The UFC returns to action this Saturday night, returning once again to England for UFC 80: Rapid Fire. This will be the UFC’s first trip to Newcastle England and will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson.
Main Card
BJ Penn vs Joe Stevenson - I’ve been putting off writing the preview for UFC 80 for one reason: this title fight between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson. I can’t seem to work out in my head who I think will win this fight and I’ve gone back and forth with this article about 5 times already. All I can say is this should be an excellent match-up and test of skills for both fighters and whoever comes out the victor deserves the lightweight belt without a doubt.
Joe Stevenson has been a work-horse his entire MMA career and at the age of 25, he already has over 30 fights to his name. Since taking part in season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter, Stevenson has defeated everyone he’s faced at lightweight. Stevenson has a dangerous combination of pure wrestling skill and brute strength. Joe “Daddy” carries dangerous power in his hands and is even more dangerous on the ground with his submission game. Leave your neck, arm, or leg exposed and Stevenson will clamp down on it and end the fight.
We all are familiar with the credentials, or should I say reputation, of BJ Penn. This fight will mark the third time Penn has fought for the UFC Lightweight title, as he fell short in his first two attempts against Jens Pulver and Caol Uno. Penn has fought at every weightclass except for heavyweight during his career and for the time being, seems to be settling in a lightweight. Penn’s grappling and takedown defense are second-to-none and his striking is vastly improving each time he enters the cage. Penn’s flexibility and grappling should be able to negate Stevenson’s brute strength and pure wrestling skills. Winner: BJ Penn
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum - I’m really looking forward to this battle of Brazilian grapplers. Gonzaga and Werdum fought once back in 2003 with Werdum taking home the victory due to a referee stoppage and I’m sure Gonzaga is looking to avenge that loss. Werdum spent the majority of his career in PrideFC fighting some of the biggest and best names in the sport. Gabriel Gonzaga gained world-wide fame when he knocked out Mirko Filipovic at UFC 70 which secured him a title shot against UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture.
Both fighters are coming off losses, Werdum to Andre Arlovski and Gonzaga to Couture, and will be hungry to prove their worth in the heavyweight rankings. I’d have to give the edge in the standup game to Gonzaga while I’d give the edge in experience and competition to Werdum. My hope is that we are treated to some excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in this match. In the end, I think Werdum’s the slightly better fighter and his experience against tougher competition will carry him to a decision victory. Winner: Fabricio Werdum
Jess Liaudin vs. Marcus Davis - Jess Liaudin has enjoyed success in the UFC fighting and winning at both UFC 70 and UFC 75 in the first rounds. Liaudin is a well rounded fighter with a decent submission game and very good Muay Thai skills. Marcus Davis has found his second breath in the UFC after suffering back-to-back losses back in 2005. Davis received many votes votes for breakout fighter of 2007 as he notched three victories in three attempts and looked impressive every time he entered the cage. Davis has excellent striking and power and showed he can grapple a little as well as he defeated both Pete Spratt and Paul Taylor via submissions in ‘07. This fight really could go either way in my mind, but I think I’ve got to give the slight edge to Davis for his striking power and toughness. Winner: Marcus Davis
Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert - Jason Lambert is a large light heavyweight who has made a decent name for himself during his time in the UFC. Lambert has gone 4 for 5 in the UFC with his lone loss coming against Rashad Evans. Lambert’s last fight was a somewhat surprising victory over Renato Sobral at UFC 68 and really made people open their eyes and take note of his game. Since losing his UFC debut to Keith Jardine, Wilson Gouveia has won all three of his fights via submission and will look to continue that streak against Lambert. Gouveia’s ground game is his strength while Lambert’s weakness is the ground game. I think Gouveia will take Lambert down early and often and either submit Lambert or win via unanimous decision. Winner: Wilson Guuveia
Jorge Rivera vs. Kendall Grove - Jorge Rivera is one of the veteran journeymen in the UFC’s ranks, having made his UFC debut back in 2003. Kendall Grove is an up-and-coming UFC fighter and TUF 3 champion. Both fighters are coming off losses; Rivera losing to Terry Martin in only 14 seconds at UFC 67 and Grove losing to Patrick Cote in the first round at UFC 74. In my mind, Kendall Grove is simply too long and aggressive for Rivera in this fight. Jorge is definitely slowing a bit and Grove should be able to push the pace without a problem. Keeping his distance with jabs and kicks and then using a good thai clinch when Rivera does get in close, Kendall should win this fight with relative ease. Winner: Kendall Grove
Undercard
Antoni Hardonk vs. Colin Robinson - Winner: Antoni Hardonk
Paul Kelly vs. Paul Taylor - Winner: Paul Taylor
James Lee vs. Alessio Sakara - Winner: James Lee
Per Eklund vs. Sam Stout - Winner: Sam Stout
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Hey, just a note, Jess Liaudin fought in UFC 70 & 75.
I don’t see Werdun winning his fight though - he’s awfully tentative and Gonzaga is fine playing the waiting game and/or turning it on when he needs to.
thanks, I fixed my typo. nice catch
its thurday guys! lets talk about UFC 80
BJ vs Joe Daddy
i was a bit conflicted about the main event at first too doc hehe. I came to the same conclusion, its simple, BJ is MADE to beat guys like Joe, especially with the height and reach advantage, you have to give both striking and grappling to BJ. The only factor i can see is the conditioning, if BJ trained like he did for Jens hes gonna win this fight. Im a huge fan of Joe, i would pick him over any other fighter in the division, except BJ.
Gonzaga vs Werdum
I gotta go with Gonzaga in this one, even though he lost last time and he has limited fight experience compared to Werdum, i think this kid has really come into his own as a fighter. He was beating Randy before he “put the old man on him” and crushed his nose bone into his skunion lol. Gonzagas recent run of success has definately rewarded him with a new found confidence and hes definately training harder and smarter than ever before. I think Gabe is just hungrier in this fight, especially since he will be trying to avenge the loss.
and then theres some other fights lol… pretty much a garbage card after 79 man.. BJ and Joe are carrying this card BIGTIME.. they have so many fighters in the stable, and were forced to watch these spoon fed matchups..
Jorge vs Kendall? gimme a break…
I’m going with BJ and Gonzaga also. BJ’s a wizard with submission and I don’t think Joe has faced a fighter with his skills because there’s just not many out there. BJ looks like he’s finally taking fighting really seriously and looks determined to get the belt. I’m a big fan os Joe’s also so I’m kinda torn on this on too. In the end I think it’s going to be a grappling exhibition and BJ will eventually catch him in something. Gonzaga is a brute and has shown ever improving stand up. I have to give him the edge on the feet but I doubt the fight will be decided there. I see this unfolding as a grappling match and I think Gonzaga has an edge in strength and has good speed for his size. I think he will overpower him and catch him in a submission.
The Gonzaga/Werdum fight is going to be a huge borefest…and so will the BJ/Stevenson fight.
Werdum is a very smart grappler and has had tons of experience fighting some of the top heavyweights in the world outside of the UFC. He is also too smart to let Gonzaga push him around or surprise him.
I see it going to Gonzaga in a decision.
BJ, BJ, BJ…hmmmm…never know who’ll show up, BJ of old or BJ of “new”.
I think BJ doesn’t take Joe Daddy seriously enough, so he’ll do just what he needs to stay active in the cage, try a few submissions w/o success and it will also end up in a decision in BJ’s favor.
these are my picks
Stevenson by unanimous decision
Gonzaga 2nd or 3rd round TKO
Lambert unanimous decision
Davis unanimous decision
Grove 2nd round TKO
i have reasons im picking like this im not just taking a stab at it but i wont bore you all with explanations but i will say that Stevenson could lose as easy as he can win in my mind, i give Penn till the end of round two to finish Joe Daddy if not Joe will be leaving with a new belt to show off.
oh my gawd BJ Penn looks f*ckin ripped at the weigh in its the best ive ever seen him look.
ya he really did man.. but you see stout though? daaaaaaam he was completely shredded!
yeah Stout always looks in shape but hes starting to look Sean Sherkish, he looked like a ball of muscle.
Wheres Kansas and Richard man? they kinda fell off this week..
bv
i told u kansas is pullin a dennis lol
lol naw that cant be true..
Ken vs Frank is definately happening guys.. mmaweekly posted this story, basically confirming the fight for early 2009. They will be meeting at 205 lbs which should be an advantage for Ken, but still, Frank is a craftly fighter. From what they said, this fight will be heavily marketed, Frank said this fight will happen unless he dies lol.
bv that fight would suck ****… frank would kill kenny…. commonnnn
well, i said i was Frank too, but still, i dont think that fight will “suck” at all. You think either of these guys is gonna lay down for the other? Theyre gonna be swinging for the fences man, especially Ken. I dunno why people think Ken is a Btch, mma might have passed him by and he doesnt have a great personality, but other than all that hes still a pioneer in the sport, give the guy a LITTLE credit atleast.
ill give them credit but still frank would kill ken…
dam! i just watched:
Jorge Rivera vs. Kendall Grove
Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert
Jess Liaudin vs. Marcus Davis
not gonna spoil anything, but theyre good fights and theyre available for download already! maybe cuz its in the UK? anyways.. ya!
yea bv reading about the fights seems that all the bouts have ended by ko…. anyone who wants to watch the fights go to mmalinker.com
Patrick, you read about the fights before you watched them? dam.. i never do that man.. takes all the entertainment out of watching the fight.
i know it sucks cuz im at work and didnt wanna wait till i get out to watch them cuz i dont get off till five lol….
ok well, dont tell me what happens.. are you even gonna watch the fights??
yea bv… imma hit mmalinker when im out..
BJ is gonna handle Joe “I need my mommy” Stevenson… it will be a good fight, I see Penn ready, he has the height, reach, skill, and guys.. he is just as strong, have you seen the guy in the weigh-ins? Penn looks great…
Patrick…. I am Kansas.. not Dennis.. get it straight pal.. lol
Kansas, welcome back, ya we talked about the weigh ins yesterday.. have you watched the fights yet???? theyre all online.. and Patrick, incase you didnt see it, check out “the brawl of the pauls” lol
Pretty good event, but nothing outstanding overall. I like these overseas shows at 3pm EST instead of waiting until 10pm.
ya Doc, i agree, but they probably dont make as much money on ppv buys considering the time difference and all that…
oh ok i didnt see this comment lol cool
@BV
Where at online amigo?
Kansas,
Patrick said hes watching the fights at mmalinker.com
I got mine from mmatracker, you should be able to find them if you look, holla at me if you cant find them.
so who has seen the fights so far. it was a way better card then i expected it to be.
haha ya RJ, not the best card, but the fights were pretty good man. Once the other guys watch them we can talk about the specifics so we dont spoil it for them..
yep yep… i am starting to really like these cards with lesser known fighters, you dont always get the most competitive matches but you get a lot of exiting moments?
***.. bv i cant find them i guess linker is down… i heard about all the outcomes seems like a hot card… only two went to decision lol… what the *** i cant find these fights… help me *******!!!!!
doc y u gotta bleep out all my cuss words lol