im not trying say your wrong or anything im just wondering what your reasoning for taking Forrest in this fight? im saying Shogun will win for the obvious reasons, they call Shogun #1 light-heavy in the world and is a pretty big favorite over Forrest for a reason. so yeah im just wondering what makes you say Forrest?
Its probably just a gut feeling guys are having that Forrest might win, Shoguns Octagon debut an everything. I dont blame guys who are betting on Forrest, you cant always pick the favorite hehe. I just think Shogun is too many years ahead of Forrest in both training an fighting experience. Fighting Shogun can only help anyones fight career, hes got nothing to lose, and it will be interesting to see how Forrest stacks up against Shogun.
Lets hear it for September! kick azzz month of MMA.. i wish every month was like this!
@GATTIES
Mark my words and DONT DISS ME ON THIS! SHOGUN IS GONNA BEAT THE HOLY HECK OUTTA FORREST…. man FORREST IS OUT OF HIS LEAGUE! THERE IS NO WAY HE IS CHAMPIONSHIP MATERIAL JUST CAUSE’ HE TRAINS REAL HARD, AND ALL THAT… HE LOOKED LIKE ARLOVSKI IN HIS LAST FIGHT.. CAUTIOUS, AND WORRIED ABOUT THAT CHIN…
SHOGUN WILL WIN…. I WILL BE GLOATING AMIGO!
winners:
Chuck
Shogun
Sanchez
chuck
shogun
fitch
[...] MMA HQ: UFC 76 - Liddell vs. Jardine preview [...]
Outside of Rampage, the Pride guys haven’t looked spectacular in the UFC at all. Pride is and always has been…over rated. Look for Chuck to knock out Jardine in the 2nd round Saturday and then knock out Wandy in the 1st round in December (what does that tell you?).
I’m also picking Fitch to beat Diego, although to be fair, I would pick anyone to defeat Diego just like I’ll never pick Nick Diaz in a fight.
[quote comment="9713"]Outside of Rampage, the Pride guys haven’t looked spectacular in the UFC at all. Pride is and always has been…over rated. Look for Chuck to knock out Jardine in the 2nd round Saturday and then knock out Wandy in the 1st round in December (what does that tell you?).[/quote]
so it sounds like your using your company bias (UFC over PRIDE) instead of logic.
[quote comment="9714"]I’m also picking Fitch to beat Diego, although to be fair, I would pick anyone to defeat Diego just like I’ll never pick Nick Diaz in a fight.[/quote]
and this one sounds like your picking the fighter based on who you like on a personal level. not that there is anything wrong with picking your favorite fighters over the more realistic choice, i just wouldnt bet my house on it.
@Gatties and Kansas
Are you guys signed up at mma playground yet?? cuz really we always make picks, but this way you can keep track of how accurate your picks are. Join up guys and join the fight camp, it takes 30 seconds and its a really cool site. Great idea by Dr.J for hooking that up for us.
F the fight camp it sucks LOL maybe cuz im always wrong but i think im going to put 50 on griffin
ah the fight camps cool. we cant all be right all the time. i put $540 on Nakamura, i think its about time for Lyoto to lose one and Nakamura seems like the guy that could do it.
@Gatties
lol… Yeah right, that Wand swipe was hilarious, my buttons are secure amigo, no way you can push them… everyone that knows anything knows that Wand is gonna do to Chuckie what Rampage did, which is knock him out in the first round, probably in the first minute of it… by the way… with all rest and training that Wand is getting.. he will come in strong, not sick and tired… time for Chuck to get what is coming to him, that is if he does indeed get through Jardine without any problems, which I agree that he will.
As far as Shogun goes, uhhhh that “logic’ you used doesn’t make sense, so I am going to let that one just sit there and linger… hmmm smells like a hollow excuse.. hmmm
@GATTIES
Instead of saying “Pride guys haven’t looked spectacular in the UFC at all” why don’t you break down the Forrest / Shogun fight for all of us and tell us exactly why and how Forrest is gonna accomplish that task of beating Shogun, since he is 3-1 underdog in the fight.
[quote comment="9716"]@Gatties and Kansas
Are you guys signed up at mma playground yet?? cuz really we always make picks, but this way you can keep track of how accurate your picks are. Join up guys and join the fight camp, it takes 30 seconds and its a really cool site. Great idea by Dr.J for hooking that up for us.[/quote]
Teach me the way o zen master
@Kansas
Heres the Site http://mmaplayground.com/
Sign up on there, then Dr.J will send you an invite to our fight camp, then you can make your picks.
we need you bro!!! hehe
[quote comment="9722"]@Gatties
lol… Yeah right, that Wand swipe was hilarious, my buttons are secure amigo, no way you can push them… everyone that knows anything knows that Wand is gonna do to Chuckie what Rampage did, which is knock him out in the first round, probably in the first minute of it… by the way… with all rest and training that Wand is getting.. he will come in strong, not sick and tired… time for Chuck to get what is coming to him, that is if he does indeed get through Jardine without any problems, which I agree that he will.
As far as Shogun goes, uhhhh that “logic’ you used doesn’t make sense, so I am going to let that one just sit there and linger… hmmm smells like a hollow excuse.. hmmm[/quote]
that-a-boy Kansas i knew you would jump in sooner or later. like i said before cheering for your favorite fighter is one thing but trying to convince us hes gonna win based on a PRIDE sucks theory is another. i dont believe for a min. that Forrest is on Shoguns level, he is not ready to do the things Shogun has done. i cant see Forrest beating Rampage, Arona, or even Overeem.
kansas
u havent got in on this playground u have to its fun
Gonna go there now and sign up guys…
Yeah… there guys.. I am in the Playground now… how bout’ an invitation Doc?
@Gatties
No offense man.. don’t run off mad or anything… I just think your as crazy as a rat in an outhouse.. that pick is off.. and the confidence to say don’t DISS you on this??? I mean.. the 90’s called … they want their “DISS” comment back.. .lol how about “take me seriously” or “don’t take me lightly on this”. . lol kidding man..
kansas
im going for shogun but im betting money on forest
Hey guys.. am i supposed to pick season 1 of MMA playground Inaugural, or season 2 of MMA playground Undisputed?
Richard, you are gonna be even more broke when this fight is over.. lol
Ever since Cro Cop everyone is dumbfounded on who to pick in these obvious fights… but hey did Rampage dissapoint, no… did Henderson? no he fought like the champ he is… so I think that Shogun will easily do the same… against a boxer/scrapper guy like forest, fo sho.. cause Forest is fun to watch, and a nice guy, but he is NOT a knockout specialist, and Shogun is NOT gonna walk in there and get knocked out by Forest, or sit idle and let Forest jab him all night.. ridiculous to think so…
Dennis (1306)
Is this guy ever coming back??!!! I bet if Liddell wins tomorrow ol’ Dennis will throw some comments out… or perhaps if he wins in December .. but I feel bad cause if Dennis is waiting for December and a win over Wand to come back… well he might as well wait for the devil to become the messiah, and hell to freeze over with icecream and the devilsiah to come back for us all cause it AIN’T gonna happen… lol
Dennis…. THE GHOST OF MMAHQ…
About Dennis, seriously, something must have happened to him, thats the only reason i can think of that he wouldnt comeback. The other reasons would be that he got bored of all this (which i doubt), he might not have the internet (which you can get on for free almost anywhere these days), or he felt he was being disrespected or something (i cant see that being the reason cuz everyone was cool with the icefan, even his little fued with Richard was in a friendly way).
I really think something happened.. what you guys think?
@Kansas
whats your username on mmaplayground?? is it MMAKansas? so Dr.J can send you the invite
[quote comment="9732"]Hey guys.. am i supposed to pick season 1 of MMA playground Inaugural, or season 2 of MMA playground Undisputed?[/quote]
Currently we are in season 2. Post your MMAPlayground username here and I’ll send you an invite to our fight camp or just search for the MMAHQ fight camp and request an invite
[quote comment="9736"]About Dennis, seriously, something must have happened to him, thats the only reason i can think of that he wouldnt comeback. The other reasons would be that he got bored of all this (which i doubt), he might not have the internet (which you can get on for free almost anywhere these days), or he felt he was being disrespected or something (i cant see that being the reason cuz everyone was cool with the icefan, even his little fued with Richard was in a friendly way).
I really think something happened.. what you guys think?[/quote]
i think real life just cought up to ol’ Dennis. remember he was having some employment issues so he may be out there working way too hard for f*ck all, and has no time for the internet or even *gulp* MMA. like Kansas said i think hes now the ghost of MMA HQ
@Dr J
username: MMAKansas
[quote comment="9740"]@Dr J
username: MMAKansas[/quote]
I sent you an invite Kansas. Check your email or login to the site and you’ll see it. Make sure to make your picks for tonight.
My prediction:
Jardine - I think liddell stand up game is overated. If he convincingly KO jardine, I will retract my opinion. Unfortunately, I don’t see Chuck KO jardine.
Shogun - Those of u that has seen shogun in action, you know shogun is very well rounded and very resourceful. My only reservation on shogun is if he was ‘juiced’ in pride. He doesn’t look as fit as when he was in pride on ufc weigh-in. Forrest is nice and all, but I think forrest has peaked. He will always be a brawler and non-technical and as that, I think this is the highest he could go in ufc. Forrest will be famous as a fighter but he will never be top guys.
sanchez - I think sanchez is just at another level compare to fitch. U can’t judge sanchez for his last poor performance against kos. Sanchez was sick. My only problem with sanchez is he has the potential of having boring fights. He is too timid in a fight at times. However, fitch is aggresive. So this fight will be good.
shogun used steroids or was suspected
Wow…I’m getting my *** kicked here tonight. I had Tavares in a split decision, Diego, and Rua…lol
Yall still wanna talk sh*t?
Forrest Wins and had he not choked out the pride “phenom” he still would have won via decision…as I called it.
I will accept your apologies only until noon tomorrow. By the way…I WON BIG MONEY TONIGHT…booyaaa….
Glad I didn’t put money on Chucko. My wife told me this morning “I have a feeling Jardine will win.” Chuck is looking too one dimensional and his age is starting to catch up to him finally. Jardine looked awesome, I gave Jardine all 3 rounds. I love Chuck but he may want to re-think his next move. I think he should move up in weight personally.
The UFC should still sign Chuck vs Wandy, why deny the fans what they’ve wanted to see for years? Wandy vs Forrest wouldn’t do it for me, neither would Jardine vs Wandy. Guess the big question is, who gets Rampage next? My guess Rua…oh wait…thats right….
it would be better now more than ever,liddel vs wandy both back to back loses.Now i picked shogun but i bet on griffin I THINK KANSAS IS GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE A FAT PEICE OF HUMBLE PIE
KANSAS DONT PULL A HILLBILLY
As for the MMAHQ Fantasy picks at MMAPlayground.com, in the first 3 events I entered, I’ve finished 1st, 3rd & 1st in our group!!! Imagine if I have joined earlier there Kansas.
FU*CK
I THOUGHT I PUT MONEY ON GRIFFIN I DIDNT DAMN DAMN DAMN
errr…meant “Imagine if I had joined earlier there kansas” I’m a bit tired and a tad drunk at the moment. I gotta get up in 5 hours too for our trip to the casino. Hopefully me and my wife will come back up some cash tomorrow night.
humbled…. yes Gatties you were right. Forrest looked pretty good tonight, not much more then typical Forrest though. Shogun looked very tired very fast it was a bit odd to see him so winded. the Liddell/Jardine was crazy too it looked like Chuck just didnt know how to stop Jardine, it was the same as every other Liddell fight and i was just waiting for Jardine to drop but he never did and he even dropped Liddell in the second round. over all it was a good show but ive never watched that many disappointing fights in one night befor. i had Nakamura, Liddell, Sanchez, and Rua picked to win. but the heart breaker was the Shogun fight, i put it up there in the heartbreaker fights with Hughes/Newton, Hughes/Gracie, Henderson/Silva, St.Pierre/Serra, Fedor/Nog… all i can say is as a fan of this great sport its good to see all the new talent coming up, but it kills me that some of my favorite fighters are getting beat.
i am not partial to either ufc or pride, although i dont like dana white, he reminds me of a used car salesman from the bronx, shogun was a good fighter a few years back, i dont know what rogan was talking about him being ranked #1 in the world, maybe in 2004, his last few fights were not that good, his cond was poor even before the forest fight, seemed like he trained at mc-donalds, he used to have that anderson silva style of fighting, HE DID NOT EVEN TRY THAT AGAINST FOREST, also he used kicks on the ground in pride however, he did not even have forest in position to use the kicks, i feel that the ring did not matter, forest would have beaten him in pride as well, and as a brazilian national it is hard to admit this but its true
@GATTIES
You were right about the Shogun / Forest fight, but hey can you blame me for going this Rua? The guy was an advantage all around, he gassed and disappointed, just like Cro Cop…. oh well, thats life, nothing to be humble about, Forest fought like a dog in heat and thats great, he is a great guy… on playground I picked Jardine over Chuck… glad about that.. although I lost my arse on the Shogun deal, but oh well what can I say .. good for Forrest, he in my eyes has redeemed the loss to Jardine .. and curling up in a corner crying like a baby… lol… so good for him….
@Richard
Not going anywhere, being wrong on 1 fight doesn’t make me suck…lol…. I fared pretty well on mma playground.. I picked Jardine over Liddell so yeah… that’s where I made my money..
The only 2 questions I have now are
1. WHO THE HECK IS WANDY GONNA FIGHT IN DECEMBER?
2. IF SHOGUN WAS ON ROIDS… WAS WANDY ON ROIDS TOO?
I am scared to know the answer to question #2.. because if so… well you know the rest….
@Doc
Any rumors about Wand and roids previously or was that just Shogun they were talking about?
yup, Gatties called it, way to go Jason!
Ofcourse the real credit goes to Forrest, hard work pays off man, Randy wouldnt lie, he has to kick the guy out the gym everyday lol. Considering what happened to Pride, its been a while since Shogun fought, he showed alot of ring rust, and it wasnt even IN a ring hehe. I mean, he had some jiggly titties in that fight man lol, Forest underbelly looked like a fish, fck a 6 pack, he had like a 24 pack, he looked in better shape than ever.
RJ i have to disagree with you there, it didnt look like the same old Forrest, he was alot more aggressive than he usually is in fights. Compare this fight to when he fought Tito, im sure Forrest could easily beat Tito in a rematch, now that hes not intimidated by the “big name” fighters. He didnt just win, he dominated the whole fight, 3 rounds to none, then right before the end, he got the finish too lol.
@Kansas
In response to your question, Wandy should fight Chuck as scheduled. Its not like Chuck just lost the title, if that was the case it would be a problem. Like Gatties said earlier, thats the fight we wanna see, and theyre both coming off losses too.
Absolutely. Chuck should still fight wandy. I don’t think anything has changed. Mauricio must be on steroids while in pride. Only that can explain him being so out of shape and winded for ufc fight. Remember, wandy may have been roided as well in pride. So I will put money on chuck if the two fight (even though I’m so happy that chuck loss to jardine because I have always known chuck striking is overated).
I’m sure fedor is signed by ufc but they just want to cover it up. If fedor vs randy go ahead in Feb 08, I’ll pick randy just because for all we know, fedor may be juiced too in pride.
Diego should probably go down to 155. I didn’t know fitch is so much bigger than diego!
Way to go machida! Everybody should watch machida closely.
Rampage seems untouchable now especially when he is with juanita ibarra. That’s a good question. Who deserve rampage next? Definitely not wandy even though that might be more interesting than either jardine or forrest vs rampage. What’s the thought on this?
was shogun “juiced”in pride or what?if u have kansas even menitioning it then it has to have some truth.
dont know if shogun was on roids in pride, maybe he was, he has not looked good for a while and his layoff was longer then it should have been,as the diff between the cage and the ring, that should have been to shoguns style, being able to corner your opp then clinch and land some knees, his cond was HORRIBLE, as for which pride fighters have dont well in the UFC, jackson(new training camp) and anderson silva, cro-crop and shogun have not done so well, i think with cro-crop he was used to the ring and bouncing off the ropes to move around the ring, furthermore, he seems to be involved with the government in his home country
[quote comment="9760"]
RJ i have to disagree with you there, it didnt look like the same old Forrest, he was alot more aggressive than he usually is in fights. Compare this fight to when he fought Tito, im sure Forrest could easily beat Tito in a rematch, now that hes not intimidated by the “big name” fighters. He didnt just win, he dominated the whole fight, 3 rounds to none, then right before the end, he got the finish too lol.[/quote]
nah the only reason i said he didnt show me really anything is because he didnt show us anything new i havent seen from him in the past. good chin, good cardio, good ground defence, and a huge heart obviously he doesnt need to change it up much to do well. Forrest is tough as hell and now he starting to get his stride so its at a point that if you cant stop him hes going to win.
[...] - A very solid main event saw the UFC’s poster boy fall once again. If you remember from my UFC 76: Knockout Preview, I predicted that Jardine would try to work his leg kicks non-stop throughout the fight and try to [...]
@mmahero
“Remember, wandy may have been roided as well in pride. So I will put money on chuck if the two fight (even though I’m so happy that chuck loss to jardine because I have always known chuck striking is overated).”
That a boy mmahero, start talking shite on my boy Wand before he even debuts based on Shogun…. lol…. he is gonna whip the pisss outta liddell, mark my words it’s gonna be a brawl, and liddell wont be able to stop him..
Also to say ‘who gets Rampage next” definately not wandi, well heck you better hope not, cause Las Vegas lights and an octagon rather than a ring wont change what liddell did to that cat the first time or what he is gonna do the 3rd time,,, knock him out in ferocious style..
Correction:
wont change what liddell did to that cat the first time or what he is gonna do the 3rd time,,, knock him out in ferocious style..
I meant “wont change what Wanderlei did to that cat the first time or what he is gonna do the 3rd time,,, knock him out in ferocious style..